By ERIC D. SNIDER
It happens every year in Provo: Spring arrives, the weather turns nice, and the cry of 'Let's go rock-climbing!' is heard throughout the land.
Unfortunately, too many people head for the hills without the experience or skills necessary for their own safety, and each year dozens are injured and even killed in rock-climbing accidents.
The Provo Police Department did not have figures available, but Karen Mayne, public information officer for the Police Department, said there have been more mountain accidents in recent years than expected.
'We have a mountain rescue team, and when it was originally conceived we had no idea that they would actually be called so often,' Mayne said.
'It's a very serious problem,' said Douglas Hansen, owner of Hansen Mountaineering in Orem. 'This is like flying a plane, or scuba diving, or anything like that. If you don't know what you're doing, it's dangerous.'
Rock-climbing safety is a timely issue, and not just because it's the beginning of the outdoor season. A Springville boy was seriously injured Saturday when he fell 25 feet while climbing in Rock Canyon, and while he said he had enough experience, many others lack that experience.
'People should make sure they know what they're doing when they climb, and that their equipment is all right,' Mayne said. 'They should make safety their first concern. It's a matter of life and death.'
Dave Hohl, recreation coordinator for the Pleasant Grove district of the Uinta National Forest, said that awareness of the dangers of rock-climbing isn't a problem.
'There's a fair amount of publicity, people need to realize that it's hazardous,' Hohl said. 'I don't think it's a secret.'
Hohl said there are signs warning against careless climbing in most stores that sell climbing equipment, as well as at the mouth of Rock Canyon.
Hansen points out that while inexperienced or careless climbers may be in great danger, rock climbing is not an inherently perilous sport.
'It's reasonably safe when it's done right,' he said. 'But to just buy equipment and go up there without formal training and without someone who knows what they're doing is just stupid -- to put it bluntly.'
Hansen and others have tried to gain permission to teach rock-climbing safety classes on National Forest Service land, only to be frustrated by a slow registration process essentially due to a lack of funding.
'We need to analyze our ability to provide that service, and provide all interested parties an opportunity for a permit. Right now because of our staffing and our funding, we don't have the ability to do that study and allocation,' Hohl said.
Hohl said training does not need to occur on Forest Service land anyway. 'The Rock Garden in Provo could provide that (training),' he said. The mouth of Rock Canyon itself is private land. There are other lands off of National Forest Service lands that could provide it.'