Telluride climbers win reprieve as agencies back away from anchor ban

Telluride climbers got a reprieve as federal land managers backed away from a proposal that could have put fixed anchors in wilderness climbing areas at risk. Routes that depend on anchors for safe belays, rappels, or descents are still viable while the agencies move toward a middle path.

The new direction comes through draft guidance from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service that aims to preserve climbing access while protecting wilderness character. Section 122 of the EXPLORE Act tells federal agencies to issue climbing guidance that recognizes recreational climbing, including the use, placement, and maintenance of fixed anchors, as an appropriate use in wilderness when it fits the Wilderness Act. The National Park Service published its draft in the Federal Register on June 15 and set an August 14 comment deadline.

The Forest Service has proposed its first national climbing directive for National Forest System lands and opened a 30-day public comment period. The Forest Service comment window closes July 20, while the other agency deadlines run to August 14. Climbers and guides in Colorado have spent years dealing with uncertainty over whether bolts, pitons, and other anchors would be treated as off-limits in high-country terrain.

Telluride sits near the center of that concern. Climbing is part of the local outdoor economy and the daily rhythm of crags, gullies, and alpine walls. A sweeping ban would have forced climbers and guide services to rethink how they use the terrain. The draft guidance keeps the access door open.

The Access Fund says the new guidance supersedes withdrawn 2023 proposals that would have treated fixed anchors as prohibited installations, and the Outdoor Alliance says fixed anchors are essential safety tools. Colorado climbers see the proposal as a way to settle a decades-long dispute over fixed anchors in wilderness areas.

Via ferrata, slacklining, and highlining are explicitly excluded from the climbing guidance, and climbers still need to verify which land manager controls a route before they rack up. In Telluride, that means checking whether a line falls under Forest Service, Park Service, or other federal oversight before assuming every anchor is fair game.