Shawn Snyder Via Ferrata Stupidity

I don't know how many of you have seen the shenanigans that our favorite felon Shawn Snyder has been up to in Smith Rock but it has become relevant to us here in California as well. 

As of August 31 there is a moratorium on bolting at Smith due to Shawn installing an exceptionally dangerous rebar via Ferrata on Picnic Lunch wall at Smith. Due to his success there he plans to take this approach to Yosemite as well as Joshua Tree seeking the same results. He has touted plans to either vandalize Lost Arrow Spire, Taft Point, and or El Cap. 

As clearly stupid and irrational as his plan is, it worked and will threaten access for all of us who like to recreate in our National Parks if brought to Uosemite and Joshua Tree where bolting is already a touchy subject. 

I don't have any resources gathered to help stop him but I figured I'd at least bring up the topic here so awareness could be raised. You can see all the info on the Pacific Northwest page under the Via Ferrata thread there. Hopefully someone has some ability to mitigate the repercussions of Shawns attacks on the parks. 

Dan Daugherty wrote:

There are at least two other threads on this but you brought up something I hadn't seen anyone say so...

I do have to ask, what makes the rebar so unsafe? It's ugly as hell and was installed with malicious intent, but unless it's not glued in properly, it's pretty darn safe. That, or all the other cases where it's used for ladders outside of climbing need to be reevaluated. 

The rebar, as stated by Shawn, is of the cheapest grade he could find. This means it will rust immediately upon first rain and leave horrible stains on the rock as well as compromise the general structural stability of the rung. The glue is the strongest part, but given the rust, it won't hold long or well and I don't believe Shawn would put a large amount of work into making the ladder safe when its whole purpose is to harm the community at large.

PatMas wrote: Rebar will rust so fast and then fail. I believe most via ferratas are stainless rungs.

Also, it is not a “via ferrata,” but a stupid ladder that calls out to naive tourons with little or no safety equipment (or sense): “climb me!”

Dan Daugherty wrote:

I do have to ask, what makes the rebar so unsafe? It's ugly as hell and was installed with malicious intent, but unless it's not glued in properly, it's pretty darn safe. That, or all the other cases where it's used for ladders outside of climbing need to be reevaluated. 

Rebar could be used if it is galvanized. But in general SS rungs are used.

Does anyone have a good picture of Shawn? His social media accounts don't seem to help any.

Marcus McCoy wrote:

Does anyone have a good picture of Shawn? His social media accounts don't seem to help any.

There are pictures posted just recently in one of the pacific northwest threads

Another Shawn Snyder thread!?  Don't force the forums to become like SuperTaco...

Gumby King wrote:

Another Shawn Snyder thread!?  Don't force the forums to become like SuperTaco...

Well, since the original "via ferrata" thread has now disappeared......

Marc801 C wrote:

Well, since the original "via ferrata" thread has now disappeared......

I was in that thread on the app and refreshing literally as it was being deleted, watching the number of pages go down from 9, to 7 to 6, etc. At one point I was on page 3 of 2- so that was neat. 

Lol - let’s see now how the trad climbers deal with him and we can compare.

Misinformation alert.  There is not a moratorium on bolting, only an approval to bolt or replace bolts.  Rout development and replacement is still accepted and available to those that will participate responsibly.

This morning Shawn almost lost his life after someone cut one of his ropes. It looks clear to me that the cut in the rope was not intended to simply "send a message" or act as a threat - the cut was tucked away under the knot, hidden as best as possible so as to go unnoticed until the rope is weighted and he falls to his death.

Regardless of anyone's opinions about his recent actions, an attempt on his life like this is completely unacceptable. Would I be pissed if he installed a via ferrata at my local crag (Joshua Tree) to send a message? You bet! Would I try to sabotage his equipment in hopes that he falls to his death, problem solved? No, because I am not a murderer. 

The point that Shawn was trying to make with his via ferrata is that we as a climbing community have failed to govern ourselves and that it is time for the authorities to step in and do the governing for us. I am not at all here to support the means by which he proceeded to make his point heard. But the fact that someone in our community felt that Shawn's actions (vandalism at worst?) deserve to be punished by death perhaps proves his point better than he ever could.

To the individual that did this, I hope you realize that your actions are so much more shameful than what Shawn did to provoke them. The fact that there are people out there who think taking a life is the answer to this type of conflict truly frightens me.

This is extremely saddening and absolutely nauseating. Does anyone have a proof in addition to images posted above that the incident indeed happened and was caused by the actions of 3rd party? Any extra info would be helpful even though this does seem like a case for criminal justice system to take care of.

I'll take Things That Didn't Happen for 100 Alex.

A. Degen wrote:

This morning Shawn almost lost his life after someone cut one of his ropes. It looks clear to me that the cut in the rope was not intended to simply "send a message" or act as a threat - the cut was tucked away under the knot, hidden as best as possible so as to go unnoticed until the rope is weighted and he falls to his death.

Shawn Snyder's posts have all been deleted, and he seems to be banned from MP, finally. You've been a member of MP since 2017 but this is your first interaction with the community. Totally believe this happened, Shawn. 

Shawn is obviously dealing with some serious mental health issues. The photo of him with a swastika drawn on his forehead was disturbing. So I’d agree with the above. The most likely scenario is he did this the the rope himself so he could “find it”. The idea that someone cut the rope in a hidden way to kill him but he somehow discovered it is less likely than this person we know who is capable of irrational actions did it himself. I would suggest people stay far away and alert the authorities before dealing with him for any further vandalism of public resources. 

what exactly does sean ultimately want?  for ALL climbing to stop in smith rock?  or just what he believes to be “rampant” bolting?  

he loves climbing, i don’t think he wants it to stop?  does he just want smith to be a trad only area and for there to be a moratorium on new bolting? 

if sean snyder was made king for a day, what would he do?  what rules would he put in place?  

A. Degen wrote: .

The point that Shawn was trying to make with his via ferrata is that we as a climbing community have failed to govern ourselves and that it is time for the authorities to step in and do the governing for us. I am not at all here to support the means by which he proceeded to make his point heard. But the fact that someone in our community felt that Shawn's actions (vandalism at worst?) deserve to be punished by death perhaps proves his point better than he ever could.

A Degen has this one post on MP....

Shawns’s point was that HE thinks we have failed to govern ourselves. The majority of people don’t agree. When people didn’t agree with him HE proved the point that he was being unreasonable.by vandalizing a public resource in the ultimate act of hypocrisy. 

As mentioned he likely did this himself. And if not this has nothing to do with his point. Disagreements about appropriate bolting and gear stashing have nothing to do with (alleged) attempted murder.

It does look like it was weighted to me.  

I figured the universe wouldn’t allow a guy like this to continue behaving this way without any personal consequence - that he’d walk out of a cave one morning naked with everything he owns taken and destroyed or he’d wind up in the ER with life altering injuries after getting his ass kicked.  I don’t condone these things, but they don’t at all surprise me.  There are many other equally mentally ill - and violent - individuals out there.  This is what happens in his world.

If you don't know the truth, make it up.

Conjecture runs wild.