Bluff climbing ideas to get more study

Rock climbing on Grandad Bluff may become more permissible soon, as the city park board looks into rules for that activity.

A local climbing group has come to the board with a request to regulate climbing so that it’s safe, and that the city is protected from liability.

Park board member Todd Olson wants to hear from more people in and out of city government, especially the public, before the bluff is opened up to sanctioned climbing.

One member of the Coulee Region Climbers Cooperative told the board that there are spots in the bluffs where people “have no earthly business going.”

The park board also heard Thursday night from other people who enjoy spending time in the bluffs.

Some local hikers wanted assurance from the board that certain trails in Hixon Forest will remain reserved only for hiking, and that mountain bikes would be prohibited from those trails.

As for bicyclists, they also asked for a partnership with the city to develop some biking trails in the bluffs.