Thanks for making my point for me.
Lots of people work hard pulling these festivals off and lots of climbers enjoy them. You don't enjoy them(which is cool if it's your thing), so you avoid them. Why not just avoid the "Icefest thread" too? Just saying.
It's all opinions man, but asking someone to avoid the thread after you asked what people thought of Ice Fest has incited quite a bit of negativity that while under the surface would have probably remained unsaid... just sayin...
Nothing wrong with people speaking out against it if that's their thing...
Since we're now debating the merits of Ice Fest, and festivals like it, I want to add my opinion to the mix...
It's about
community in my opinion... celebrating the lifestyle of climbing... I LOVE seeing so many ice climbers get together and share stories, inspiration, first swings, future plans, check out new gear, show off old gear, make new friends, find new partners, win swag, drink free beer, etc, etc, etc...
Ice climbing is still a pretty exclusive sport. There is almost always ice to climb even during the Fest if you just stay away from the classics. It's only 3 days out of a 120 ice climbing season...
I don't know one person who "guides" just to make money. It is not a lucrative business. We guide because we love sharing the sport with people... pretty sure if I didn't guide I would be a teacher elsewhere, but I love teaching outside.
Actually I am haveing some doubts and concerns about how commercial guide companies make money on our public lands in a way that drasticly impacts the outdoor experience for the folks who just want to enjoy the cliffs without trying to make money.
I respect your opinion here, but I think the benefits of commercial guiding and the overall impact they have on the climbing community FAR outweigh the negatives. "Drastically impacts the outdoor experience"? I would argue the dozens of ill-prepared under equipped "folks" scratching their way up Lion's Head every weekend impact the experience of actual climbers more than guide services. Most guides (not all), but most I know will go out of the way to avoid impacting recreational climbers, and often extend help when needed, along with almost all local guides volunteering on Mountain Rescue Service.
I know I'm generalizing a lot here, and my opinions are biased since I am a guide, but I think we might be trying to find more controversy here than there needs to be...