I hired Andy Petefish for my guide. He was a very nice man, and very pleasant to fellow climbers. He even took photos of them and made them a CD for free. He gave them an advice on which route to take and what gear they might need. He was an excellent guide. Andy has been guiding at Devil's Tower for over 25 years. He placed many of the anchors in the walls there. He has a lot of respect among local people.
We climbed DT with a guide circa 1999. The guide name here sounds familiar but after so much time I can't be sure. anyway, he was definitely a skilled climber, a good guide as far as knowing routes and we felt safe climbing the easy 5.6 route under his lead, but he had a serious antisocial personality disorder and was very confrontational when it came to conflict. All was pleasant enough during the climb until he told my partner repeatedly to take off the only piece of jewelry she was wearing which was her thin gold wedding band because it was a safety issue, which she wouldn't do. From that point on, he was unfriendly, bordering on acerbic. Visibly annoyed, he rushed the rest of the climb and the descent, commenting at one point when we wanted to take a picture that ~"this was a climb not a photo essay." Those words still ring in my head, and I'd advise anyone thinking about getting a guide to question the guide beforehand (and carefully listen to the answer) and ask how they handle conflict.
In response to the initial poster; Here's something for the back of your mind. If placed in a situation that you feel threatened while climbing. "Sir, I feel that you are threatening my safety and endangering lives. Unless you immediately back down I intend place you under arrest for reckless endangerment and accompany you to the ranger station for processing. If I place you under arrest and you do not immediately accompany me to the ranger station I will also charge you with felony eluding." You are well within your rights to do so, and a guide with paying customers in tow, no matter how personality deficient, would do well to back off. grabbing a picture of the aggressor might not be a bad idea either. if you actually do need to follow through, ask the rangers to summon a federal law enforcement (if you are in a national park) agent (via phone, you don't need for them to show up in person) and explain that this guys actions made you reasonably fearful for you life and or the lives of others. Personally, I'd use my cell phone on the way down before getting to the ranger station and get transferred to the regional fbi office covering the area, and explain the situation and ask them to take my report (i would do this because I'd guess the guide would be semi-familiar with the (national park service)rangers in the area whereas I would be a stranger to them, and this would be uneven ground).
Andy Petefish cancelled my climb and would not return my $516 deposit. When I spoke to the park's ranger he said he doese this all the time. Cancels for no reason and keeps the deposits.
Liba Kopeckova - Jun 10, 2009 11:35 pm - Hasn't voted
guideI hired Andy Petefish for my guide. He was a very nice man, and very pleasant to fellow climbers. He even took photos of them and made them a CD for free. He gave them an advice on which route to take and what gear they might need. He was an excellent guide. Andy has been guiding at Devil's Tower for over 25 years. He placed many of the anchors in the walls there. He has a lot of respect among local people.
Rock41 - Apr 15, 2010 3:37 pm - Voted 10/10
guides with personality disordersWe climbed DT with a guide circa 1999. The guide name here sounds familiar but after so much time I can't be sure. anyway, he was definitely a skilled climber, a good guide as far as knowing routes and we felt safe climbing the easy 5.6 route under his lead, but he had a serious antisocial personality disorder and was very confrontational when it came to conflict. All was pleasant enough during the climb until he told my partner repeatedly to take off the only piece of jewelry she was wearing which was her thin gold wedding band because it was a safety issue, which she wouldn't do. From that point on, he was unfriendly, bordering on acerbic. Visibly annoyed, he rushed the rest of the climb and the descent, commenting at one point when we wanted to take a picture that ~"this was a climb not a photo essay." Those words still ring in my head, and I'd advise anyone thinking about getting a guide to question the guide beforehand (and carefully listen to the answer) and ask how they handle conflict.
In response to the initial poster; Here's something for the back of your mind. If placed in a situation that you feel threatened while climbing. "Sir, I feel that you are threatening my safety and endangering lives. Unless you immediately back down I intend place you under arrest for reckless endangerment and accompany you to the ranger station for processing. If I place you under arrest and you do not immediately accompany me to the ranger station I will also charge you with felony eluding." You are well within your rights to do so, and a guide with paying customers in tow, no matter how personality deficient, would do well to back off. grabbing a picture of the aggressor might not be a bad idea either. if you actually do need to follow through, ask the rangers to summon a federal law enforcement (if you are in a national park) agent (via phone, you don't need for them to show up in person) and explain that this guys actions made you reasonably fearful for you life and or the lives of others. Personally, I'd use my cell phone on the way down before getting to the ranger station and get transferred to the regional fbi office covering the area, and explain the situation and ask them to take my report (i would do this because I'd guess the guide would be semi-familiar with the (national park service)rangers in the area whereas I would be a stranger to them, and this would be uneven ground).
Noel7777 - Jun 25, 2015 2:02 pm - Voted 10/10
Con artistAndy Petefish cancelled my climb and would not return my $516 deposit. When I spoke to the park's ranger he said he doese this all the time. Cancels for no reason and keeps the deposits.