20-05-2025
Montana man's drunken attempt to impress women leaves him humiliated
A drunk man in Montana was left red in the face after attempting to impress a woman by climbing the iconic Wyoming elk antler arches moments before police arrived.
The humiliating spectacle began after the man, on a night out drinking, had met two women and stumbled across the archway on May 13.
Around 12.40am, the Jackson Police Department said Teton County Dispatch had been alerted to 'people on top of the arches,' Cowboy State Daily reported.
His daring act, however, left him red in the face after climbing onto the archway and reaching the top, only for a police officer to arrive on scene.
The man, from Belgrade, said he had 'been drinking and wanted to climb the arch to impress some girls he had just met.'
Which only seemed to backfire when he was handed a fine for $100 from the police officer for climbing the arch.
The four elk antler arches are iconic for the Jackson area and a popular spot for tourists, but climbing them is not advised and has been made illegal.
Lt. Russ Ruschill with the JPD told the outlet that it's uncommon for people to attempt to climb the arches and could only recall a handful of times throughout his career of reports of such behavior.
'I've seen it a couple of times in my career here, but don't remember the last time we've written a citation specifically for climbing one of the arches,' he said.
However, he was surprised that the man was able to, while drunk especially, climb so high onto the arch.
'I don't think I've ever seen anybody quite get up as far onto the top like this gentleman,' Ruschill added.
'We usually catch them thinking about it, talking about it or just starting to climb.'
Photos shared on Instagram showed one woman reach near to the top of the arch before the gentleman climbed and managed to reach the very top.
The photos showed one woman remaining on the ground with her phone out before police arrived.
The gentleman's actions, however, spurred outrage online as the account that posted the photos wrote: 'Idiots in Jackson get caught climbing up the arch antlers in Jackson Square.'
'Being drunk or being a dumba** isn't an excuse!'
Commenters on the post shared the same frustration, with one who wrote :'They should be fined at a minimum. Community service, maybe. Unbelievable!'
Another called the climbers 'entitled,' while others said more respect should be shown especially when visiting from out of town.
One said: 'The arrogance of people never surprises me any longer. Where is the respect?!'
Ruschill also stressed the dangers of climbing on top of the arches, especially when intoxicated.
'It's a long way to fall from the top of the southwest arch,' he said. 'Someone could get injured or killed doing such a thing. That's the public safety message to this incident.'
The man can pay the $100 bond or plead his innocence, Cowboy State Daily reported.
'Our defendant is innocent until proven guilty,' Ruschill said. 'But in Jackson, it's illegal to climb something that's not meant to be climbed.'
