Last week was not your typical week... times are uncertain and changing everyday, yet you came together as a community to support our stewardship work for 2020. Together you raised $4500 that will build trails, replace bolts, monitor eagles, stock wag bags, and bring the community together. THANK YOU! We really, truly, are so grateful for everyone who donated, shared our campaign, and helped to spread the word about climbing stewardship.
This week and those to follow will not be your typical weeks either. Life is different for all of us right now, as is our climbing. Climbing for a lot of us is a release, a way to relieve stress, to connect with others and with nature, to grow as a person and as a community. While many of our businesses and gyms are closed, we are privileged to have access to amazing outdoor climbing areas in our backyard.
This all being said, just like we encourage stewardship and caring for our climbing areas and our environment, we encourage you to be stewards of the community and care for your loved ones and fellow community members in this difficult time. As climbers, here are some things we hope you'll consider in the coming weeks:
Continue to support your local gyms and businesses if you have the resources to do so (keep that membership going, buy a gift card, etc.) The economic fallout is real and hitting those close to us already. Let's help soften the blow to the extent that we are able.
We've seen a lot of folks using climbing and recreating outside as a form of social distancing, which it certainly can be if done properly. We are not health experts, though given recommendations from the CDC, we can safely say that climbing in large groups, in close proximity, at a popular crag is not effective social distancing. If you're headed outdoors, continue to follow CDC and state government guidelines (wash your hands, stay 6 feet apart from others, avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth).
If you had a climbing trip planned, or are hoping to use some vacation time right now, please reconsider your trip if it involves going to medically underserved and remote communities that aren't well-equipped for large outbreaks of this magnitude. Use your best judgement and follow current CDC and state guidelines, and remember that while basic measures remain consistent, stricter guidelines are likely coming and changing every minute.
The BCC in the meantime is not going anywhere. Stay tuned for update to date information about local climbing, and for opportunities to bring the community together virtually. We hope that as a user group and community, we can be effective leaders in this crisis, just as we are in being stewards of our environment and crags. Dust off that hangboard, get creative, and let's do what's best of our fellow humans.
- The BCC Team
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