Recreational Climber Education Cliff-side: The Time Has Come!

We, as representatives of our community, must respond in some regard to the rising tide of climbers mobbing our climbing areas at the end of each and every week.

A line in the sand must be drawn between "Lifestyle" climbers and "Recreational" climbers! We can no longer stand by and watch the reckless, sometimes feckless n00b invasion without saying "Enough! We must now assume the mantle of educator to your hot mess of a climber!"

The proposal is that the weekends are targeted initially as a base for educational ground-work.

This could be set up under the auspices of a "Climbing Interpretive Association" - folks love sharing their particular "interpretation" of things climbing! What fun!

On these "weekends" orientation booths should to be set up at all entries to popular climbing areas, with appointed personnel to monitor, issue cards/paperwork and teach. “Climber Representatives” would assure that all aspects of this operation dove-tail together smoothly, popping out aware and focused climbers on the other side.

Everyone would need to sign waivers with a detachable on-site-laminated cards that are color-coded daily & zip-tied to the harness (“Locals Only” cards could be issued to the rare few that actually want to climb locally on weekends). Other requirements may include: wag bags, trail/land manager/climbing /pet etiquette flyers with bullet points, decibel checks for speakers, inappropriate spandex inspection, knot-check station, pop quiz on climber terms, making sure you didn’t forget your dank, etc.

"Climber Representatives" would be a great job for the elderly and bitter, like me. We could feel useful, vent our frustrations about climbing & the world on unsuspecting passers-by under the guise of "helping", and simultaneously cull the masses to eliminate the overly-sensitive - who cause most of the problems anyway.

We could also cover that in our intensive "Harden The Fuck Up, You Are Young" series - required for those that are easily shocked or whoever old people like me just don't like or trust.

Stewardship begins at home, people!

Great idea! Perfect jobs for people who no longer want to climb, but still want to talk about it. :)

Nice idea!  Kind of like a Volunteer Ski Patrol.  Add some basic training on first aid and rope rescue!

Maybe Vantage can be a pilot site?

I don't understand your frustration.  Are there a lot of climbers that even go to Bishop, CA?  I mean gosh, you'd think you had a Yosemite on your hands. 

Dan Cooksey wrote:

I don't understand your frustration.  Are there a lot of climbers that even go to Bishop, CA?  I mean gosh, you'd think you had a Yosemite on your hands. 

Bishop is dead....or at least very very close to being loved to death

As a feckless noob who climbs out on the boondocks this would almost be nice. There's one other climber I've been able to find within thirty miles. I've mostly managed to learn everything through youtube and trial and error. Now, I'm (poorly) teaching my wife. What an adventure! 

But, I grew up surfing with a bunch of old men. (Greg Noll was a local, if anyone knows) these old men taught me good etiquette, how to approach the wave, how to have a good time, how to get others into it. And then slowly started showing me the real good spots. I wouldn't be the surfer I am today without them. And most of them didn't surf anymore, the body couldn't handle it after so many years of abuse from both surfing and work. (Mainly construction) but their knowledge was still invalauble.

If I had those same grumpy old men bitching at me while I climbed I'd probably be a whole lot better at it. 

Sounds like an outdoor gym.

Part of reason l love climbing is because of the lack of organization around it in many places. It can still feel 'wild'. Your idea is well meant...but lm not sure how l feel about it. This is part of the reason l love lesser known spots.

Mike Brady wrote:

Bishop is dead....or at least very very close to being loved to death

I was shooting for some sarcassm 

May I suggest T-shirts informing n00bs what person's true official functions are?

- belay checker - the one who officially examines everyone's crotch area - no sex-crimination here!

- beta cannon - the one who is not spayring beta, but advises wisely!

- pooper scooper - well,  the one who scoops, both dogs and humans would be grateful. Might need a big scoop for human products, though.

Eric....   Good thoughts....   really hard to implement. 

Maybe make a few signs...  post some stuff at the coffee shops, climbing stores and other spots in Bishop. 

It could not hurt.

Merry Christmas to You and Skip.

Dan Cooksey wrote:

I was shooting for some sarcassm 

I know. I was shooting for wit. I guess I missed the mark.

Problem is helping the new climbers instead of just filming them screwing up / dying than posting videos online to scare off other new climbers.

I will help, but can I bring my dog to these events

trailridge wrote:

I will help, but can I bring my dog to these events

Only if you bring a baby too

If I failed to insult any climbers with this dystopian climbing future, please let me know. TIA.