A Story.

Hi all,

I recently made this post on my local climbing organization's Facebook page. The post addresses the potential impacts of outdoor recreation on the local communities in which we choose to recreate; specifically the small town of Bolton, Vermont. I feel the post has relevance here as well, as we all have a responsibility to mitigate the impacts of our climbing during the spread of the coronavirus. I'm posting this to challenge the notion set forth by major publications and international brands that it is "okay to climb 'responsibly' by limiting social contact while doing so." I disagree strongly. I'm extremely disappointed to see how our community is handling this, and I hope this post can help you see why. Here it is:

With the pandemic underway I want to take a moment to talk about the dangers of climbing and recreating in the Bolton area during this trying time.

I'm sure you've all seen the posts from our leaders and role models in the community detailing the risks, conequences, and procedures associated with outdoor climbing during the Outbreak. What I've gathered from my sources is IF we choose to crag, we can mitigate risk by traveling in small groups, avoiding unnecessary stops for gas, snacks, etc., and by staying LOCAL to minimize the potential impacts of our travel. For many of us living in the Burlington area, staying local means climbing in Bolton. Personally I've decided this is not an option, at least for the time being. Here's why:

Several weeks ago I lost my car keys on the approach to Upper West. Long story short, the sun went down before I could find them and I ultimately had to call a local company (thank you Bee There Towing) and get a ride into town. I sat in the car with the driver, who began to tell me about his family: His wife, his kids, his dogs. He told me how he works day in day out to put a roof over their heads. He told me how he loves them. He told me how they rely on him for support.

Luckily, this all happened right before the Outbreak; right before we began social distancing. I'm glad.

Now, imagine if this story had taken place today. Imagine if I had unknowingly been an asymptomatic carrier of Coronavirus and needed an emergency ride into town. Imagine how my choice to go climbing may have impacted that man, his family, and their neighbors. Imagine how a small town like Bolton could be ill equipped to handle an outbreak of a deadly virus. And mostly, imagine how you would feel if a group of healthy, enthusiastic adventurers romped through your neighborhood with joy, having little regard for the impact their recreation had on your friends, your family, and your community in the midst of a global outbreak.

I'm thankful for the help I received from the towing company, but I also feel ashamed to have potentially put another person's life and family at risk for the sake of my own selfish pursuits. While my tale has a happy ending, I'm sure many other tales will NOT share the same. This story is an example of how even when we do everything in our power to mitigate risk, sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes we face consequences. And sometimes, those consequences can impact others more than they may impact us. In other words, even one small, foolish mistake, like losing your keys, popping a flat, or twisting an ankle can have a massive impact on the community to which you are a visitor.

This story, along with many like it from areas like Moab and Joshua Tree, are examples of how our asking for "one small favor" from a community today can result in a terrifying and devastating impact upon that same community tomorrow.

Keep in mind: as climbers, we are guests. The townspeople of Bolton are our hosts. So please, treat our hosts with respect. To me this means refraining from cragging in the Bolton area (and everywhere else) for the time being. To you, it may mean something else. That's fine: I'm not going to tell you when or where to climb or who to do so with; but I am going to ask you to be EXTREMELY conscientious of the impacts your recreation may have on the small communities that precede our existence as adventurers.

I know it's hard to refrain from climbing outside, especially when the gyms are closed, so thank you all for your efforts. The sacrifices we make today will yield a happier, healthier tomorrow. Please take care to protect yourselves, your families, and your surrounding communities from the spread of the virus, in whatever way you can. For now, this may mean taking a break from climbing.

I know it does to me.

Lastly, I hope you're all safe and sound and are finding ways to cope with the harsh realities of this scary situation. To anyone in our community who may feel lonely, afraid, or sick; please, feel free to reach out, and I will help you in any way I can.

Thank you.

-DMT

PS: Have you seen the videos of the Spring Breakers partying in Miami despite their creating risk to the locals? Do you see any resemblance between out-of-town climbers climbing "responsibly" at their local crag? I understand our impact is microscopic in comparison, but microcosms host families too, many of which have members vulnerable to coronavirus who have poor access to healthcare. So next time you decide to go cragging, remember how disgusted you were when you saw the videos of the Spring Breakers partying in Miami, and remember that the townspeople of your local climbing destination may very well feel the same way about you. As climbers we have a responsibility to set an example of how to properly mitigate the impacts of our recreation on the environments in which we choose to recreate, and right now is an extremely important time to consider the consequences of our behavior. I'm very disappointed in how major publications, international brands, and even some of our local climbing organizations are responding to the outbreak. Personally I'll be happy to look back 10 years from now and know I took a stand against the voices in the community who said now is an okay time to climb outside. It's not. 

What about you? Do you feel the actions of local climbers are comparable to Miami's Spring Breakers on a microscopic scale? Why or why not? Will this impact your choice to climb during the Outbreak?

Thanks, Dylan, for sounding a voice of reason and calm in a crazy time.  Let's do this together and we'll all be better off when it passes.  Thanks to climbers everywhere who are staying away from places like Moab and Josh and Springdale, etc.  Time to think beyond our own desires and restlessness (OMG I'm goin' insane with sitting around!) and how to protect places/people we love.

If you had a hidden extra key under your car somewhere, you wouldn't have needed to call someone. You might want to consider doing this for future lost-key events.

Thanks, Dylan. I think many of us have a tendency to underestimate how unpredictable human behavior and unexpected events, big and small, can be. As climbers, we're used to evaluating risk, but we're being asked to do so now in a way we're not used to. This short article on the "Ethics of Precaution," posted on another thread, makes some really good points.

I've personally noticed a couple concerning tendencies in my own decision making processes lately--

• "While we still can..." - wanting to do things, see people, or go places before I can no longer do so due to lockdown or similar--despite the fact that doing so would go against my risk-assessment.
• Progressive non-compliance - starting out being very careful about following guidelines/self-imposed rules, and slowly relaxing them, in part due to seeing others do the same. (E.g.: initially being very careful about minimizing outside contact, but slowly getting laxer).

It's been hard for me to work out how to deal with this. The "right" answer is--just don't do these things. At the same time, I think that for many of us, checking these tendencies is really hard. We're going through an incredibly difficult and uncertain time, and simultaneously being asked to alter the basic ways we interact with and support each other.

I think a very basic but helpful starting point is: making a conscious effort to notice when I'm experiencing one of the above tendencies--or otherwise letting a cognitive bias influence my decision-making--and pausing to reflect.

Lately, it has also helped me to understand some of what I'm feeling as a form of grief. I think there is a real sense of loss in all this distancing and sudden change. And on some level we know there will be more loss, including loss of life. Even when this is "over," things won't be the same as they were before. I've been trying to sit with and process that grief, so that I am not simultaneously fighting it and letting it control me and my decision making.

FrankPS wrote: If you had a hidden extra key under your car somewhere, you wouldn't have needed to call someone. You might want to consider doing this for future lost-key events.

THAT'S your takeaway from this post?  Sheesh.

Pnelson wrote:

THAT'S your takeaway from this post?  Sheesh.

We want to prevent needlessly exposing people, right?

Thanks, Etha, as well. Absolutely is a dealing with grief.  When you love something (or someone) so much that you want to do nothing else and then have it taken away, it hurts!  Change is hard, even though we know it's the only absolute there is in the Universe...

Thanks Etha.

Yes, I agree this is a very challenging time for all of us. I am certainly grieving the loss of socialization, human contact, and recreation I've experienced in the past week, and so are my friends and family.

I've also noticed myself wanting to justify a quick day of cragging or multipitch climbing, thinking "If I maintain social distancing protocol it will probably be fine." Climbing is tempting, and I'm going stir crazy sitting in my house all day!

But "probably" isn't good enough for me right now. I'm a 25 year old male with excellent cardiovascular fitness and a kickass immune system. Yes, I will "probably be fine," however, the elderly father of the man who gave me a ride into town may very likely NOT be fine if he contracts the virus. In other words, deciding it will "probably be fine" today is my making a selfish decision that could severely impact someone else tomorrow, who could die as a result. To me, that's not fine.

Once again, I'm not telling people when or where to climb or who to do so with; I'm simply asking our community to truly and deeply consider the potential impacts of their behavior on the small communities that host our local crags. When you make a decision to chance it, you may not be putting yourself at great risk, but your actions can and certainly DO put other people at great risk. Do you really, deeply, TRULY think a day of climbing is worth that risk?

I'm not going to decide for you, but I will say: to me, it's not.

Pnelson wrote:

THAT'S your takeaway from this post?  Sheesh.

that was my takeaway from his post. that, and he is a 25 year old male with excellent cardiovascular fitness, that for some reason couldnt walk or jog to town...