CLOSED “Welcome to the community” gear giveaway 6hrs left

Good evening everyone! I hope y’all have had a good holiday. Recently I decided to auction off a copy of Yosemite Climber here on MP and use the proceeds to purchase new gear for a budding new climber. The auction went great with a total of $88.00 being raised and a set of stoppers and a set of carabiners being donated to the cause. My wife and I then doubled down on the funds and went to our local climbing shop to purchase new gear for a total of almost $200! So now we are sitting on a little treasure trove of goodies and I would like to give them away, shipping included!

Here is the deal. Nominate someone to receive the gear and tell me why they love the outdoors. You cannot nominate yourself. They don’t need to be a member of MP. Someone you know who comes out on every trip in rentals or borrowed gear or even the sad gear they have had the whole time you’ve known them. We all know someone who could use a little bit of booty. You cannot nominate yourself.

The contest runs from posting time to midnight New Year’s Eve Las Vegas NV timewith the winner being picked on New Year’s Day! You can comment or pm if you would rather your nominee be private.

Please know that this whole event is thrown out of love and respect for our community and has no hook or catch. My hope is this will encourage more members to continue to steward in new arrivals and share the love of this selfish, masochistic, artistic, poetic, and just down right beautiful sport with nuts just like us. Cheers everyone. Have fun!

Well this is adorable

How cool Kyle

I nominate my friend Ry. He is from Wisconsin and never been exposed to climbing. He sees my Instagram posts and asked me to take him climbing when he came out west. 2 days ago I took him to Red Rocks, and he made his way up a 5.9. He smiled from ear to ear and asked when we could go again. 

That night he was eating dinner , looking at his phone and he found some used gear on Facebook Marketplace. He went today and picked it up, he was in the right place at the right time and scored some size 13 shoes that were pretty much brand new to start off his new hobby. We will be putting off the work that we are supposed to be doing this week and climbing instead. When asked how he liked climbing, he said "well, it showed me that I could do stuff I never thought I would be able to"...and to me this is why we climb, to learn that we are indeed capable of doing more than we ever thought we could.

He could use this welcome package for sure!

I nominate my friend CJ Hunter for that headlight,

He recently moved to Asheville NC, from Gainesville GA, and before that, we both lived east of Orlando, Florida. So, he gets to explore mountains now, and is super hype about it. He is 26 with an amazing 10 year old girl that he absolutely loves taking out in nature. Having a kid at such a young age was hard for making a prosperous future, and we were really shitty people for awhile too, which adds to the struggle. So, he doesn't exactly have great gear because he is a good man that prioritizes family. He doesn't go climbing outside other than when I take him out, but he is literally taking his little girl out hiking and exploring every chance he gets. He also really loves rock climbing and his daughter also is super stoked to start as well (after watching us do our thing the other day). He did a 5.10 route outdoors on his second ever trip climbing. That headlamp is better than his flashlights lol and I believe he would be very grateful to let his daughter use it instead of holding a flashlight while scrambling around. 

I don't really care to ask for anything other than the headlamp because I'm totally cool with supplying all the gear for climbing. The other gear would be better off for someone else since he has no shoes or harness anyways. The headlamp would be great for all of his outdoor adventures with rheine(his daughter)

Kyle, this is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate act, and actions like this give me hope that better days are to come for humanity although the world seems to be shrouded in darkness with the current state of society. Thank you for your contribution to the community, your emphasis on stewardship, and your understanding that this lifestyle/hobby/sport/mediation is inherently selfish and therefore we all should do more to give back to our local community, climbing community, and most importantly Mother Earth. You have my sincere gratitude and I am invigorated to come up with other ways to give back. May peace, prosperity, and joy follow you into the new year, the best year humanity will have this side of the new millennium. 

My climbing buddy Clayton could definitely use a lil booty, right now he’s been using an old rack of chocks and nuts and he’s kinda losing touch with the sport, some new booty would be the perfect thing to get him hyped again

I nominate my buddy Chris. He became my consistent partner last December, and started going out sport and trad climbing with me. This June, I took a 30 ft groundfall because some gear ripped, and shattered my spine into a bunch of pieces. Chris was there comforting me the entire time, and making sure I wasn’t going into shock or panicking. He also called the rescue team, and made sure to get all of my gear and my car home safe. He was such a huge support for me, especially when I was alone in the hospital for two weeks due to COVID restrictions, and there’s no possible way that I’ll ever be able to repay him for how much he helped me. Also, he’s just a super great dude who truly loves being outside, whether it be camping, hiking, climbing, or anything else I can drag him into. He  also only owns shoes, a harness, an atc, and a chalk bag, and climbs on my gear, so I think that makes him a good candidate for this.

Edit to add my full diagnosis: broken L1, L2, L4, L5, cracked hip, radial fracture in my left arm, and a shattered (into 15 or 16 pieces) sacrum (chris saved me from a wheelchair!)

This is such a cool and thoughtful idea, I love it. I would love to nominate my brother Josh. When I moved back home temporarily I got into climbing to stay active and make friends. It was hard to find a consistent partner so I started inviting my older brother along with me. We were not very close in high school and I left right after I graduated and moved to a different state. Through climbing, we were able to strengthen/rebuild our relationship that we had ignored over the past few years. When I brought him to the gym for the first time he was struggling to make it up 5.7 and 5.8 routes but he NEVER quit or got discouraged, I usually had to drag him out of the gym because I was so burnt out. Now, he is easily flashing 5.11 routes and just got lead certified at his local gym. He is a healthcare worker so COVID has impacted his climbing time but he still finds ways to get outside, do strength training, and constantly progress as a climber. I would love to throw his name out there because he is such a selfless and hard working dude and would be STOKED to finally have some gear to use that isnt borrowed or second hand. Again, this is a killer idea and it warms my heart to see the outdoor community taking care of their own like this. 

Wonderful nominations everyone. Day one was a success. I’m looking forward to all the nominations to come. Evening bump 

Mid day bump.

Dave K wrote:

I admire the effort but the last thing a new climber needs is a belay glove.

r/ choosingbeggar. I use belay gloves for raps, but that’s just me.

Dave K wrote:

You seem to be confused about what a choosing beggar is.

I give old gear to new climbers all the time. Harnesses, shoes, belay devices. I've got a few old tuber devices and lots of old biners laying around if anybody wants them. Those are something a new climber actually needs.

Belay gloves aren't necessary except in very uncommon circumstances (potential FF2 using a tuber device) or aiding. Otherwise they are a marketing gimmick. Never understood why they've gone from never-seen to people using them religiously for top roping. Climbers don't want to get their hands dirty?

If someone wants to get into climbing and and thinks they can't afford it, probably the best thing you can do to help them is explain what they actually need, and don't need.

For example, everyone already has some kind of backpack. You can use your book bag from the 11th grade. You don't really even need a backpack... I've seen families on serious backpacking routes in Patagonia carrying their gear in shopping bags.

What you need to get started in climbing is minimal gear and the right attitude. Part of the right attitude is understanding you don't need most of the stuff that the industry is trying to sell. Don't ever believe that you can't do something because you don't have the gear. Understand that part of the fun is finding a way with the gear you have.

What's the goal of this giveaway, to actually get people into climbing or to just buy shit that's nice to have but totally unnecessary? It would be better to give a disadvantaged climber $30 for gas money than belay gloves, because their biggest obstacle is probably getting to the crag.

Dave I completely understand your opinion and respect your position. I do kindly ask you to take these responses to a private message and leave the thread open for people to nominate people if they so choose. Thank you

I nominate my friend, co-worker and MP member Hunter Miskey. He has had a rough past few years and just recently got involved with the greatness that is the outdoors. With every few paycheck Hunter is adding new outdoor gear to his arsenal as he is saving up for a vehicle. What started as a day hikes out in nature, now has turned into backpacking trips and a fascination to get into climbing. 

Any gear to him would be greatly appreciated! 

Lunch time bump

I nominate Hunter Miskey as well. Being inspired by the sight of Mt. Hood Hunter has decided to completely turn his life around. 6 months ago I took Hunter on a barefoot walk into Forest Park , since then he has backpacked in the North Cascades , summited Mt. Defiance , day hiked into Mt. Adams, sport climbed at Broughtons Bluff, bouldered at Carver, quit drinking , quit smoking , and has completely reshaped his diet. His goal is to summit Mt. Hood in 2021 and I think this gear would go a long way for him. Thank you Kyle for your generous post and the testimonials it has inspired !

December 30th bump

Bump dos of the day. 

Final day for submissions bump! Submissions close at 12am Jan 01/21 Las Vegas time (midnight). Winner will be picked tomorrow morning. 

6 hrs to go! 

Closed. Thank you to everyone who participated. The winner will be notified later today via email. I really do appreciate you all. 

Good Morning and Happy New Year! After careful review of all the submissions my wife and I have selected and emailed the winner of this little gear giveaway.

Thank you again to everyone who participated. These stories encouraged and inspired me. I had fun hosting this event and may do it again in the future. As for right now though I’m going to just enjoy the good weather. Remember this, “the key to change is within us all” 

Cheers