Y'all use way too much chalk

Garden of the Gods bans chalk

According to the article, they had already banned chalk before so what's the news? Chalk alternatives? WTF is that?

Long Rangerwrote:

Chalk alternatives? WTF is that?

my guess is liquid chalk...

Dan Daugherty wrote:

I agree. 

BTW, there's already a thread on this: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/120400850/chalk-bans

thanks i was looking for that. i didn't see anything so i posted this.

Per the regulations, 

"The use of chalk (calcium carbonate) in conjunction with technical climbing and bouldering is prohibited.  A chalk substitute that does not discolor the rock may be used at Red Rock Canyon, Cheyenne Canyon and Ute Valley Park. Climbing chalk or chalk substitute of any color is prohibited while climbing at Garden of the Gods Park."

They used to sell red colored chalk at the visitor center I think, however the routes are dusty and sandy enough to basically chalk you up as you climb.

At Garden of the Gods and Red Rocks (COS) I am all for this (living 5 min from both), these are NOT climbing destinations (crumbly, soft rock), so I am happy that climbing is allowed and happy to not use chalk.  

"Chalk substitute" is probably somebody writing this regulation who didn't know what they are talking about but wanted to cover the basis that you just use nothing.

James Mwrote:

Per the regulations, 

"The use of chalk (calcium carbonate) in conjunction with technical climbing and bouldering is prohibited.  A chalk substitute that does not discolor the rock may be used at Red Rock Canyon, Cheyenne Canyon and Ute Valley Park. Climbing chalk or chalk substitute of any color is prohibited while climbing at Garden of the Gods Park."

They used to sell red colored chalk at the visitor center I think, however the routes are dusty and sandy enough to basically chalk you up as you climb.

At Garden of the Gods and Red Rocks (COS) I am all for this (living 5 min from both), these are NOT climbing destinations (crumbly, soft rock), so I am happy that climbing is allowed and happy to not use chalk.  

"Chalk substitute" is probably somebody writing this regulation who didn't know what they are talking about but wanted to cover the basis that you just use nothing.

A "chalk substitute" is a resin ball, Bison used to sell them.

It's true. Most of y'all use too much chalk.

Carolinawrote:

It's true. Most of y'all use too much chalk.

Yup. Just look at any Magnus Midtbo video.

No body cares about rules.

When I climbed at GOG in 2019, the ban was already in place. I was confused to see this article come up because I remembered climbing there without chalk. And like James said, I remember the red rock formation sandstone basically coming apart in my hands - it almost becomes chalk. I'm surprised they still allow climbing here with the popularity of the area and the seemingly delicate nature of the sandstone there. Hopefully, people respect this and we'll still be allowed to climb there. Nothing like have 150 people watch me sweat out a slippery 5.7 with 3 rusty pitons for pro...

The last part of this article is hilarious - "One other technique often used to dry hands is a quick pat on the back of the pant in lieu of reaching for the chalk bag. It works surprisingly well and keeps the rock wall looking natural." haha

Also, you need an annual permit to climb anywhere around CS?  wild.

I don't think anybody cares about rules

liquid chalk is basically just hand sanitizer.  Let's see them try to stop me from hauling purell up the wall. 

Doug Simpsonwrote:

"Nothing like have 150 people watch me sweat out a slippery 5.7 with 3 rusty pitons for pro..."

Little kid "Wait mom, I wanna see if that guy falls and dies"

Pretty much sums up the climbing at GOG^