We all want to get back at it, maybe salvage some of the spring season before the east coast goes full sauna with humidity so thick you can swim through it.  Some gyms are opening with modified rules such as facility capacity limits and blocked out time.  Local recreation areas and parks have opened with a car limit and the land managers are doing their very best to make sure everyone stays safe and has the necessary sanitation resources available.  This is not true for every state or region, so please follow the guidelines for access set by your local area.  Also, you may want to read this ARTICLE from Climbing Magazine about returning to your gym so quickly, even if it is open.  As such, I will be writing from the point for the outdoor oriented.  It was a very short back and forth with Justin that spurred this idea, but sometimes we all need a reminder that returning to the sport needs to be done with some caution.

Something many of us might have done was leave our gear packed up from the last trip, ready to go out again only to be told to stay home the following weekend.  Did you ever unpack?  Is your rope still damp and dirty?  Has your Nalgene or Camelback become a science experiment?  You had all the time in the world to lube up your sticky cams and now they’re frozen with grime from sitting in a puddle in your garage.  Or maybe you snagged your friend’s quickdraws, or vice versa, thinking you would see each other soon and now you don’t know where anything is.  This one seems like a no brainer, but it is often the one that is easist to put off until tomorrow, until tomorrow is today and you should have sorted your gear yesterday.  If your gear needs cleaning, either from neglect or from possible COVID-19 contact, Metolius climbing gave us a friendly reminder to their page about how to clean gear properly HERE.

Hey, I’m proud of all of you that decided to take the time to train appropriately and get stronger/maintain strength or to let your body heal.  Seriously, that takes dedication and even with an over-abundance of time indoors, it can be easy to make excuses, like when all of your favorite climbing films have been uploaded to Youtube for free (have seen the reviews?).  Still, don’t squander your hard earned health and fitness by running up to your project to say hello.  Yes, I’m sure it’s been dreaming about you too, but one more weekend isn’t going to kill you.  And if you haven’t done anything, this message is especially for you.  Become re-acclimated to moving vertically and how to engage your footwork after countless pull-ups on the hangboard and 12oz. curls.  Two months is plenty of time for previously conquered fears of falling to return, or for you to bobble a clip or placement.  It’s also plenty of time to lose your tough skin and have some tender tips after day one.  Think of it as an extended warm-up.  Get your head on straight, set your skills back to automatic, and just enjoy not being cooped up for the day.  Going too hard too fast has a way of leaving your frustrated, if not injured.  As Tom Cecil says, “go slow to go fast.”

Now that you have worked out the kinks and shook off the cobwebs, return to your previous test pieces.  We all have favorite lines and personal benchmarks that we used to judge our strength and skills.  Climbing these can give you a decent indication to how you fared through your shelter-in-place orders.  Did you fire through moves that previously felt hard or did you get shut down by something that should be a warm-up?  I guarantee the gym has been busy to set new routes and problems for you as a big welcome back, but who knows how accurate their grades may be.  To paraphrase Justin, “the gym is likely to be all over the place, but [the boulders] aren’t going to change.”  But whether it is a gym or outdoor adventure that gets you out of the house, climb what you know before zeroing in for that mega-proj takedown.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, please be respectful of the policies that are still in effect for your region and climbing area.  The SCC along with Access Fund have worked together to create this nifty infographic to help keep you and yours safe while climbing during COVID-19.  If you did not get to attend the webinar on Thursday, May 14th, then a recording of the talk is also available HERE.

Continue to practice social distancing as you cross paths with other parties.  Wash your damn hands.  And if you are coughing all over the holds, so help me I will short rope you and send you home because now no one can do this route.  But if someone needs a spot, get in there and keep them from breaking themselves, just make sure to share a shot of Purell when you’re done.  Elbow bump for victory.  If someone is on the route you want, give them some space and wait to start stacking your rope until they have moved on.  And, as I have seen countless posts over the last week, this is not when you should start setting anchors alone for the first time or jumping into rope soloing to maintain a 6 foot distance because you spent your quarantine watching videos.  Nothing beats the hands-on learning with a mentor or experienced individual, and the thing we are still trying to avoid is the the whole “hands-on” part.  Wait to learn with proper instruction when the time is right.  That’s a play-it-safe double whammy.

5. Have Fun!

Just like all of you, I’m happy to start getting back to the sport I love.  If we all do it right and considerately, then maybe I can give you a fist bump and a hug in the fall.  We all want to pick up right where we left off, but the whole point of climbing is to enjoy yourself and your company.  You don’t have to worry about sending or complain about how you missed the best conditions.  Just appreciate that you can be out at all, and give your local stone a hug, because remember, “it’s not just a boulder, it’s a rock.”

I missed you too, buddy…*sniff*