The Science of the Chicken Wing

The Science of the Chicken Wing

Why it Happens and is it Bad for You?

Article by Dr. Evan Ingerson of Mend Physical Therapy

“Chicken-winging” is a movement that every climber experiences. It is defined as a pattern of movement where the elbows raise to the sides instead of being tucked down closer to the chest. This compensation shows up when we’re fatigued and climbing near our limit. We all get told to avoid this position but many of us do not understand why it happens and if it’s truly bad for you. This article will discuss the causes of chicken winging, how it can negatively stress the tissues in our bodies, and give you ways to prevent and avoid chicken winging.

There are two main reasons climbers chicken-wing:

1. Fatigue/weakness in the finger flexors

2. Fatigue/weakness of the scapular retractor muscles.

Let’s talk about the fingers first. Chicken winging from finger fatigue occurs most commonly when we get pumped while sport climbing. The finger flexors are the single most important muscle group for climbing performance. Our fingers inevitably fatigue as we continue to climb or boulder near our limit so our body will start to pull from different areas of the body to get whatever other strength is available. One way to slightly improve the function of the finger flexors is to increase the engagement of the finger extensors.

Try this on your own: while keeping your fingers relaxed, cock your wrist backward (toward the back of the hand). You will see that your fingers curl slightly (especially if you have tight forearms!). The technical term for this is tenodesis and that little extra curl of the fingers can assist in crimping and can sometimes be the difference between sending and falling.

So is it bad for you? This position can change the direction of force on the fingers and can put undue stress on the wrist, fingers, elbow and shoulder. But occasionally using a chicken wing doesn’t necessarily put you at injury risk. According to many studies repetitive stress (overuse) injuries account for up to 85% of all climbing-related injuries. What you’ll want to avoid is repeatedly using the chicken wing position every time you climb as this repetitive stress can lead to injuries. Common overuse injuries that occur from climbing with this movement pattern are medial epicondylalgia and lateral epicondylalgia and can also lead to wrist pain.

Mend Recommendation

Improve the strength and fitness of your fingers flexors using a hangboard and regimented training program which will allow you to climb harder, longer without needing to chicken-wing. Do your best to avoid the chicken-wing position while climbing, but it is ok to use in moderation.

Many hangboard protocols, such as “Max Hangs” and “Repeaters” have been shown in the literature to improve finger strength/endurance and climbing performance. Here are two hangboarding protocols you can try to help improve your finger strength or endurance.

Max Hang Protocol (better for improving strength and also power):

Repeaters Protocol (better for improving endurance and also strength):

Now let’s talk about the shoulder. Chicken winging originating at the shoulder occurs most commonly while bouldering or trying a single or multiple difficult moves at your limit. The primary stabilizer muscles of the scapula during climbing are the upper/middle/lower trapezius and rhomboids, while the primary stabilizers of the shoulder joint are the rotator cuff muscles. When these muscles are strong and not fatigued, they work to maintain the scapula and glenohumeral joint in an optimal position while climbing. As these muscles get fatigued our bodies often compensate by increasing the utilization of the upper trapezius, levator scapula, and deltoid muscles. When this happens the elbows elevate and the chicken-winging begins!

The chicken-wing position can be aggravating to some climbers with shoulder pathology. Shoulder abduction or flexion with combined internal rotation (which is the exact position of the chicken wing) causes compression of the supraspinatus muscle in the subacromial space. In some cases this can lead to rotator cuff tendinopathy and/or shoulder impingement syndrome and this movement pattern is often seen in climbers with biceps tendinopathy. If you develop chronic tendon pain it can be particularly difficult to rehabilitate so prevention is key.

If your chicken winging pattern originates at your shoulder it is more likely to cause injury than if your pattern originates from the fingers. Once again, the occasional chicken wing while pulling a hard move is not likely to cause injury, but repetitive stress on shoulder structures with this movement pattern is likely to lead to pain and injury.

Mend Recommendation

Strengthen the muscles of the rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers (primarily middle and lower trapezius) to allow you to climb harder, longer without needing to chicken-wing. Do your best to avoid repetitive stresses of the shoulder in this position while climbing. If you find yourself needing to chicken wing to pull a hard move, it is recommended that you avoid continuing to attempt that move. Go hit the weight room and get those shoulders stronger!

Here are the top 4 exercises (3 for the shoulder and one for the wrist) to help strengthen the muscles that prevent chicken winging.

If you are interested in learning more about how to improve your climbing movement and how it could help you with injury prevention or recovery from a current climbing injury please contact Dr. Evan Ingerson at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder at Evan@mendcolorado.com. Mend is a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic that treats all body regions and people of all athletic abilities, with a specialty in rock climbers and return to climbing programs.

Mend is committed to the health of climbers and our climbing areas and shares the vision of the Boulder Climbing Community. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Looking for more evidence-based content specifically for climbers? Visit the Mend rock climbing blog, the physical therapy for rock climbers home page, and you can sign up for monthly newsletters to receive the latest evidence-based content about climbing injury prevention, treatment, and training.

How to Safely Return to Climbing After Injury or Time Away

An evidence-based, systematic approach to prevent injury when returning to climbing

Article by Dr. Evan Ingerson, DPT of Mend Physical Therapy, Supporting sponsor of the BCC

Returning to rock climbing after an injury or an extended break from the sport can be challenging. Many climbers do too much too quickly and end up re-aggravating their previous injury or causing a new one. While it may seem obvious to “go slow” and return to climbing “gradually”, there is little to no guidance as to the specifics for an appropriate return-to-climbing protocol.

Let’s be honest, sports like running, cycling, and swimming have it easy. It is simple and effective to track speed and mileage and gradually progress over time as these athletes return to full training capacity. Climbing has a lot more complexity when it comes to measuring difficulty and volume.

Something that makes this extra challenging is that we often can’t appreciate how strenuous a workout was until the day afterward, making it difficult to make appropriate adjustments within your climbing session. Using the evidence-based “soreness rules”, as defined by the University of Delaware, we can create a structured protocol to give us clear guidelines for returning to climbing. The soreness rules have been used widely in clinical practice for athletes with upper body and lower body injuries.

Use the following evidence-based guidelines to safely return to rock climbing after an injury or after taking a few months off of climbing. The guidelines utilize ranges so use your best judgment as to whether to progress more conservatively or more aggressively.

Soreness is defined by soreness in either muscles/tendons or joints.

The next question is: how do you know what constitutes 10% or 25%. For this we can use the number of climbs and the difficulty of climbs. This of course must come with the caveat that climbing grades are subjective and you must consider all aspects of the climb as it pertains to the stresses on your body. For example, a technical and balancy 5.11c might be less stress on your shoulder joint than an overhanging 5.10d. Once again, use your best judgment and if you overshoot it one day, that’s ok. Simply readjust your volume/difficulty during the next session based on the soreness rules above.

Use the following “point-system” to guide the overall time-under-tension of your tissues.

For bouldering, it’s much easier:

Add up the number of points in the session based on how many pitches/boulders you completed. Then you can use this score as a benchmark to progress/regress your return to climbing program.

Here are some examples:

These progressions can seem painfully slow for many who are used to jumping right back into climbing, but if the goal is to prevent injury and to be able to climb more sustainably it is recommended that you follow these guidelines.

There is significant evidence to support the fact that building tissue capacity is the best way to prevent injuries in athletes.

A gradual, structured return to climbing program, in addition to a strengthening program, is the best way to build tissue capacity in a safe way. We know that true strength gains (caused by physiological restructuring of our muscles) take a minimum of 6 weeks to develop. As we return to climbing we will start to see fast gains as a result of neurological adaptation which is the process by which our neuromuscular system improves the efficiency of muscle recruitment and coordination. This can disguise itself as true strength gains, but it is only one small part of improving our tissue capacity.

As the sport of rock climbing gains legitimacy on the national stage, it’s time for us to start thinking about this sport in the same way other athletes view their sport. We need to be structured and evidence-based to make sure we are climbing stronger and longer!

If you have more questions about your return to climbing progression, email Dr. Evan Ingerson at evan@mendcolorado.com. Or to get a return to climbing program specified to your exact needs, schedule an evaluation with the rock climbing rehab specialists at Mend. Our doctors of physical therapy are located in Boulder and Lafayette, Colorado and are specialty trained in orthopedics and strength and conditioning. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Don’t forget to check out the other resources on the Boulder Climbing Community blog. There are articles written specifically for rock climbers about how hip dysfunction can cause shoulder pain, if it’s safe to climb while pregnant, and strength training for climbers.

BCC's 5th Annual Soirée

Tickets are on sale now for our annual Soirée held on Thursday, November 3rd at Rembrandt in Boulder. Come join us for an evening of celebration, connection, and revelry as we raise funds for crucial Front Range climbing stewardship projects.

Visit the Soirée page for more details and to purchase tickets - we are extremely limited on tickets so get yours now before they are all gone!

The Pelvic Floor: The Frequently Overlooked Limiter of Climbing Performance

Article by By Dr. Heather Fraebel of Mend Physical Therapy

“In the end, climbing was one of the only things my body felt good doing for the entirety of my pregnancy, and I climbed throughout, enjoying my final pregnant climbing session just 12 hours before going into labor.”

–Angie Payne

What is the Pelvic Floor?

The oft overlooked muscle group of the ‘core’, the pelvic floor muscles, which make up the bottom boundary of the ‘core’, play a huge role in providing the lumbopelvic stability needed to climb. 

(while genitalia may differ, we all have the same musculature!)

As you can see, the pelvic floor is an intricate network of muscles attaching on the coccyx, sacrum, pubic bone, and hips that supports the bladder, uterus or prostate, and rectum and houses the sphincters controlling our urethra, anus, and vaginal canal or penile shaft. Unlike other muscles in the body, when something goes wrong with the pelvic floor, the symptoms aren’t as simple as a sore muscle. Rather, pelvic floor dysfunction can often present with a wide range of symptoms including: pain with sex, frequent urination, increased urinary urgency, frequent UTIs, pain with urination, urinary incontinence, vaginal burning, erectile dysfunction, constipation, pubic pain, hip pain, low back pain, etc etc.

How Do We Use Our Pelvic Floor While Climbing?

Pelvic floor muscle function is crucial to climbing performance and one wouldn't be able to generate proper core tension without it. The pelvic floor works in the system that is our ‘core’. No muscle works in isolation so when abdominal muscles, low back muscles, and hip muscles are activated, the pelvic floor muscles are also activated.

Think of the quick tightening that results if your foot slips when climbing: pelvic floor activating.

Think of the grip you get between your sitz bones with a heel hook: pelvic floor activating.

Think about the quick burst of tension on a dynamic move: pelvic floor activating.

Our pelvic floor provides essential stability while climbing which is what it is meant to do, but when those muscles either begin working over time or begin slacking off, dysfunction arises.

The two broad categories of climbers who need pelvic floor help:

1. Climbers with overactive pelvic floors

2. Pregnant or postpartum climbers

An Overactive Pelvic Floor 

Through clinical experience, this is an unacknowledged and rampant issue in the climbing world. Time and time again a climber will present in clinic with symptoms of painful sex, erectile dysfunction, frequent and urgent urination, even incontinence (that’s right, peeing your pants or leaking is not always a weakness issue but can be an overuse issue), etc and upon exam we discover tight and hypertonic pelvic floor muscles that don’t know how to relax.

For a simple analogy, imagine walking around all day with your bicep clenched and your elbow bent. That muscle is not going to be happy going around tightened up all day long and is definitely not functioning in the way it is meant to. Just like the bicep, the pelvic floor is not happy when it is clenched all the time. Tension in these muscles translates to increased pressure on the bladder, increased irritation on pelvic floor nerves (that control urination and relay sensory information during sex), decreased muscular blood flow, and increased superficial nerve sensitivity (think burning sensations).

So what do we do with this in physical therapy? 

1. To say this now to get it over with: NOT KEGELS. Kegels are rarely ever the answer for pelvic floor dysfunctions and especially not for overactive pelvic floor conditions, don’t let Google tell you otherwise!

2. Optimizing breathing to stretch and relax the pelvic floor muscles(see video below)

3. Education on how to relax those muscles when they should relax during activity (image below

4. Internal and external manual therapy techniques to release tension in pelvic floor muscles to teach your nervous system to stop clenching them

Before making the next move and while stationary, could you first inhale and feel your pelvic floor relax here? That would reset the muscle to allow it to have most strength potential during the move.

As many climbers ask me, no, decreasing tension in these muscles will not make them any weaker and will not decrease your core strength. If anything, releasing tension in these muscles will increase their strength and proper function. Think back to the bicep, a clenched and fatigued bicep is not going to have as much strength to provide.

“For many years I've suffered from pelvic pain that has effected my period, sex life and sometimes even everyday activities. I discovered through treatment that this was largely caused by holding stress in my pelvic floor muscles much like migraines can arise from stress held in neck muscles. Twenty years of climbing have made me good at creating and holding tension in my core, but I never consciously learned to release the tension again. To do so through pelvic PT has been a life changing experience.”

-Rannveig Aamodt 

Pregnant and Postpartum Climbers

In a totally different category, pelvic health physical therapy treats pregnant and postpartum people who are concerned with how those states of life impact climbing. Can I climb while pregnant? Heck yes! (*the one caveat to mention is that bouldering is not recommended in ANY stage of pregnancy due to the risk of impact involved*) Top roping and to some extent lead climbing are fair game from week 1 to week 40 of pregnancy.

In consulting Google regarding activity during pregnancy, much fear based advice will pop up like avoiding core exercises, running, lifting…everything needed to keep a pregnant woman strong. Evidence supports that it is more dangerous to have women stop all exercise while pregnant than it ever would be to do a plank while pregnant.

Climbing could actually be very beneficial while pregnant to stay strong and also to help strengthen core muscles that actually help pop a baby out! In fact, many climbers actually feel stronger than ever returning postpartum when having climbed through pregnancy because it is essentially climbing with a 20-40lb weighted vest!

Tips for pregnant and postpartum climbers:

1. Watch for coning and try to correct it with using your transverse abdominis (see video below about how to engage your transverse abdominis)

   • Coning is a term to describe the visible midline abdominal bulge that can result during pregnancy or postpartum when there is a weakness at the linea alba and a separation of the rectus abdominal muscles.

2. Exhale on exertion: during exertion, there is an increase in pressure of the intraabdominal cavity and if the abdomen or pelvic floor are weak due to pregnancy or after child birth, those regions will be most susceptible to excess pressure and potential dysfunction like incontinence or diastasis recti. Exhaling during the biggest exertion while climbing (think a dyno, heel hook, etc.) can help eliminate that extra intra abdominal pressure.

Think EXHALE and engaging the transverse abdominis BEFORE making this move

3. See a pelvic physical therapist if you are leaking or have pain in at the low back, hips, pubic symphysis, etc.  while climbing.

All pregnant and postpartum climbers should get the advice of a pelvic health physical therapist to get a comprehensive evaluation to understand their individual needs.

“As someone who is normally quite active, I had no idea how pregnancy would affect my life. When I learned that I was pregnant I immediately became worried about how hard to push my body. I was scared to engage my core at all, and wasn’t sure how much climbing I would be able to do. Seeing Heather was a game-changer for my pregnancy, as she encouraged me to remain active and to keep climbing and helped me gauge what my body (and specifically my core) was still capable of through the various stages of pregnancy. The exercises and knowledge she shared were pivotal in keeping me and my pelvic floor as healthy as possible while remaining active for all 39.5 weeks. In the end, climbing was one of the only things my body felt good doing for the entirety of my pregnancy, and I climbed throughout, enjoying my final pregnant climbing session just 12 hours before going into labor.”

–Angie Payne

---

If you are interested in learning more about how the pelvic floor comes into play with climbing and how physical therapy could help you with pelvic floor dysfunction, please contact Dr. Heather Fraebel at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder at heather@mendcolorado.com . Mend is a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic that treats all body regions and people of all athletic abilities, with a specialty in pelvic health.

Mend is committed to the health of climbers and our climbing areas and shares the vision of the Boulder Climbing Community. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Looking for more evidence-based content specifically regarding pelvic health? Visit the Mend pelvic health blog and the physical therapy for female pelvic health or male pelvic health home page.

Let's Celebrate: 671 Bolts and Finished Trail at Upper Dream

671 Bolts

• 77 at Avalon

• 268 in Boulder Canyon

• 110 at Ironsides (Allenspark)

• 78 in Clear Creek

• 2 in Eldorado Canyon State Park

• 181 in Estes Park

• 18 North Table Mountain

Anchor Replacement Volunteers rebolting Strange Science and other favorites at Avalon.

Photo by Zach Joing

At the BCC we like hitting our goals. But, this time we have outdone ourselves; our success means we need a reinfusion of supplies and stoke to keep the momentum going. 

We like to deliver. After we replaced 500+ bolts in 2021, we thought, “We can do 600 in 2022.” Well that was an underestimate. We have replaced over 600 bolts and we still have  2 months left in the rebolting season! We are blown away and now we have a bit of a problem: We are going to need to buy some more bolts to keep the good work happening. 

So far this year we have replaced bolts in Boulder Canyon: Avalon, Bowling Alley, Upper Animal World, Sport Park; Clear Creek Canyon: Primo Wall, Upper Capitalist Crag; Eldorado Canyon State Park: Redgarden; Ironsides; and Estes Park: Needle, Thumb and Jurassic Park. Some of your favorite climbs received special care from our rebolting volunteers: Strange Science at Avalon, Animation and Animal Magnetism at Animal World (both in Boulder Canyon), Quartz Sports (Clear Creek), and Edge of Time at Jurassic Park (Estes Park Valley).

Not to be outshined, BCC's trail crew spent 11 weeks working in Boulder Canyon at Avalon and Upper Dream Canyon this season. BCC continued constructing new trail and belay areas at the Middle Tier in Avalon and finished off the work in Boulder Canyon by constructing their most impressive stone structure to date at Upper Dream Canyon. The new approach to the Oceanic Wall at Upper Dream Canyon trail is the culmination of 4 years of work performed by BCC. In total, 2,384 trail crew staff hours and 603 volunteer hours went into building this trail. If you have not been down there yet to check it out, we hope you get out there soon! While you are at it check out the finished trail up at Castle Rock Overlook (the trail you would take to Mountain Rose and Frisky Cliff).

😍 Quite the staircase at Upper Dream Canyon! After 4-Years of work by the trail crew and volunteers the trail is done.

BCC's trail crew is now working in the South Platte until the end of September, finishing the Cynical Pinnacle reroute at Cathedral Spires before heading to Staunton State Park to do some much-needed trail and belay pad construction at the Dungeon. Our crew will then finish off the 2022 trail season with some work above Dinosaur Rock on the Mallory Cave Trail in the Flatirons.

On the wag bag front, we have been distributing wag bags like crazy, and put in an additional wag bag dispenser at Upper Dream Canyon. If your friends still don’t know what a wag bag is, we made a super fun educational video. 

Our Advocacy and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) Committees are also thriving. Our DEI Committee supports affinity groups by partnering on stewardship projects. Most recently we partnered with Cruxing in Color on a stewardship day at the Classroom in Staunton. The DEI committee is also implementing best practices in recruitment, and fostering staff and board education. Our Advocacy Committee has dedicated hundreds of hours to weighing in on topics that will affect local climbers and being the voice in the room when decisions are being made. 

Alright, so here is where we need your help: We need to buy more bolts and keep the trail crew rolling. LOCAL CRAGS AIN’T FREE and this campaign is critical for raising the funds to get us through the rest of the stewardship season. 

We already have several excited folks come forward to support the rebolting and Upper Dream projects. Will you join them? 

Be stewardly and get ready to send by supporting the BCC.

Are Your Hips Causing Your Shoulder Pain?

The evidence shows a strong link between leg function and arm injury.

Article by Dr. Evan Ingerson, DPT of Mend Physical Therapy, Supporting sponsor of the BCC

Images courtesy of Mend PT

It may not seem obvious, but weakness in our hips can lead directly to shoulder pain while climbing. Because climbing requires the use of all extremities simultaneously, impairments in one region of the body almost always have a direct impact on the other extremities. One of the most common, but seldom recognized, patterns is the relationship between the shoulder and the opposite side hip.

In this article we’re going to discuss how the hips are used in climbing, the role our hip strength can play in shoulder injuries, and show you how you can test your own hip strength (and how to strengthen your hips if you need it!).
The relationship between opposite side hip and shoulder (example: right hip and left shoulder) has been studied extensively in the overhead athlete literature, particularly in baseball pitchers, javelin throwers, and cross fitters. Research has shown a clear and consistent link between hip weakness and the development of impingement, rotator cuff, and labrum injuries in overhead athletes.¹ ² ³ The commonalities between these sports and rock climbing is that all require generating power through our upper bodies by leveraging stability through the lower extremities on a fixed surface.

One way movement experts think about the relationship between different body regions is using the term “chains”. These are groups of muscles that are neurologically and anatomically linked and are key to climbing performance and climbing rehabilitation.

The lateral chain is made up of the deltoid, external/internal obliques, latissimus dorsi, hip abductors, and peroneal muscles. The hip abductors push the legs outward (away from each other).

The medial chain is made up of the pectoralis major, internal/external obliques, and the hip adductors. The hip adductors pull the legs inward (closer together).

The posterior chain describes basically all of the muscles on the back side of the body and has been written about previously on TrainingBeta. These muscles are the thoracic and lumbar erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and calves.

The anterior chain refers to the muscles on the front side of the body and is the most commonly trained chain among climbers. This includes the pectoralis major, rectus abdominus, hip flexors, quadriceps, and tibialis anterior.

The muscles we’re going to pay the most attention to in this article are the hip abductors and adductors which are part of the lateral and medial chains, respectively.

Here are two very common patterns seen in the clinic:

1. A climber has reached a plateau with their climbing performance, especially with powerful shoulder movements. They’ve been training optimally and effectively strengthening their upper body, but something is missing. Often it is a weakness in the medial or lateral chains.

2. A climber has chronic shoulder pain or finger pain. Their strength is great, range of motion is full, and they’ve done everything their PT has told them to do. But something is missing. With these clients it is common to find significant weakness in the medial or lateral (or both!) chains and this is the underlying impairment causing their continued pain.

Let’s take a look at how the medial and lateral chains are used in climbing, particularly looking at the hip muscles.

When reaching upward while using a gaston or small crimp, notice how the opposite side (left) hip adductors and the same side (right) hip abductors are used to generate stability and power. You can see the same relationship between opposite side hip adductors and same side hip abductors during a side pull or compression movement

Some movements require the use of both adductors simultaneously.

And some movements require the use of both hip abductors simultaneously.

You can think of all the joints and muscles in your body as a big assembly line.

One weak point in the assembly line will force the other parts to work harder to accommodate, leading to increased injury risk. The most common joint to get negatively affected is the shoulder and the elbows and fingers are also commonly affected.

If you’re someone who has been dealing with chronic shoulder, elbow or finger pain, consider assessing your hip strength to see if there are other hidden contributing impairments at play.

For those who are not in pain but have seen a plateau in your climbing performance, try these medial and lateral chain strength tests to see if you could be getting more out of your core to help you get past that cruxy move.

Try this evidence-based test of your hip/core strength.

This is called the Bunkie Test which was designed to test the strength of the different muscular chains of your body.⁴ This is a timed test where the participant holds the position for as long as possible, then compares their times to established expected values as well as comparing the participant’s right to left sides. This test is designed to compare the four primary chains of the body. For the purpose of this article, the most important chains to test are the Lateral and Medial Chains.

Testing procedure:

1. Establish the starting position, making sure you’re using proper form (see below).

2. Hold the position for as long as possible, maintaining proper form throughout.

3. The test ends, and the timer stops, the moment you can no longer maintain the proper position OR if you experience pain that you are uncomfortable pushing through.

4. Record the time for each position on the right and left sides.

Based on the original study the expected score for each test is 40 seconds and a difference of right side compared to left side greater than 10% is considered a significant finding.

Tip from the PT:

The score of 40 seconds was established based on an “active population”, not for climbers specifically. Consider the grade of climbing you do and how much core strength rock climbing requires. Most climbers would benefit from having these scores be greater than 60 seconds at minimum!

Lateral Chain Test: hold your body in a side plank position with one leg on the step and the other leg elevated. Perform on both sides.

The most common mistake is folding at the waist. Make sure you keep your body in a perfectly straight position. Once you’re unable to maintain this perfectly straight position, stop the timer and record your time.

Medial Chain Test: hold your body in a side plank position with your upper leg on the step and the other leg below the step or with the knee bent. Perform on both sides.

Similar to the lateral chain test, the most common mistake is folding at the waist. Make sure you keep your body in a perfectly straight position. Once you’re unable to maintain this perfectly straight position, stop the timer and record your time.

Posterior Chain Test: while propped up on your elbows, use one leg to push your hips upward until your body is in a perfectly straight line. Perform on both sides.

The most common mistake is allowing your hips to lower. Make sure you keep your body in a perfectly straight position. Once you’re unable to maintain this perfectly straight position, stop the timer and record your time.

Anterior Chain Test: perform a forearm plank with one leg on the step and the other leg hovering. Perform on both sides. This test is usually the easiest for climbers because we tend to strengthen our abdominal muscles most frequently in our training.

The most common mistake is allowing your hips to lower. Make sure you keep your body in a perfectly straight position. Once you’re unable to maintain this perfectly straight position, stop the timer and record your time.

Which exercises should I do to help my medial or lateral chain strength?

Extensive research has been done to identify which exercises most effectively target the medial and lateral chains.⁵ ⁶ Based on the literature and carry over to climbing-specific movements, these are the best exercises to target the medial and lateral chains. You’ll notice that they are the same as the testing positions.

Lateral Side Plank:

Level 1: Hold your body in a perfectly straight line with one leg on the step (same as the testing position). Perform 3 sets.

How long should I hold it? Similar to the concept of “reps in reserve” which is explained in a previous article about strength training for climbers, hold this position until your muscles have 5 seconds of strength remaining (5 “seconds in reserve”). Example: if you could possibly hold the position for 45 seconds before giving out or losing form, hold the position for 40 seconds.

Level 2: Hold your body in a perfectly straight line with one leg in a TRX loop. Perform 3 sets. Hold until your muscles have 5 “seconds in reserve”.

Medial Side Plank:

Level 1 (shortened lever position): Hold your body in a perfectly straight line with the top calf on the step and the bottom leg through the step or with the knee bent (same as the testing position). Perform 3 sets. Hold until your muscles have 5 “seconds in reserve”.

Level 2 (long lever position, also called the Copenhagen Plank): Hold your body in a perfectly straight line with the top foot on the step and the bottom leg through the step or with the knee bent. Perform 3 sets. Hold until your muscles have 5 “seconds in reserve”.

Level 3: Hold your body in a perfectly straight line with the top leg in a TRX loop. Perform 3 sets. Hold until your muscles have 5 “seconds in reserve”.

In conclusion, climbing performance and injury prevention are both influenced by hip/core function. If you are having recurrent climbing injuries to your shoulders, elbows, or fingers, consider that your hip/core strength may be playing a role. If you are experiencing a plateau in your climbing performance, maybe it’s your hip or core weakness that is slowing you down. Try the Bunkie Test to see how your core strength stacks up and if you need to strengthen your medial or lateral chains.

If you are interested in learning more about how the hip/core affects climbing movement and how it could help you with injury prevention or recovery from a current climbing injury please contact Dr. Evan Ingerson at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder at Evan@mendcolorado.com. Mend is a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic that treats all body regions and people of all athletic abilities, with a specialty in rock climbers and return to climbing programs.

Mend is committed to the health of climbers and our climbing areas and shares the vision of the Boulder Climbing Community. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Looking for more evidence-based content specifically for climbers? Visit the Mend rock climbing blog, the physical therapy for rock climbers home page, and you can sign up for monthly newsletters to receive the latest evidence-based content about climbing injury prevention, treatment, and training.

References:

Zipser MC, Plummer HA, Kindstrand N, Sum JC, Li B, Michener LA. Hip abduction strength: relationship to trunk and lower extremity motion during a single-leg step-down task in professional baseball players. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(2):342-349.

Robb AJ, Fleisig G, Wilk K, Macrina L, Bolt B, Pajaczkowski J. Passive ranges of motion of the hips and their relationship with pitching biomechanics and ball velocity in professional baseball pitchers. Am J Sports Med. 2010;38(12):2487-2493.

Beckett M, Hannon M, Ropiak C, Gerona C, Mohr K, Limpisvasti O. Clinical assessment of scapula and hip joint function in preadolescent and adolescent baseball players. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(10):2502-2509.

Brumitt J. The bunkie test: descriptive data for a novel test of core muscular endurance. Rehabil Res Pract. 2015;2015:780127.

Boren K, Conrey C, Le Coguic J, Paprocki L, Voight M, Robinson TK. Electromyographic analysis of gluteus medius and gluteus maximus during rehabilitation exercises. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2011;6(3):206-223.

Schaber M, Guiser Z, Brauer L, et al. The neuromuscular effects of the copenhagen adductor exercise: a systematic review. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(5):1210-1221.

Strength Training for Rock Climbers

everything you need to know to avoid injury so you can climber longer, harder

article by Dr. Evan Ingerson of Mend Physical Therapy

Did you know that having a climbing injury makes you 6 times more likely to have a future climbing injury to that same body part?

This makes injury prevention extremely important. 90% of these injuries are overuse in nature and 50% of climbers return to climbing while still in pain.¹ The two most common causes of climbing injuries are sub-optimal form/mechanics and overloading our tissues.

While there are countless ways to modify your form and mechanics, there is only one way to improve tissue capacity - strengthening (aka progressive loading). Muscles, tendons, pulleys, ligaments, and even our skin responds tremendously to progressive loading.

Injury prevention has been studied extensively in the scientific literature and the results couldn’t be more clear. One study in particular by Lauerensen and colleagues² pooled the data from 25 studies including 26,610 participants that compared the three most commonly used forms of injury prevention:

1. Stretching/mobility work

2. Proprioceptive training

3. Strength training.

The results showed that strength training was the clear winner and has been shown to reduce injury risk by as much as 50%! There is nothing better you can do to prevent injury and keep you climbing consistently.

Strength training is all about tissue capacity

All of our tissues have a specific capacity for performance and exceeding this capacity can lead to damage to tissues and injury. If you’ve never done hangboarding before, you could imagine that starting a hangboard session with 50lbs added would exceed your current tissue capacity and likely cause an injury. Likewise, if you have never done a Gaston move, starting with an overhead iron cross Gaston on a hard route would likely exceed the limits of your shoulder structures.

Luckily, our tissues can be trained to tolerate the demands of these movements. Whether it’s a thumbs down iron cross, a closed or full crimp, a campus move, a full drop-knee, or any other move feared by climbers: there are no bad movements, just bad tissue capacity. Starting light and progressively training these movements allows you to perform them perfectly safely.

There is also evidence showing that strength training improves your recovery. This allows you to climb multiple days in a row with less fatigue and less injury risk. The climber’s dream!

Strength training also helps you maintain optimal climbing form/mechanics to further prevent climbing injury risk. An example of this is how you can avoid chicken-winging.

The best way to strength train - lift heavy shit!

We’re climbers and we need to be strong. The weight room and the hangboard are the best ways to progressively overload your tissues. Strength training should be challenging, repetitive, and consistent and is ideally done at the end of your climbing session. Just climbing more and climbing harder are not enough on their own. Continue reading for a description of how to choose the right amount of weight to lift.

Reps and weight - How much should I do?

The current best evidence shows that performing 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps per exercise at 70-90% of your maximum strength.³ Upper body strengthening is best performed 2-3 times per week and lower body strengthening is best performed 3-4 times per week. Strength training takes a minimum of 6 weeks to become effective and many climbers stop before they achieve their best results.

How do I know what 70-90% of my maximum strength is?

As a physical therapist I find that many climbers are performing too high or too low of exercise intensity, leading to plateaus or regression in training or rehab. Luckily there is an easy, evidence-based way to determine exercise intensity. Traditional maximum strength testing can be time consuming and can increase injury risk. Instead I recommend using “reps in reserve” to achieve the ideal exercise intensity.

Reps-in-reserve (RIR) is a way to reverse engineer your maximum strength and is easy and safe for everyone from experienced lifters to beginners. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Choose your exercise (overhead press, push ups, pull ups, deadlift, etc).

2. Choose a weight that you think you could perform 6-12 repetitions of for that exercise.

3. Perform the exercise and monitor how many repetitions you can still perform with proper form, aka reps in reserve.

   1. Ex: Hayden is doing an overhead press. They start with 10 reps at 10lbs on their first set. At the end of their tenth rep, they feel like they could have done two more reps before their shoulders gave out. So, Hayden has two reps in reserve for this exercise and is working at 80% of their max weight.

4. Then you can accurately perform your chosen exercise intensity.

If you complete repetitions to failure, you will have 0 RIR. If you stop when you think you could perform 1 more rep before failure, you have 1 RIR. And so on.

If you are able to perform more than 12 repetitions before reaching your desired RIR: continue that set until you reach your target RIR, then choose a heavier weight for the next set.

If you can’t perform 6 reps while hitting your target RIR, choose a lighter weight for your next set.

It’s a moving target which allows you to adjust based on how you feel that day or how hard your climbing session was.

How do I know how many reps I have in reserve?

It’s subjective, but it’s easier than you think! Most people get really good at judging their RIR with practice. Want to know for sure? Perform one set of the exercise to complete failure and pay attention to how you feel as you approach 0 RIR. This will give you a clear reference point for how you feel at 1, 2, or 3 RIR and usually we under-estimate our RIR.

Don’t let injuries get in the way of your goals - lift!

If you want to prevent climbing injuries and improve your climbing performance, I can’t recommend strength training enough. Many climbers feel uncomfortable in the weight room for the first time, which is totally normal! Don’t let this get in your way. Go with a friend or go at an off time for the gym and get used to using different weights and performing different weight training movements. Then you can join the countless climbers who are reducing their risk of injury and improving their climbing performance with strength training.

Watch the videos below for some of the best evidence-based strengthening exercises for rock climbers.

Book an Appointment

If you are interested in learning more about strength training and how it could help you with injury prevention or recovery from a current climbing injury please contact Dr. Evan Ingerson at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder at Evan@mendcolorado.com. Mend is a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic that treats all body regions and people of all athletic abilities, with a specialty in rock climbers.

Mend is committed to the health of climbers and our climbing areas and shares the vision of the Boulder Climbing Community. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Overhead Press

Plank Rows

Finger Extensions

Front Lever Pull Ups

Shoulder Horizontal Abduction

Shoulder External Rotation at 90 Degrees

Full Video with all 6 Exercises

References:

1. Backe et al. Rock Climbing Injury Rates and Associated Risk Factors in a General Climbing Population. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.

2. Lauersen et al. The Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions to Prevent Sports Injuries: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

3. Ratamess et al. ACSM’s Foundations of Strength Training and Conditioning.

The Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) In 2022: Continuing Momentum And Expanding Volunteer And Rebolting Capacity

April is here and that means it is time for our stewardship season to launch. I am thrilled about what we have planned and the amazing new staff we have to achieve these goals.

As always, our superpower that will allow us to meet our goals this year is our cadre of committed volunteers, who were also critical to our successful stewardship in 2021. Take Jon Cheifitz, for example. 

In December, I had the chance to meet with Jon, a key rebolting volunteer and nominee for our Stewardship Award.  We chatted about rebolting, ideas for future fundraising, and how to deal with the turbulent hiring landscape. During the conversation Jon casually mentioned he planned to replace 100+ bolts single-handedly in 2022 and told me to bump up my rebolting goal based on his plans. This blew my mind. To put it in perspective, this number represents almost one-fifth our rebolting goal for the year. When Jon’s  house burned down during the Marshall Fire, I expected him to call me up and let me know that just wasn’t in the cards anymore. Instead they called us up to let us know that they couldn’t wait to get to work rebolting. He also applied for, and was elected to, the BCC board. 

Meaningful work brings folks like Jon, and numerous other volunteers, back time and time again. It’s what fulfills them. In fact, routinely our volunteer opportunities fill up within minutes. That is why we are committed to increasing our volunteer opportunities by at least 20% in 2022. 

BCC volunteers accomplished huge things in 2021. We want to continue that momentum and level of work in 2022, and grow in a couple of key ways. Before we launch into what the future holds, let's briefly revisit the accomplishments that made 2021 an amazing year for Front Range Climbing stewardship because of the BCC and its volunteers. 

• We added 5 miles of primarily climber approach trails to the Boulder Canyon Trail system. 

• We undertook 7,429+ hours of volunteer work valued at $212,000.

• The BCC replaced 522 bolts along the Front Range, which equals 80 routes, 700 volunteer hours, and 40 newly trained volunteers. 

• We also completed 13 gym kiosks to distribute wags bags and to educate climbers on gym-to-crag principles. 

• Speaking of wag bags, we distributed 3,000 last year. 

• Our trail crew put in 33 weeks of work.

This work is a true community collaboration. We have hundreds of volunteers, some of whom volunteer 100+ hours annually. We absolutely cannot do what we do without support from our community. 

In 2022, we plan to match these accomplishments and grow in a few strategic areas: 

• We plan to increase our bolt replacement by 20%.  

• In June we will start work on a 5-Year Strategic Plan: We know that good stewardship of our organization means good long-term planning. 

• Increase our volunteer capacity by 20%. 

To make these goals a reality and continue at the same level as before, the BCC has added two new roles: a seasonal Anchor Replacement Contractor, which will be filled by long-time volunteer Peter Thomas, and a part-time Operations and Volunteer Coordinator, which will be filled by Alissa Orgel. 

Our veteran trail leader, Ryan Kuehn, will also be stepping into our retooled Stewardship Director role. Frank Barton will be our new Crew Lead and Austin Shaw will be returning in a new role as our Field Coordinator. Dayton Bieber has joined our team as our talented new Marketing Director. 

Our ability to grow in these strategic areas also means ensuring a healthy revenue stream for the BCC. Our Stewardship Kick-Off Campaign, which launches on April 11, is one of three campaigns we run annually to raise critical community-supported funding. This campaign exists for the community to show its support for our organization: 47% of our funding comes directly from the community via donations, events, and memberships.

The BCC benefits from the support of local businesses, national and regional grants, local funding, and individual donations. A donation will be put towards buying supplies and tools to start our season of stewardship, and funding our new Anchor Replacement Coordination and Volunteer Coordinator roles. 

Support our Stewardship Campaign today so that Front Range crags continue to be the best cared for crags in the nation. 

2021 End of Year Report

Read our 2021 End of Year Report here!

Eldorado Canyon Pilot Reservation System Will Likely Go Into Effect on July 1

On Wednesday March 9th, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission expressed support for a pilot timed entry system for Eldo. Those of you who have been following along over the last year may remember that this pilot was proposed in the draft Eldorado Canyon State Park Management Plan. We expect the commission to vote to approve the reservation system in May.

While we are committed to stewarding the crags we love and we appreciate the need to address the impact of increased use in all of our local climbing areas, including Eldo, we did not support the reservation system. However, we understood from the beginning that a pilot system was the likely outcome and we’re pleased that the new system takes into account most of the requests we made. We want to thank park staff for listening to our concerns and working with us to accommodate the unique ways climbers use the park.

There will still be opportunities for us to continue weighing in as the details are hammered out, and we also look forward to being a part of the evaluation of the pilot’s effectiveness at the end of 2023. In the meantime, here’s a round-up of what you need to know: 

• The program will operate from July 1- Sept. 15, 2022, and from May 15 - Sept. 15, 2023.

• Reservations will only be needed for weekends and holidays.

• Reservations only apply to entry by car. Entry by shuttle, bike, or walk-in does not require a reservation.  

• One reservation will cover everyone in the car, but the holder of the reservation must be in the car.

• Each person may hold up to 4 reservations per month. That means you and your climbing partner can hold a total of 8 per month, covering the majority of weekend/holiday days in a month. 

• Reservations permit you to arrive at the park within a two-hour window – for example, between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. – and there is no limit on how long you can stay. 

• 10% of the slots will be made available at 3 p.m. the day before.

• Reservations begin at 5:30 am, and we expect that users will not be allowed to enter before that time, ie, before sunrise.

• Reservations are free, though you still need to pay the usual entry fee.

• Reservations will be made using the Aspira reservation system at CPWshop.com.

That’s it for now. It’s still possible these details could change when the commission votes in May. Stay tuned and we’ll share updates, including when permits will become available, as we have them.

Photo Credit: Rob Kepley

Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest adds 5 miles of climbing access trails in Boulder Canyon

At our Backyard Bivy this past weekend we announced that the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest had decided to “implement a proposal to add approximately 5 miles of access trails to the National Forest Trails Transportation System within Boulder Canyon that lead to existing climbing routes”. This decision memo by the USFS is the culmination of many years of work begun by BCC founder Roger Briggs, JB Habb, BCC staff, board members, and volunteers of the BCC and also represents the next 10+ years of BCC’s efforts to improve climbing access in Boulder Canyon. This is a huge win for the BCC and Boulder climbers and we are excited to detail what this means for the future of climbing in Boulder Canyon. 

When our trail program was founded in 2014, our goal was to provide land management agencies with innovative and effective technical solutions to address the impact that climbers have on their land. Over the years, we have taken on large scale trail work projects on land managed by City of Boulder OSMP, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado State Parks, and the United States Forest Service. 

In Boulder Canyon, if you have enjoyed the sunny climbing at Plotinus Wall in Lower Dream Canyon or the new approach trail to Oceanic Wall and Avalon, you have benefited from the work that BCC performs in this area. These projects have all been multi-year projects, not only for the actual trail work but also for the years of preparation that goes into the project before our trail crew ever puts a tool in the ground. This decision memo by the USFS to recognize climbing access trails in Boulder Canyon not only legitimizes climbers as an active user group in the canyon, but also acknowledges that these trails are necessary to access our sport and will need to be maintained or rebuilt in order to meet USFS standards. This presents the opportunity for the BCC and USFS to partner on applying for large scale grants to help fund future multi-year projects in Boulder Canyon. The BCC hopes that through our unique partnership with the USFS and our trail work at various Boulder Canyon crags, Boulder Canyon can be a model sustainable climbing area that can be replicated throughout the US.

Change In Nighttime Parking Rules On Flagstaff Mountain

3/29/2022: Parking permits are needed to park between 9PM and 5 AM at the following locations:

• Gregory Canyon - Base of Flagstaff Road

• Panorama Point - 1.0 miles up Flagstaff Road

• Crown Rock - 2.2 miles up Flagstaff Road

• Realization Point - 3.4 miles up Flagstaff Road

• Flagstaff Summit - 0.5 miles up Flagstaff Summit Road from Realization Point

• Lost Gulch Overlook - 4.3 miles up Flagstaff Road

• Shoulder parking in designated areas

Under a new Boulder ordinance, beginning December 2, parking along Flagstaff Road (above the turnoff for Gregory Canyon) will only be allowed from 5am - 9pm, rather than the current rule of 5am - 11pm. This change was due to considerable law-breaking behavior along Flagstaff Road, and not due to alleged misbehavior by climbers.

Link to City of Boulder Press Release.

This is only a parking rule. The boulders and other terrain will remain open 24/7, for those willing to park at the base of Flagstaff and hike or bike up/down.

The Good News: The BCC, together with our friends at the Flatirons Climbing Council, worked hard to successfully persuade Open Space staff, Board of Trustees, and Boulder City Council to create an online system that will allow users to obtain a permit to park until 11pm — preserving the same access as before. Open Space staff are working to develop the permit system, but it will not be ready on November 18. We will publicize the timing and logistical details of the system when they are known.

Please comply with the 9pm parking closure (starting December 2nd) and the permit system once it is created (if you want to park until 11pm). This is more than an issue of getting a parking ticket. Open Space staff will review this entire structure in a year. Our ability to persuade Boulder to create the permit system, rather than suffer a total loss of parking access after 9pm, was due in large part to the good relations climbers have developed with this land manager.

To learn more, check out the City of Boulder’s OSMP home page:

Love Our Backyard Bivy Campaign

In 2021, Front Range Crags shined a little bit brighter due to the Boulder Climbing Community ( BCC) and its volunteers.  

The BCC continued to expand their impact by advocating for climbers in Rocky Mountain National Park, Eldorado Canyon State Park, Clear Creek Canyon, Flagstaff Mountain, and beyond, via our newly inaugurated advocacy committee; ensuring climbers maintained access to their favorite crags and were represented in future decisions.

The BCC continued to ensure that local climbers had access to wag bags and porta-potties to keep human waste out of the watershed and preserve the environment. 

With the help of our outreach volunteers we doubled membership again in 2021. 

There were also a huge number of firsts in 2021 for us at the BCC! 

We trained over 40 new rebolting volunteers via our rebolting clinics. By training volunteers we increase our impact by a huge factor: if each volunteer replaces a few routes, that results in hundreds of routes that will be updated and safer. In fact, these newly trained volunteers helped us replace 500 bolts this year! 

Say that again “500 bolts in 2021!”This is a huge achievement for the community, not only this year, but in future years; newly minted volunteers will continue to increase our impact as BCC grows. 

The BCC installed 13 gym kiosks to close the stewardship gap between the gym and crags. 

Our trail program also broke barriers this year. After years in the works, the BCC, in partnership with the Arapaho and Roosevelt District of the United States Forest Service (USFS), added nearly every climber approach trail in Boulder Canyon to the USFS trails systems map. That’s over 5 miles of trails! This trail designation allows the BCC to increase the scope and scale of the work we can do in Boulder Canyon in the future. This is a huge deal and we are thrilled for what this means for the future stewardship of Boulder Canyon. 

Our trail crew (FRCS) constructed 3,500  linear feet of trail and installed 578 stone steps in 2021. With over 5,000 volunteer hours, our  trail crew built trails at Avalon, Castle Rock Overlook, Der Zerkle, Upper Dream Canyon, Cathedral Spires, and the Royal Arch Trail. Building trails uphill is hard work. In order to build a sustainable trail through steep and exposed environments, the trail crew relies heavily on the use of stone structures. Building with stone is one of the most technically difficult forms of trail building, from quarrying and splitting stone, using highline rigging systems, to the actual construction methods of stone building. Our trail crew possesses the knowledge and experience that very few trail programs have.this experience is part of the reason our partnership with USFS thrives. The BCC is thrilled to be stewarding some of the best crags in the country. But the ongoing support of the community is needed. 

Help us meet our fundraising goals for the year by making a donation today.

Update on upper Clear Creek Canyon Access

We appreciate the expressions of interest and concern by some climbers regarding the expansion of mining on the Albert Frei & Sons property, as proposed in the Walstrum Spur Amendment to their mining permit. It is important to clarify several facts regarding the proposed mining expansion and the Frei property.

Most importantly, the climbing areas at issue (on the North side of Clear Creek from just West of Tunnel 5 to the Waves Wall) are on the Frei's private property. This includes Dog House, Other Critters, Safari, Live Action, Creekside, Armory, and Primo Wall, among other crags. The Frei family is well aware that there has been extensive climbing on their property for a period of time and has not tried to stop it.

The BCC and the Access Fund have been working with the Frei family on a permanent agreement that would formally secure climbing on this property. The issues are complex, but we are making progress. Just this week, the Frei family reaffirmed their interest in a stewardship agreement that would permit continued use of the Frei property by the climbing community and allow for maintenance of crags and approach trails. We are committed to continuing those efforts on behalf of the climbing community, including speaking with them again very shortly.

We also want to clarify some details of the proposed mining expansion, which has been the subject of some misinformation. The Frei family representatives assure us there will be no mining on the creekside of the canyon rim, and certainly no mining of the crags themselves. As they have stated: “the entire canyon rim is staying intact.” Mining operations will be conducted from behind the canyon rim. The proposal also includes an undisturbed buffer between the mining area and Clear Creek Canyon. While there might be some noise and other impacts at certain times and places, the crags will be preserved and, we hope, there will be a basis for a permanent agreement securing climber access to these many valued crags.

Photo: by Kevin Capps of Laura Capps sending at the Dog House

Wag Bags should be part of your climbing kit

It has happened to all of us. You head out early to the crag, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (thanks to that caffeinated beverage in your hand), hoping the project is no match for your new gym training regiment. As you march up the trail, the excitement gives you butterflies in your stomach, at least you think those are butterflies. You reach the cliff and throw on a harness and shoes, no time to waste, but as soon as the figure eight is finished the grumbles and rumbles from deep within give you a moment of pause. Uh-oh, it’s 💩 time. Do you have a plan?

Everyone poops, and sometimes it has to happen at the crag, boulder field, or alpine wall. With so many climbers in the Front Range it doesn’t take long for popular climbing areas to literally be covered in human feces throughout a season. Not only is this gross, it’s bad for the environment. Human waste, especially when concentrated, can pollute watersheds and negatively affect wildlife. It can also lead to access issues from land managers who are left trying to deal with a minefield of cat holes. These days the accepted way to deal with 💩 at climbing areas is by packing it out and disposing of it properly. 

Here at the BCC, we think wag bags are the best strategy for dealing with human waste when established toilets and porta-potties are not available. Each year we spend thousands of dollars to provide bags for the climbing community, free of charge. We do this in a few different ways. First, we install and stock crag stations at various popular crags in the Boulder/Golden area. These stations are meant for emergencies at the specific crag and any climbers who find themselves in need should take and use one. Second, we have installed new kiosks at numerous gyms in the Front Range that include wag bags for BCC supporters. These bags are meant to be taken and carried in a pack until duty calls while out climbing. We all want our crags to be as clean and healthy as possible so doing your part to manage human waste is a critical task as climbing continues to grow.

Try as we might, BCC can’t get wag bags into the hands of every single person who visits Front Range crags. That is why we believe that climbers need to start thinking about wag bags as essential kit for a day of climbing. Just like you wouldn’t leave your chalk bag or climbing shoes behind for a day of cragging, you should always pack a wag bag when heading out to the cliff. As climbers, we buy all sorts of little things that make our experience better–chalk, tape, crack gloves, brushes–wag bags should be included in that list. We are fortunate to have quality gear shops in our area like Neptune Mountaineering, Rock and Resole, and Bentgate Mountaineering that all stock wag bags for purchase. If every climber made a point to have a wag bag on them as part of their “poop plan”, our crags would be much cleaner and the climbing experience would be better for everyone.

We hope that as you are packing your bag for your next climbing adventure you remember to be a responsible climber and throw in a wag bag. We also hope that you support the BCC in our mission to provide as many wag bags as possible to the community, because 💩 emergencies happen. A part of every membership and donation goes toward supporting our wag bag program through crag stations and gym kiosks. 

PS. Never used a wag bag? Get the beta from our friends over at the Access Fund!

Proposed changes to parking at Flagstaff bouldering areas

Due to an increased amount of illegal activity (vandalism, graffiti, drinking and driving, etc.) the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) is considering greater restrictions on nighttime parking along Flagstaff road above Boulder. The current rule is no parking from 11pm - 5am. The proposed change would be to no parking from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. While this may not seem like a big deal, it could potentially change how boulderers are able to access problems during the prime bouldering season.

As anyone who has bouldered at Flag will tell you, good conditions matter. Sometimes these good conditions may happen at night during the fall, early winter, and spring season. The BCC’s advocacy committee wants to hear from the Flagstaff faithful about if and how this new rule change would affect their experience at the boulders, especially during the prime season.

We feel that a more restrictive fixed time rule, such as no parking 9pm-5am, would address OSMP’s concern about inappropriate usage and leave more nighttime hours for boulderers during the sending season.

If you frequent Flagstaff and have an opinion on this, please let us know your thoughts at advocacy@boulderclimbers.org. The Open Space Board of Trustees is set to meet to discuss this rule change on August 11th, so please send your thoughts by August 9th.

Rocky Mountain National Park kicks off long term Day Use Visitor Access planning process

Over the past two years Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) has been piloting a timed entry reservation system for access to the park during the peak summer season. The pilot system was unveiled during the pandemic as a way to help limit the spread of the virus but also to help alleviate issues of crowding that had been brewing for many years prior. The goal of these pilot years was to collect data to help the park make informed decisions when it comes to a long term, more permanent solution.

As of May 2021, RMNP has officially kicked off the multiyear process to decide what visitor use strategies they will implement for the foreseeable future. One of the proposed strategies is a permanent timed entry reservation system. While the BCC is excited to see the park trying to address issues of overcrowding and resource damage, we have concerns about whether or not these long term solutions will consider the use patterns and needs of climbers for years to come.

RMNP is a world class destination for alpine bouldering and multi pitch trad climbing and we want to make sure climbers voices are heard in this process. BCC wants to hear from you about your experiences with the RMNP pilot reservation system and what aspects you think are important for all climbers long term. Fill out our questionnaire here:

We also encourage all climbers who recreate in RMNP to consider submitting public comment on the park’s plans. To learn more background information on the Day Use Visitor Access planning process and submit your official comments, visit the National Park website.

Comments are due by July 26th!

Climbing Access Update for the South St. Vrain Canyon

The Colorado Department of Transportation (“CDOT”) has announced a lengthy flood recovery project on Colorado Route 7 between Lyons and Highway 72 which will have important implications for climbing in the South St. Vrain Canyon. In short, beginning in approximately August 2021 (the exact date has not been announced), CDOT will begin closures which will effectively preclude any access to climbing in the canyon. The project is expected to last until approximately October 2022, though these projects often run long. So, if you want to climb in the South St. Vrain Canyon, the best time would be in the near future, before the closure takes effect. The BCC hopes this advance warning is helpful in formulating your Summer climbing plans. Note that the closure will not affect the ability to drive from Ward to Allenspark and continuing North to the Longs Peak trailhead.

The BCC has been dealing extensively with CDOT and the US Forest Service (which owns the land where the climbs are located) on this closure. There was no possibility of avoiding a closure, which is needed to get the work done as quickly as possible. The BCC focused its efforts on trying to assure that no climbing resources were destroyed and that access would be maintained once the closure is lifted. CDOT has committed to retaining all of the formal pull outs along Route 7.  There are also informal pull outs that are important for easy access to key crags. While CDOT has not committed to retaining the informal pullouts, the discussions leave us cautiously optimistic that there will be no significant loss of access after the closure is lifted, though some crags may require a somewhat longer walk from the nearest pullout. Special thanks to guidebook author Bernard Gillett for his tremendous help with this project.

If you would like to receive updates on the project or read about CDOT’s plan, you can do so on their website.

If you have any questions, please contact advocacy@boulderclimbers.org

Photo by Bernard Gillett

Eldorado Canyon Releases Draft Management Plan

Eldorado Canyon State Park recently released its draft management plan, which highlights “the unique character of the park as a rock climbing destination.” The plan will guide how the park manages its resources and the visitor experience for the foreseeable future. It is important for climbers to ask questions and comment to refine the plan; the draft is available to the public and Colorado Parks and Wildlife is accepting comments until May 25th.  

One of BCC’s core values is working with land managers to help steward and maintain climbing resources in the Front Range. This is a critical opportunity for climbers to work with public land managers to help shape how one of the country’s best-known traditional climbing areas will look for years to come. 

The BCC, Action Committee for Eldorado, Flatirons Climbing Council, and Access Fund jointly wrote a letter to the CPW commissioners voicing our concerns. If you would like to view our letter you can do so here.

We want to highlight a few points climbers should focus their thoughts and comments on:

• The Park is planning to pilot a reservation system. While we recognize that the park must look for solutions to overcrowding, we think the proposed system is too broad and should be refined to better accommodate the climbing community. We encourage climbers to consider (and comment on) how a reservation system could best be structured so that it accommodates both (1) climbers who need to plan well in advance (and want the certainty that they will be able to access the Park on their chosen day[s]) and also (2) climbers who need some flexibility for spur-of-the-moment outings. We also encourage climbers to consider how human-powered means of transportation could be used to address parking issues. The pilot program will be implemented as soon as possible.

• The Park is considering capacity limits for climbers at certain high traffic areas to keep visitor use sustainable. We encourage folks to consider and comment that, for the most part, climbers will self-regulate and that added pressure from park staff could lead to user tension and safety concerns.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is using different comment forms for certain chapters. Be sure to fill out all forms for the complete plan.

• To provide general comments on the plan, complete this form.

• For chapter 6 on management strategies (this is where the reservation system is discussed), complete this form.

• For chapters 2-4 on park setting, resources, and visitation, complete this form.

• For chapter 5 on management zones, complete this form.

If you decide to submit a public comment, be sure to thank the park staff who have done a great job stewarding this amazing climbing area over the years, and continue to look for ways to make outdoor recreation sustainable in the canyon. 

If you have questions or comments about our stance please send them to advocacy@boulderclimbers.org.

Climbers can continue to lead on all things stewardship, by carpooling and biking when possible. New routes and fixed anchor management will continue to be managed through ACE and the Park, with support from the BCC.

Get "Stewardly" Stoked for 2021

All Stewardship all day everyday? Yes, all day everyday. From our newsletter to our events we are stewardly. If our organization is a bulls-eye, then stewardship is in the center. We can’t help ourselves, we have a wealth of climbing areas staring us in the face all day every day of the highest caliber. Caring for our crags ensures access, it sets our community apart, and it creates the infrastructure to ensure landscapes are sustainable for all climbers. 

The BCC team charged into the COVID-19 pandemic last March and April asking “what can we do?.” Trail and climbing visitation remained active during lockdown and then exploded over the summer. In 2020, folks moved from all corners of the country to Boulder to access open spaces that remained open unlike theaters, museums, concert venues, and even schools. Visitation is up at the crag, on the trail, at the campground, the bike park, and on the skin track; have you seen it?

The Boulder Climbing Community’s stewardship work became critical to ensuring that Front Range landscapes were not only maintained, but provided the resources to be sustainable under pressure. The BCC stepped up and had the most impactful year of its existence. (Read all about it here). To summarize: more trail feet built, more bolts replaced, more wag bags stocked, and a whole lot of work behind the scenes to set up to do even more stewardly good in 2021. 

Trails and trail maintenance, monitoring endangered species like the golden eagles, providing wag bags, replacing aging bolts and anchors, organizing crag clean ups-stewardship days, graffiti removal days, and advocating for climbers, is the “stewardship” work we do to keep local Front Range crags open and sustainable for generations to come.  Right now, 2021 y’all, the BCC has even more stewardship work planned, and we need everyone’s help to make it happen: 

Trails

• We are entering our 8th season of trail work with 30 weeks of work planned! 

• Nearly doubling our weeks of work in Boulder Canyon to 14 weeks: 4 at Avalon (Middle Tier), 5 at Upper Dream Canyon, and 5 at Castle Rock Overlook. 

• Finishing the Cynical Pinnacle reroute at Cathedral Spires

• Working on projects in the Flatirons and Indian Peaks Wilderness, yes!! 

Eagles

• We will continue to monitor eagles in Boulder Canyon so that we can open crags as soon as the eagles have time to nest

Bolts

• Replacing 500+ bolts along the Front Range in 2021

• Boulder Canyon crag makeovers include Avalon, Sherwood Forest, Black Widow Slab, and Easter Rock, as well as bolts replaced at Clear Creek Canyon

Stewardship Days

• 6 days planned at crags the community has identified as high need, the Graveyard Crag

• Graffiti clean up at Darkside Boulders, and additional days at Eldorado Canyon State Park, and the Flatirons

Human Waste Mitigation

• Noticed a wag bag station at your local gym or gear shop? We are working with local gyms and gear shops to make it easier to make sure you have a wag bag in your backpack for whenever you need one, wherever you need one. 

• Port-a-potties!! Return of the port-a-potty at Upper Dream and all hail the port-a-potty at Castle Rock

We hope you are as excited as we are by these projects!

The BCC held its first annual stewardship kickoff campaign one year ago under uncertain future circumstances, and the community stepped up to contribute critical funds to ensure we could continue our work during the pandemic. There is more work to be done in 2021 and we need the community’s help to guarantee the full scope of this work happens. 

The best way to support the BCC is through a  $5 or $10 recurring donation a month, if you can do more, awesome. If you are already a monthly donor consider making a small donation during the campaign to demonstrate a “heck yeah!” for all this good work. You would be surprised how many climbers have no idea who the BCC is, tell your friends and spread the word of this good work!

Donate to Our Stewardship Kickoff Campaign