Historic Rattlesnake Re-equip

The Ontario Alliance of Climbers (oac)

organized The Rattlesnake Project in partnership with Conservation Halton, with the goal of creating new sport routes for climbers to enjoy. In the end, they bolted 30 new routes, mostly from 5.6 to 5.8, and created spaces for learning about rope systems. Bolting the routes wasn’t cheap, the whole project cost over $5,000. We encourage Ontario climbers to donate to the oac, so it can continue to maintain access. The routes were showcased at the first annual Rattlesnake Spring Fling, which brought together industry leaders to mentor new climbers on and off the rock.

The rock talk mentorship clinic was an opportunity for experienced locals to pass along their values and traditions to the next generation. The goal was to help shape the behaviour of new climbers so that they respect crags and climb safely. From discouraging guitars and boomboxes to encouraging safe anchor setups, the oac discussed and practiced communication styles that have been shown to be helpful in changing people’s behaviour. The clinic was based on behaviour-change science and was a big success. With dozens of new climbers taking part at the event, everyone had good things to say.

The intro to rock clinic brought together dozens of new climbers from the gym to the crag. Open to all ages, there was a diverse group of participants. And the fall safe clinic taught participants how to face the fear of falling on lead, to belay better and to be a more efficient climber. Other clinics included a sport climbing one, which reviewed the skills needed to make a safe transition from sport climbing in the gym to sport climbing outdoors, including: how to safely lower off a climb; stick clipping the first bolt; stick clipping past a crux on the climb; outdoor safety hazards; and the outdoor climbers code of conduct.—Gripped