The long winter is finally over and after having to submit to the darkness for so long, we rock climbers can now think about ourselves and enjoy the great weather to the full. But in addition to the healthy desire for nature, there must also be room for another thought, without which all this beauty would not be possible in the first place - the thought of environmental protection.
Respect and preserve nature!
Tannheimer Tal, Photo: TVB Tannheimer Tal, Achim Meurer
It's the same tiresome topic every year: usually in summer, but definitely in autumn, you start to wonder where all the garbage comes from. You wonder what kind of person comes up with the idea of leaving their garbage behind so thoughtlessly. If you walk through the forest, you often need to be very careful if you don't want to step into someone else's former toilet. And although there are sometimes massive problems, nobody is supposed to have done it. That literally stinks to high heaven!
In the search for a scapegoat, it quickly becomes clear that it is not the individual, but the collective. Climbing may be an individual sport, but when it comes to the use of nature, the sum of the individual parts adds up to a large total of people who regularly trudge through forests and meadows. It is the task of every single climber to protect our areas of movement and preserve them in their natural form. And so there are various aspects that we outdoor sports enthusiasts should bear in mind for environmental protection:
1. take any garbage left lying around with you
Topic number one when it comes to environmental protection: garbage. Even if it doesn't come from us: Take left behind paper bags, cigarette butts (!) and the like with you instead of leaving them to Mother Nature.
Of course, it's better not to produce any waste in the first place than to take it with you. This starts with shopping, where plastic packaging can be avoided and paper bags (e.g. for bread) can be recycled, and continues with preparing snacks at home. Pack your snack in a Tupperware, then you won't even find any leftover plastic packaging in the climbing area.
2. make yourself invisible when "stepping out"
If you have to, you have to (only evolution could change that). However, you don't have to leave toilet paper everywhere. It's best to pack it up and dispose of it in the nearest garbage can.
3. keep the noise level within limits
Excessively loud background noise is often considered a disruptive factor, for example music from a mobile speaker or loud cheering. This is not only annoying for other climbers, but also for animals. If, for example, a hunter feels that his hunting ground is threatened by the behavior of climbers, a loud group can cause the whole thing to overflow and the area is closed off. The stupid thing is: we never know how full the barrel is. So be a little more careful and don't push the (noise) limits unnecessarily!
4. how many paths does it take to get to Rome?
Platzl climbing garden on Achensee, photo: Mike Gabl
Sometimes it's not so easy to find the right route to the Glückshormon sector in Niederthai, or the approach to the Fleischbank on the Wilder Kaiser. This is mainly due to the fact that many others before us have had to solve the same problem and have simply trudged through the forest in the approximate direction. In the long term, however, randomly walking off the beaten track ruins the forests and can be avoided. Where we can always be sure: If it's not an insider tip, then countless people have gone there before us and we won't be the first to make our way to the wall. So stay on the paths, not only because it is much easier and safer, but above all to preserve the naturalness of our forests.
5. anyone can be clean!
If we decide to live cleaner and therefore more sustainably, then this is a conscious decision that everyone can make. For example, by using recyclable packaging and drinking bottles. These are just as easy to obtain as products from companies that produce sustainably, e.g. Patagonia, Gentic, Black Diamond and many more.
Many people think it is impossible to always pay attention to everything, e.g. because many supermarkets are still not plastic-free. BUT: We can determine the extent of our options ourselves. Even doing without a bag can contribute to environmental protection, especially if lots of people do without a bag. So think about it as often as you can and do what you can. Step out of your comfort zone and try out how you can live more sustainably. It usually involves less effort than you think and it feels really good too.
Measures for environmental protection
Did you know: Climbers Paradise is involved in many climbing gardens in Tyrol to create the necessary infrastructure so that climbers can easily dispose of their waste there. Together with the regions, we ensure that you can easily deposit your waste in the right place.
Other measures have already been taken to make it easy to avoid litter in the forest. In many places, these measures range from simple sanitary facilities to bivouacs, for example in the Silvapark bouldering area, where such facilities have been set up for climbers at the lift station. Sometimes this involves small charges for users, although nobody wants to fill their pockets at the climber's expense. Rather, these measures are intended to help preserve the beauty of a climbing area.
