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Climbing & COVID-19

Climber Code of Responsibility

Prior to your adventure, we are asking all members of your team to thoroughly review the information below and to ask any questions you have. On the day of our adventures, we will be asking all team members to sign a copy of the Climber Code of Responsibility.  Text of the Code appears below. You can view the actual form here. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way the whole world operates in regards to Infectious, Contagious, Transmissible, and Respiratory Diseases (ICTRD), climbing included. In light of these new challenges we are integrating in new measures. As climbers, we are aware of the risk-reward balance and we keep a keen focus on mitigating risk and prioritizing safety. During any climbing day, we all work together as a team to manage risk, but we cannot totally eliminate it. This holds true regarding climbing and COVID-19 and related infectious illnesses and respiratory diseases. We are committed to working with you to manage risk, but we cannot totally eliminate it. Although we cannot eliminate the new risks created by COVID-19, we want to work together with you as a team to mitigate them. At the forefront of all of our decision-making is the safety and well-being of our guides, guests, and the communities within which our climbing occurs.

  • With this in mind, we ask that you thoroughly review the below information in advance of your trip and please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Please review this in advance of your trip. On the day of your trip, we will be asking you to sign at the bottom of this document.

  • We realize it's a bit lengthy—but it is very important!

Education: ASG will train its Guides in understanding symptoms, routes of transmission and appropriate hygiene and sanitation issues regarding infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We ask that you familiarize yourself with all information regarding COVID-19 from the CDC.

Travel: ASG will abide by all Federal, State, National Forest and Health Authorities guidance, rules and recommendations. We expect you to do the same. When travelling both to the region in which your trip occurs and the specific place in which each day of climbing occurs, please respect the health of those communities and strictly adhere to CDC/Health Authorities recommendations and requirements regarding travel.

Transportation: Resource conservation is cool, but for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASG will not be ride-sharing. We also do not encourage it among any Guests who are not already in the same household/social circle.

Health & Medical Information: The more we know about your health/medical situation, the better we can mitigate health/medical risks for all of us. In addition to the standard health/medical information we request, we will be providing you a Health Screening Form requesting specific information related to infectious illness and respiratory disease transmission. We will provide you with a copy of this document to review in advance of your trip and on the day of the trip we will be asking you to review and sign a copy. If you have any concerns with the health/medical disclosures being asked in this form, please speak directly with ASG staff and we will attempt to reach a suitable alternative solution. If at any point in the trip your health status changes and/or you exhibit any symptoms associated with COVID-19, please let us know immediately.

Temperature Checks: We will be asking you to take your temperature in advance of the trip meeting and we will be asking to take your temperature using a forehead thermometer at the start of the trip. If you have any concerns with having your temperature taken, please speak directly with us and we will attempt to reach a suitable alternative solution.

Liability & Risk: The COVID-19 pandemic presents new risks related to climbing. In advance of your trip, we will be asking you to review a Infectious Disease & Respiratory Illness Release of Liability & Assumption of Risk Form (or Acknowledgement of Risk Form, as appropriate). We will provide you with a copy of this document to review in advance of your trip and on the day of the trip we will be asking you to review and sign a copy. If you have any concerns regarding these new risks, please speak with us immediately, at any point in the trip.

Technical Equipment: You are encouraged to provide your own personal gear such as helmet, harness and climbing shoes and belay device. If you cannot, those items will be provided by ASG. We will also provide all the necessary group technical equipment for the event.

Food & Water: You must bring all your own food and water. Guides will not share food or water, except in the event of an emergency.

Hand Sanitizing/Washing&Gloves: We ask you to bring hand sanitizer on your trip. If you do not have some, we can provide it. During the day, at appropriate intervals, we ask you to sanitize and/or wash your hands. Additionally, we ask that you bring a durable light glove for use while belaying (leather or similar-type garden gloves work well). If you are unable to do so, please let us know in advance. We will attempt to use a light glove when situationally possible/appropriate when belaying.

Physical Distancing: We will attempt to maintain physical distancing of 6' or greater as is possible and appropriate, and we ask that you help us with this. This is not always possible in climbing contexts.

Face Masks: We ask that you bring a face mask you are comfortable climbing with and plan to use it when physical distancing is not possible. Throughout the climbing day, please try to minimize contact between your hands and the respiratory portion of the face mask. Further useful face mask recommendations can be found by clicking here.

First Aid: We will provide first aid to the level of training that we are certified (Wilderness First Responder) and in adherence to the evolving recommendations from health authorities regarding patient interactions in our current COVID-19 environment.

Crowding: In the event that we are at a climbing area where crowding is a concern, we may need to re-locate. In the event this greatly impacts the climbing possible on a given day, we will work with you to develop a pro-rated pricing plan that you are satisfied with.

Post-Trip: If you become ill with symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19 and/or test positive for COVID-19 within 2 weeks of participating in an ASG trip please contact us immediately. We also ask that you provide this information to local health authorities for purposes of contact tracing. ASG will maintain this information in confidentiality, unless emerging health guidelines specify a need or requirement to release this information to health authorities for purposes of contact tracing. If your guide becomes ill with symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19 and/or test positive for COVID-19 within 2 weeks of a trip with you, we will contact you and we will notify the appropriate health authorities for contact tracing.

Please click here to return to the main Climbing & COVID Page.