They’ll still be there
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all been asked to #stayhome in order to help flatten the curve - only going out when absolutely necessary. While this may not be much of a change for some, for the mountain community, it goes to the absolute heart of what we love and care about.
What’s at stake
Mountain sports contain risk and accidents by their nature are never planned. There are many things we can do to reduce risk, but we can’t eliminate it. No one ever pictures ending up in an emergency room, but we know it can happen.
We are in a unique time when our health care system is going to be maxed with the important work of treating patients and minimizing the impact of COVID-19. The last thing anybody needs is our backcountry accident adding pressure and taking up precious health resources. Being admitted to the hospital could cost another person their life.
Ice climbs will still be there…
Watching out for each other is what we do
Whenever we head into the backcountry we make an unwritten pact with our partners that we will take care of each other. Skiing with transceivers and belaying are only the most obvious examples of holding our partners’ lives in our hands. We do this all the time.
Our job now is to take that dedication to keeping our partners safe and apply it to our entire community.
Good times in the mountains will still be there. Photo: Amy Pfaff.
We’ll get through this together
We are asking you, on behalf of mountain rescue and everyone who works in our health care system to refrain from climbing, skiing or any other activity that has any potential to land you in an emergency room.
Please shut it down for now. The mountains, the trails, the rides, the happy days in the mountains with our buddies – they will all be there on the other side of this. It’s our job to make sure as many people as possible will be also.
Need some ideas for things to do indoors? Check out “Cottage Nuts”!