Inside Outdoor Spring 2020 Issue

duced more than 18,400 kids to the sport. “Climbing is still a relatively niche sport,” Baum continued. “We want to target metro areas because that’s where the most kids are, and we want to intro- duce as many kids to climbing as possible. The majority of youth organizations we have donated climbing walls to have never seen or heard of climb- ing or a climbing wall. They may have climbed at a family entertainment center such as a SkyZone but never at a climbing gym or on an actual climbing wall.” According to Baum, it’s well known that climbing can improve physical and social-emotional well-being. How- ever, kids often have no idea about the incredible opportunities that could be afforded to them through climbing. “Opportunities may include em- ployment at a climbing gym, future route setters, future competition climbers, scholarships, and potential future Olympians,” Baum said. “It would be amazing to see an Olympic climber one day that got their start on a 1Climb climbing wall.” Baum explained how the demand for climbing in metro areas is sig- nificant. So, when El Cap (owners of Earth Treks, Planet Granite, and Movement) reached out to 1Climb about making a donation and forming a partnership, the decision was a no- brainer – especially when considering the Denver market is already home to a large amount of outdoor enthusiasts. “We can also see that climbing needs more diversity,” Baum said. “We want to target areas where there is a diverse population to introduce youth who would have never had the opportunity to climb. Our hope is to give youth the opportunity to climb and, in turn, provide them with a life- long hobby or a career in the outdoor or climbing industry.” Not surprisingly, Baum and his team discovered that many kids in the Denver area have never been to the front range, or even into the local mountains. Despite having an abun- dance of natural resources to explore in close proximity, many of these ar- eas – and outdoor recreation in gen- eral – remain out of reach for kids. This is something that the Boys & Girls clubs is working to change. “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver has an incredible outdoor edu- cation program led by Kevin Spak,” Baum continued. “Kevin and his team frequently take Denver youth on out- door expeditions to introduce them to the outdoors and the opportunities they have right there in their backyard. Kev- in and the BGC was thrilled to be able to add one more opportunity to their program such as indoor climbing.” At this time, 1Climb is still in the ear- ly process of collecting metrics and see- ing an impact in the Denver metro area. According to Baum, though, they have seen a noticeable impact at their other locations. “We have collected metrics on a number of items that have shown our impact,” Baum said. “From our Los Angeles wall, 62 percent of the BGC members have said that their climbing skills have improved since their first climb, 75 percent have stated that climbing has improved their overall self- confidence, and 80 percent have said that they are interested in climbing at different locations and on different climbing walls. These are just three of the many metrics that have shown that climbing and our partner- ing climbing gyms are making a posi- tive impact on these kids’ lives.” None of this would possible, Baum said, without the support of their climbing gym partners. “They have been gracious in vol- unteering their time to mentor and teach their local youth about the posi- tive impacts that climbing can have,” Baum said. “LA Boulders has been volunteering at their local Boys & Girls Clubs for almost two years now. Earth Treks in Englewood and Golden, Colo., is about to embark on teaching more than 10,000 youth to climb in the Metro Denver area.” One thing is clear: when the pan- demic ends and the Boys & Girls club opens back up in Denver, it will play an instrumental in helping the city’s youth to rebuild – not only their physi- cal strength but their spirit and confi- dence. And while climbing, similar to other forms of outdoor recreation, has experienced a major setback, it’s cer- tainly not going away. “1Climb is a young organization, and although we are just getting started, our long-term impact could be huge,” Baum concluded. “We are very excited for the future and cannot wait to see how climbing impacts the youth five to 10 years down the road. We hope to see many more youth fall in love with climbing and create an op- portunity for them that will impact their lives for years to come.” m Inside Outdoor | SPRING 2020 27 The Advocates Trying on donated So iLL shoes in Denver One of the 18,400-plus kids being introduced to climbing