![]() ![]() Mine contamination is unquestionably much worse than what we do to our local crags. It’s only a matter of time before other climbing areas ban chalk too. In fact, just last month the heavily trafficked Garden of the Gods in Colorado banned chalk completely. This is one of the main reasons popular climbing spots like the Shawangunks in New York, are starting to ban powdered chalk and only allow liquid chalk. We’ve all seen even worse examples of humans defacing nature, but we’re naive to believe our chalk use is completely blameless on this front. Furthermore, chalk accumulates on holds over time, so that common routes can become so polished that they’re effectively unclimbable or at minimum forever changed. In many places, chalk will never come off unless it is wiped or brushed off, which, let’s face it, is a rare occurrence. Chalk stays on the wall like graffiti, especially in arid regions, on overhung cliff faces, and on porous types of rock. While we like to think that mother nature will simply wash off the chalk with the next rainstorm, that’s not the case. It’s no secret that powdered or loose chalk leaves visible residue on the rock formations. Permanent graffiti on our natural landmarks However, when you add them all together and multiply by 25M climbers today and add the quickly growing number of climbers in the world, it’s easy to see how we could have a full-blown crisis on our hands in the not-so-distant future. Individually, they’re cause for concern but hardly warrant outrage. ![]() There are several ways loose chalk can pose a threat to our environment. How does powdered chalk negatively impact rock formations? Even if my estimates are off a bit, it’s still a lot of chalk. That means we collectively go through 50,000,000 pounds, or 25,000 tons, of chalk every single year, and that doesn’t include the chalk used by weightlifters, gymnasts, and other athletes. I personally use three to four 16 ounce bags of chalk per year (much less now that I’ve switched to liquid chalk, but we’ll get into that later).Īssuming most people don’t climb as often as me, let’s say that climbers average two bags of chalk per year. There are around 25M rock climbers globally. It’s hard to say exactly, but we can make an educated guess. This can lead to an overall negative impact on both plants and animals that rely heavily upon these environments for survival. The environment suffers from contamination and habitat loss. In areas of heavy dolomite mining, a lot of magnesium particles end up in the air and coat the surrounding countryside. They’re then crushed into pieces or sold as granules at the end. Centrifuges or filters are then used to isolate the crystals. The ore is then ground into powder and applied to a liquid slurry for drying, but this cools the slurry too much, reducing the number of particles it can hold, resulting in several larger pieces remaining in the finished product (the powdered chalk). The extraction process starts with powerful water jets blasting away at the rock and extracting the dust. Powdered chalk is made from magnesium carbonate, which is extracted from the mineral dolomite. Let’s start at the beginning, with an explanation of how chalk is made and why it’s relevant. However, its environmental impact can be one of the biggest of all our gear. ![]() Rock climbing chalk is one of the least expensive and most overlooked pieces of equipment in our climbing gear setup. As a tribute to Mother Earth this Earth Day, I wanted to take a moment to address some of the detrimental effects climbing chalk has on the environment and what we can do about it. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |