Last week, as the coronavirus outbreak became a global pandemic and cities and states began to take measuresto prevent its spread, many climbers started to wonder how long their gyms would stay open. Climbing gyms, after all, are ideal spaces for the transmission ofCOVID-19. People crowd around walls waiting for their turn on a route, gripholds that were stepped on seconds earlier, and dipsweaty palms into communal chalk bags.
Indeed, as mayors and governors moved rapidly to close schools, restaurants, and bars, climbing facilities weren’t far behind. This week, following similar mandates, gyms across the country, from Washington State to Colorado to New York, shut down in quick succession.
What we know so far about the transmission of COVID-19 does not bode well for climbing gyms. While the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention has on the different ways the disease spreads, health departments in and China suggest that it’s possible to contract COVID-19 by touching your mouth, nose, or eyes after contact with surfaces contaminated with the coronavirus. by virologists at the National Institutes of Health, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, found that the novel coronavirus can surviveup to two to three days on plastic surfaces. If that’s true, resin holds in gyms could serve as ideal cradles for the virus.
The first known examples of the potential transmission of coronavirus at climbing gyms showed up in Singapore. An outbreak in the city-state started on January 23, and early last week, two climbing gyms there, Boulder+ and Climb Central, halted operationsafter a climber who visited both premises . The Singaporean government ordered people who were in the two gyms during certain periods to undergo self-quarantine and authorized disinfecting companies to cleanboth sites.
“The coronavirus broadens our awareness, but that should have been something we put into practice before this pandemic happened.”
“Climbing gyms are unique compared to other fitness gyms in that holds are much harder to sanitize,” says Ronghui, aBoulder+ownerwho is currently under home quarantine and did not want his last name used. But while watching the cleaning professionals sanitize the gym, he realized that it’s possible to more thoroughly disinfect holds. After the closure, Boulder+ wiped mats with isopropyl alcohol and sprayed a disinfectant from the top of the climbing walls to sanitize the holds. It’s almost impossible to fully sanitize public areas like climbing gyms, but Ronghui says that gyms around the world could carry out a similar form of spraying before or after operating hours. Those measures helped his gym reopn, even as the outbreak in Singapore .
In the U.S., COVID-19 appears to still be in its beginning stages. Last Thursday, gyms that remained open canceledgroup climbing, yoga, and fitness classesand saw a substantial decrease in visitors. Staffat several gyms thatOustide talkedto last week reported they were disinfectingmats and door handles with bleach at least threetimes a day, placinghand sanitizer and wipes for use around their facilities, stoppinghandouts of communal items like climbing tape, and hangingup posters with general tips onhow to sanitize. “The coronavirus broadens our awareness, but that should have been something we put into practice before this pandemic happened,” HannahWineinger, a staff member at , told ϳԹ.
Still, many gyms weren’t able to sterilize holds every day, and as COVID-19 landed in all 50 states, climbing gyms began shutting doors to comply with government directives for social distancing. Steep Rock Bouldering closed on March 15 for the foreseeable future, as did gyms in most other states, including Seattle’s ; theand gymchains; facilities across the Midwest; and properties such as, , and .
In other parts of the world, like Singapore and China, climbers have returned to their gyms already. Some in Hong Kong were seen scaling walls while wearing masks. Others in Beijing, according to climbers there, rented whole gyms for small groups of six or eight rather than stay at home. But in the U.S., climbers will have to do their best to stay in shape while in quarantine(hello,fingerboards and pull-up bars)or perhaps by, as most climbing gyms are not likely to reopen anytime soon.
While climbers in many placescan get their prorated membership fee refunded, gym ownersare encouragingpeople to forgo that option if they have the meansor topurchase gift cards and punch passes to use later so their businesses can try toweather thecoronavirus disruption without laying offstaff. “Nobody’s ever experienced this before,” says Rich Johnston, the 62-year-old owner of Vertical World,America’s first climbing gym, founded in 1987. “There’s no telecommuting for gyms, and employees are devastated. We’re still trying to process it.”