The new bouldering cave was officially opened for use at Don Ross Middle School on May 10. On the surface, this seems like just another small community event among many in the accelerated, bustlingly active town like Squamish has become.聽
Chairs were set out, a screen showed projected images of the teachers helping with the construction, a table glowed with a variety of cupcakes created just for the occasion and a podium at centre stage was occupied by one man: teacher Bill Rizun. Something like a force of nature, Rizun was the shove behind every stage of the cave鈥檚 idea, development, planning, fundraising, design and building. His right-hand man in this excellent adventure was Stephan Guerin, a colleague at Don Ross. As PE team head Ellen Czernick gave a history of the project from inception, I started to understand just how slowly the wheels of bureaucracy could move. Rizun had been at this for well over a decade, with mishaps and obstacles plaguing him along the way.聽
This community event felt different, as I stood in the audience listening to the many people Rizun recognized for helping the project come to fruition. With few exceptions, everyone in the room was involved in mountain biking, yet here they were, celebrating the opening of a new bouldering cave. The story behind this rests on the altruism of the Test of Metal directors and how they decided to best use their funds to help youth in Squamish. As construction costs continued to mount and the cave tipped more and more over budget, Test of Metal organizers stepped in and paid the shortfall.聽
It was an incredible gesture but also one that left me scratching my head in wonder. Cliff Miller of the Test of Metal figured that by getting the cave built, they could affect the most youth in Squamish positively for the longest amount of time. Frankly, I was blown away by these people who represent a significant part of the mountain biking community and how they stepped outside their own shadow, their own activity they hold dear, to cause a ripple of a different sort for the students of Don Ross. It is a remarkable act, and I thank them for it.
As the cave opening came to a close and I drove home, I wondered if climbing would ever grow in popularity enough to have enough community that we could do this for some other smaller, yet no less worthy activity centred around youth. Could we reach as many people as biking has? Would climbing, as a community, act in such an outwardly giving way as mountain biking鈥檚 Test of Metal directors had done?
My hope is that climbing grows. There, I鈥檝e said it, and probably lost a host of friends with that comment. As much as crowded crags, beaten-out trails, ground down hardware and bouldering pad oceans cause me sadness, I like people-watching, I like society and growth is inevitable. And if climbing makes me this happy, then more people doing it should result in more happy and inspired people 鈥� a good thing.聽
Imagining all the people of Squamish climbing as often as they mountain bike is an exciting and terrifying concept. We would be a weighty user group and with that would come many many issues concerning accident frequency, wear on the environment and crowding. Would it cause people to be healthier, happier and more invested in the outdoor world around them, or would it cause climbing鈥檚 main values to shift to accommodate the masses鈥� interests? (You know what they say about the masses.)
In the dark and lonely hours, I sometimes wonder if climbing, at its heart, is just too inherently selfish, too individualistic and goal-driven to hold such a community spirit. I really hope I am proven wrong. Until the time comes to test these theories out, I鈥檒l refrain from buying a bike.
