NOT DONE YET: The Climber's Pledge, an update

We continue to be humbled by the response to The Climber’s Pledge and fundraiser for The Brown Ascenders. So far, we have been able to raise over $37,000 to support The Brown Ascenders’ meetups, gear libraries, and clinics. The list of Pledge signees has over 900 names attached to it. Thank you for reading, signing, donating, sharing, and speaking out. But make no mistake, this is just one first step on a long journey that may start with signatures and conversations, but will continue on. For all those interested in the ongoing efforts, please visit kayaclimb.com/sessions.   

We are encouraged by those who used The Climber’s Pledge as a catalyst to raise their hands, own past mistakes or ignorance, and make a commitment to making climbing culture the inclusive place that many of us know, for all. However, the resistance and destructive commentary following from The Climber’s Pledge was a painful reminder of the toxicity and racism that exists in our community. These reactions only confirm how important it is for us to do the work of unlearning and reshaping climbing culture. 

As the discourse around the Black Lives Matter movement begins to quiet in the mainstream media, and as racism in climbing starts to fall off the radar, we pledge to you, the climbing community, that we are far from done. We will hold the torch, and always in partnership with and taking guidance from groups and leaders of the movement.  

KAYA is not here to make apps – our mission is to take the climbing community forward. The Black Lives Matter and Black Climbers Matter movements are deepening our understanding of community. We are new to the scene, but that gives us the privilege of integrating these lessons tightly in our mission, our product, our values, and the community we are beginning to build from the outset. 

Climbing is a metaphor for becoming a better person. The same mindsets that we take to climb – to shun fear in the face of a challenge, to put away our ego, to attempt, fail, learn, attempt again – we need to take these tools to the mission of being better as a community. 

Thank you again. 

– Team KAYA