In today's announcement, the municipality of Ferrera communicates the partial loosening of its area closure for the Magic Wood bouldering area. With reservations, climbing can be started again in the Aver Valley from April 27, 2020.
Thanks to the commitment of Dave von Allmen, who sought the conversation with the municipality of Ferrera, could partially relax the Area closure can be achieved. With its step towards relaxation, the community expresses its trust in the climbing community. It is therefore all the more important that everyone abides by the rules and acts sensibly.
A look into the Murgtal
For fear of a rush, the municipality of Ferrera felt compelled to close the Magic Wood bouldering area shortly before Easter. The municipality of Quarten was also close to closing the Murgtal bouldering area, but ultimately relied on the reasoning of the climbing community. The community was not disappointed.
I was there myself at Easter and the police also carried out checks. We noticed that many cars from cantons, some of which were far away, were parked in the Murg Valley. However, there was no real rush and the boulderers kept to the rules on distance and group formation. "
Erich Zoller, Mayor of Quarten
This is how access to the Magic Wood bouldering area is regulated
The municipality of Ferrera has decided to gradually relax the measures taken. The schedule looks like this.
27 April 2020
The bouldering area is opened, i.e. the official closure is lifted. The parking spaces remain closed and the public parking spaces in the village of Ausserferrera are to be used.
11 May 2020
Parking lots are opened with exceptions. Certain bulges are required as timber storage spaces and therefore remain blocked even after May 11, 2020.
June 8, 2020
Opening of the campsite.
Furthermore:
- Keep distance!
- Pay attention to hygiene!
- Absolute fire ban!
This easing is being implemented on watch. If the situation does not allow, the municipal council Ferrera reserves the right to adjust the above data.
For the ascent and Pentecost, the situation is reassessed and the area closed if necessary.
The community counts on the reason and the personal responsibility of each individual!
A commentary by Dave von Allmen
The general recommendation to stay at home is still valid. Of the SAC has an opinion presented to LaCrux framework conditions under which climbing / bouldering is “okay”, but at the same time relativized “staying at home” without going into more detail. But if you want to put the “staying at home” into perspective, you have to keep an eye on the underlying goal, the protection of a risk group, at all costs.
Finding an optimal way back to normal is a difficult task. And it's not time to look for shortcuts. But we boulderers know that shortcuts are unsatisfactory and that tackling difficult problems, no matter how long it takes, is ultimately the greatest luck.
It would be naive to think that we climbers / boulderers are “reasonable”. Yes, we have behaved reasonably over the past few weeks. But what does it look like if we now think that there is no longer any need? Let's face it, the conditions that we caused (apart from the corona crisis) at times of high activity in certain places are anything but reasonable. The “normal” that we have partially presented to the public in the past should not be the “normal” we want to find our way back to.
With regard to our need to go bouldering or climbing again, everyone who sees the time to reflect on “staying at home” should ask the following questions:
- Do I have to go climbing / bouldering today?
- Do I really have to go to Area X now or are there options in the surrounding area?
- How do I react when I arrive at the chosen destination and find that some people seem to have got up earlier?
- Can I organize my time so that I minimize the pressure on the selected destination?
- If I only go climbing / bouldering a few times a year, do I have to start rushing right now?
- If a child in the family would like to go to the rock, does the whole family, who otherwise does not climb / boulder, have to go, or can the child have fun on the rock with just one parent?
- Can I go climbing / bouldering as a “local” during the week so that others can visit my “home area” at the weekend?
- Do I have to climb blocks / rocks in the vicinity of which others are already climbing and the situation from outside could be assessed as critical?
Neither the federal government nor SAC can answer these questions. Everyone has to do that for themselves. And it is important that in this difficult transition period we take into account that everyone is able to do it at a different pace. If someone finds answers to these questions and these speak for the fact that it is okay to go climbing / bouldering at a certain point in time, then I trust that person's moral compass and not at the direction of others!
Incidentally, even after the corona crisis, it would be appropriate to think back to that time more often and to remember the answers that you once gave yourself to these questions.
We have shown in recent weeks that we can be reasonable. Let's stick to it and adhere to the applicable rules. Then we can reach the goal.
Editor's note: LACRUX would like to join David of Allmen Thank you very much for his commitment!