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Mountain Network and Clean Climber are now (climbing)partners

We are pleased and proud to announce Mountain Network & Clean Climber are now officially partners. With this partnership Mountain Network is setting big steps towards a more sustainable climbing sport. Climbers at Mountain Network are now able to REsole their beloved shoes in Leeuwarden (and during the year in all 7 climbing gyms), REcycle their worn-off shoes into rubber sports mats and lost & found items that lay around more than 2 months will be sent to less privileged climbing clubs in the world.

During the year Mountain Network will also provide several workshops about outdoor climbing ethics. Climbers will learn how to behave environmentally neutral when going outdoors, something that has become more and more apparent since the popularity of the climbing sport is increasing rapidly.

Working together: like a climber with its belayer

Leopold Roessingh, manager operations at Mountain Network about this partnership: “Sustainability has always been one of our pillars on which we built Mountain Network. But although we’re pleased that the climbing sport is getting more and more popular, the urgency to balance things out with the environment is also getting more necessary. With Clean Climber as a partner we are looking to meet our sustainability goals. Also a big advantage is that we’re not only addressing the sustainability of indoor climbing, but also educating outdoor climbers to be more environmentally neutral outdoors.”

Gerard van Laar, founder of Clean Climber about this partnership: “We are very proud and pleased that one of the largest climbing communities of the Netherlands is ready to join forces to tackle the sustainable issues of the climbing sport. Clean Climber is committed to ensure that future generations can also enjoy the beauty of our climbing sport. We are a non-profit foundation. So a partnership like this allows us to take our message even further (beyond our national borders). And we are very pleased with that! ”

About Mountain Network

As one of the largest climbing and mountaineering organizations in the Netherlands, Mountain Network has been doing everything possible to develop climbing for more than 35 years. Climbing is for everyone. No matter the age, posture or level of experience one has. It doesn’t matter, everyone is welcome in the 7 climbing- and bouldering gyms of Mountain Network.
They educate beginners on how to climb and belay safely, but also host the Dutch climbing team. And they are the only Dutch organization that provides in- as well as outdoor (abroad) climbing.
Above all, Mountain Network provides a place where people can connect. After all, you rely on your climbing buddy to belay you. Or you motivate each other while climbing a mountain together. Friendship and togetherness are inseparable from our sport and Mountain Network wants to encourage that

About Clean Climber

Clean Climber’s mission is to ensure climbing for future generations. In order to do so, Clean Climber aims to bring the impact of the climbing sport in balance with its environment in order to make the sport sustainable. Clean Climber is committed to cleaning climbing areas, reusing climbing gear and creating more awareness among climbers regarding their own responsibilities. We all have an impact and can change that into having a positive impact. Let’s ensure climbing for future generations, together! 

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Why we need 8,000 smelly, old climbing shoes

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You are probably reading this, because you want to know a bit more about those Clean Climber bins at your local Monk or Mountain Network gym. We’re going to tell you this in a brief format, because we know that smelly climbing shoes are not something you want to dwell on too long. 

We use a ton of climbing shoes every year, some of us go through one or two pairs, some even more. These go onto garbage heaps and they don’t need to. We can actually fix them, but even when they’re completely done (is your toe poking out, then your shoe is done) we need to think what we do with them. You’ve got the 5 R’s of sustainability (refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle) to consider here and that’s what this is all about*.

Circular Chain Project

We’re collecting these shoes as part of a circular chain project, subsidized by the RVO (CKP2100016), which means we’re trying to establish and involve the supply chain of climbing shoes. We’re talking to manufacturers, resolers, vendors and waste managers alike about what we can do with old shoes. The result is this project, where we turn used-up climbing shoes into sport mats for your local climbing gym (perhaps your gym has already pre-ordered them). 

Grinding those bad boots

We’ve partnered up with a lot of folks for this project, but for now let’s focus on what happens to your trusty old pair of odorous kicks. We need a certain amount of volume to realize our goal, and that’s set at 8,000 shoes. These we take to Fast Feet Grinded, who grind down the old shoes. If you handed in your shoes in the past: THANKS! It took quite some calibration to get the setting right for their machine to grind up climbing shoes (normally, they mangle sneakers, which are a different thing entirely). All this ground rubber, we take to the manufacturer Stockz who will make our mats. That’s the game, really!** For this whole process, we work closely together with Sympany, one of our partners. They have tons of experience in circular chains with clothing-to-resource projects.

That’s not all, folks!

We are working on various other projects, like our ReSole program. Increasing scale, making things viable, it is a big challenge but we are excited and amazed by the positive reception of the climbing world. We’ve received many requests from not-affiliated gyms in the Netherlands and Belgium for our programs and in France, a sister-organization is starting up. We are still a group of volunteers, and all your help (and smelly shoes) are so much appreciated!

Want to help out, talk to us or just share your ideas? Get in touch!

* We are aware that some people prefer 6 R’s, or 10 R’s or whatever number, so mentally replace that for whatever has your preference, in the end the goal is the same. 

** For this project we recycle all the rubber from climbing shoes, which accounts to about 50% of the shoe’s weight. The other 50% is for now non-recyclable, we’re working on it!