Rocksteady Climbing Adventures was born out of a love for the outdoors, and rock climbing in particular. We are not full time climbing professionals, but climbing is a passion we could not live without!

One thing we did wonder was how we could use this passion to make a positive difference to others. Would it be possible to make travelling for rock climbing a positive impact on areas that we visit? So we started Rocksteady as a project, and to us it still is, in a way, an ongoing project. This project has two primary aims.

Firstly, we know that there are many areas in this world that offer fantastic rock climbing opportunities, but which have not yet been developed simply because they are usually in rural areas where the resources to develop such things are non-existent. What if rock climbing can offer poorer communities some economic advantage through responsible climbing tourism? Well, this is what we are trying to achieve – by identifying areas that can benefit from climbing tourism, and then try to invite climbers to climb in those areas, using local guides and staying in local accommodation, and then raving it to their friends back home so they can come and visit too. This way, visiting climbers can enjoy new unspoilt climbing routes and the local community can benefit from the visiting climbers.

Secondly, support for the local climbing industry itself. Most visiting climbers arrive at a climbing site and the rock face and bolts are all there ready for them to climb. What they do not see are the hard work of cleaning the rock face and surrounding ground areas, bolting the routes and maintaining them from time to time, changing bolts once they get rusty. These are all done voluntarily by local climbers on their own time and using their own pocket money for the equipment and bolts, and can end up being very expensive. What we do is to give financial support back to the local community for all this effort through channelling the bulk of the money we make from our customers back into the local climbing community.

For all this to work, we need trusted partners. For us, our trusted partners are always local climbing guides whom we have met and climbed with and have become good friends with. They understand our philosophy and reason for doing this and more often than not, they are on the same wavelength as us.

Certain ethics need to be adhered to while we’re on this project, and the following are those we find important:

• To be responsible and kind to the natural environment that has bestowed upon us the beautiful formations for us to climb on. This means treading lightly on the earth wherever we go, and leaving minimal traces of human intervention.
• No unchecked development of climbing areas. While climbing tourism may be good for the local community, at the same time we do not want a growth that is detrimental to the environment and people.
• To have lots of fun. After all, this is what it’s all about! We love climbing. We love climbing in new unspoilt areas even more. And we want to share this with you.