Elevator Pitch | Climbing Addicts low-impact chalk
Founder Shawn Axelrod pitches his new rock climbing chalk that blends—not blemishes— the landscape.
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Last year as I was leaving a favorite climbing area in Colorado with my two sons, I couldn’t help but notice the white chalk graffiti blemishing the rock face. As stewards of our environment, I feel that we are responsible for making the cliffs enjoyable for not just other rock climbers but also the hikers and backpackers that enjoy the mountain scenery.
That’s why I started my own company, Climbing Addicts, and introduced a colored climbing chalk that reduces the visual footprint that rock climbers leave on the rocks and trails that we call home.
Our chalk is tinted in two colors options that blend in with the natural landscape found across the U.S. – Wall Street Gold and Yosemite Gray. It took nearly a year of research, experimentation, and product testing on rock faces across the U.S., but we’ve formulated a dry process to tint the magnesium carbonate, resulting in a colored chalk that blends in with the environment and feels and performs just like other high quality white chalk. The pigment ratio is small and doesn’t alter the chalk in any way, give the chalk a “slimy” feel, or stain the hands.
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White chalk is not just an aesthetic issue, it also takes a bit of the adventure out of climbing. White chalk marks show where previous climbers have taken their route and makes it all too easy to just follow the path most traveled. Our colored climbing chalk blends in with the landscape and will make climbers feel as if they’re the first to ascend a crag or crack.
The colored climbing chalk is sold in 200g bags and retails for $15.99.
Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.
