Amidst the COVID-19 situation, we’re all currently in a very fluid situation meaning Government advice may change which could force us to make significant changes on a day to day basis.
In order to further mitigate the risk of Covid-19 infection we have put in place the following additional measures, in line with the Dubai authorities and best practices in the climbing industry,
Updated 6/04/2022
PAPERLESS SIGN UP
In order to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission we have implemented an entirely digital sign-up process. No paper or pens exchange hands.
From waiver forms to membership contracts, everything is now done online through our website, thus reducing potential contact and preserving the health of our staff and members.
MANDATORY BOOKING
All climbers have to reserve their 2hr climbing slot online through the Member App. The reservation system serves two purposes.
It allows us to control the number of climbers at any one time in the gym and stay under the 50 person quota per 2 hours. Our main aim is to manage and reduce the number of climbers in our building at any one time and mitigate the spread of the virus whilst still being able to maintain a positive space for people to use.
Secondly if someone was to report being Covid-19 positive, we can quickly alert other members who were climbing in the same time slot that a person in the gym at the same time as them has tested positive.
Please note: if a person in your time slot shares a positive Covid-19 test with us within a few days of climbing, we will put all members present at that time slot on hold for 10 days.
It is our hope that the booking system is effective and aims to allow the free flow of climbers even at peak times, and also dependably manage capacity without needing to queue or waitlist too many climbers.
Mandatory Safety Induction
We require a short mandatory boulder and auto-belay safety inductions for drop-in clients as well as new and returning members.
There are two main goals to this safety induction.
One, they inform all climbers of our Covid-19 risk mitigation rules at the gym, in order to keep everyone safe and healthy. Our instructors will among other things remind climbers about washing their hands after a climb and before touching their face, maintaining social distancing on the wall and how to direct a sneeze or cough.
Two, many climbing gyms have noticed a spike in accidents when they re-opened. Since most of you have not been climbing for months, it is important for us to make sure everyone is climbing and bouldering safely.
This free workshop is an integral part of our Covid-19 risk mitigation strategy,
Family members
In order to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection from another climber and encourage social distancing, we are encouraging people who live together (as a couple or family) to climb together. In Family or Couple memberships climbing partners have to be from the same household as the climber.
LIQUID CHALK
Mountain Extreme is testing a liquid-chalk-only policy for the foreseeable future. Our understanding of how COVID-19 spreads is constantly evolving, but airborne transmission is believed to be the primary way the virus is spread. By eliminating loose chalk, we are trying to limit airborne dust. This reduces the particles in the air, which reduces irritants to the eyes and airways and for many climbers will lessen the need to touch our eyes and faces. In other gyms that have implemented this, the difference in air quality appears to be significant. We are also offering the world's first Hygienic Chalk which contains the concentration of ethanol (80%) recommended by the WHO, CDC, and FDA for Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products. Its available in the shop right now, go and grab some!
REDUCED CLASS SIZE
As parents we take the health of children very seriously. We have limited kids classes to ensure social distancing is strictly enforced as well as hand sanitizing after every climb.
Maintaining Facility Cleanliness
Beyond making sanitizer available to climbers we have also hired a full time cleaning service who will be disinfecting high contact points throughout the entire day.
There are no lost and found, items found at the end of the day are discarded
MORE AUTOBELAYS
We decided to invest in more auto-belay units. as a tool in helping to maintain social distancing. With 14 auto-belay units we offer a range of routes for every climbing level and more importantly allow climbers to maintain social distancing by not having a climbing partner.
As gyms are being closed down in Dubai, and climbing gyms are shut down around the world due to the second wave of Covid-19, we believe our Covid-19 risk mitigation strategy will help us maintain the highest level of hygiene standards and protect the health of our staff and members.
We continuously communicate our rules and inform our members about any rules or measures put in place. We believe communication is key in ensuring everyone is on board and understands the importance of the Covid-19 rules in place at the gym.
We understand that some of these measures can be felt as constraining. We also know that the gym is a social hub for people to meet their friends after work, but we would like to ask climbers to refrain from grouping together when working a problem or a route. We believe climbers are used to rules and risk mitigation is what keeps them safe indoors and outdoors.