Climbers attack a boulder in the Buttermilk Boulder area in Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
On the wild and remote eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada, hundreds of holiday visitors are flocking to climb the legendary rocks outside the tiny town of Bishop, in an annual pilgrimage as traditional as turkey.
But this year, locals wish they’d go away.
“Please come back – later. It would be a lot better for everyone,” said Tawni Thomson, executive director of the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.
While the town is fiercely dependent on tourism, officials say California’s current surge in COVID-19 cases could quickly overwhelm the region’s 25-bed district hospital, the only acute care for 42 miles in one direction and 58 miles in the other.
Climber Miya Tsudome makes her way up a boulder in the Buttermilk Boulder area in Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
Isolated in the lonely and windswept Owens Valley, the region has until recently been spared the fate of California’s large and more crowded cities. Only 282 coronavirus cases and 16 deaths have been reported among the 18,000 residents of 10,000-square-mile Inyo County — an area double the size of Connecticut.
But 25 new cases have appeared in just the past two weeks, and health officials fear the traditional Thanksgiving swell of climbers could spread the virus, especially threatening Bishop’s large community of elderly retirees. Another concern: far-flung rural residents can’t easily access testing.
“It looks like we’re heading right for that spike that they told us about,” said Thomson.
The pandemic is casting a deep shadow over the beloved climbing mecca, famed for its cobalt blue skies, austere beauty and welcoming vibe.
At the most popular bouldering sites, the number of parked cars jumps from around 15 on weekdays to 200 on holiday weekends, according to the Bishop Area Climbers’ Coalition. If each car holds two or three people, that could deliver 500 or more new visitors a day to a town of 4,000.
Climber Ryan Rouguex, left, rests with fellow climber Drew Dano in the Buttermilk Boulders area in Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
Its wide open spaces and world-class geology beckon athletes from all over the West, frustrated by long months at home. The massive egg-shaped boulders of The Tablelands area reward flexibility and strong fingers. The crags of The Buttermilks demand technical skill and hard calluses. The near-vertical walls of the Owens River Gorge call for laser-like focus.
Dust, dirt, rocks, sweat and fresh air are the perfect antidotes to the stress of 2020, say climbers.
If visitors act responsibly — wear masks, ask others before sharing boulders, avoid clustering around mats, and bring their own food rather than shopping in town — the sport is safe, according to the Bishop Climbing Coalition, a volunteer-run nonprofit that provides stewardship and education.
“Now that COVID-19 has lasted a lot longer than people were originally anticipating, we want to find ways for people to get outside, which we know is important for both physical and mental health,” said the coalition’s Lauren DeLaunay.
The weather of late November creates Bishop’s most perfect climbing conditions. While other parts of the state are wet or buried by snow, the region is dry and bathed in sun, yet cool enough for great grip.
Every Thanksgiving, crowds gather to brainstorm routes, share pastries from Erick Schat’s Bakery, buy supplies at Manor Market and huddle around late-night campfires at the cheap and popular campsite The Pit.
Barista Caitlin Pearson, left and cashier Demart Denaro help customers at the Black Sheep Coffee Roaster in downtown Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
Normally, visitors are welcomed by the town, whose economy is based almost entirely on tourism. Its shops are aching for business, after two of its biggest summer events — Mule Days and the California high school state rodeo finals — were canceled. This summer, nearly everything closed.
“It’s not been a good year,” said Susan Rose of the Bishop Hostel.
But this holiday, even as caravans of climbers depart from the Bay Area, Chico and Los Angeles for Highway 395, the county is urging people to stay home. So is Gov. Gavin Newsom and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Though we love having visitors in Inyo County, given our lack of health care infrastructure, our climbing case rates and our elderly population, we ask that people not travel to Inyo for any reason except essential business at this time,” said Carma Roper, Inyo County spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the county is struggling to its control its own residents who break quarantine and isolation orders, as well as businesses that are violating public health orders, according to a recent meeting of the county’s Board of Supervisors.
There are only four ICU beds at Northern Inyo Hospital, located next to downtown Bishop’s 1860s-era Pioneer Cemetery. While modern, the hospital lacks the resources to care for the critically ill, so must air-lift them to Reno or Los Angeles.
Climber Ryan Rouguex, left, attempts to climb a boulder as fellow climber Drew Dano spots him in the Buttermilk Boulders area in Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
“Due to our remote location we do not have a large staffing pool to pull from,” said Allison Partridge, the healthcare district’s Chief Nursing Officer. “This presents a challenge if our staff were to become ill — or for a large patient surge.”
Bishop is not alone in its dilemma. Land managers across the country report that parking lots, trails and mountain crags are busier than ever, according to the climbing advocacy group The Access Fund.
San Francisco’s Beau Martino, an avid climber who joined friends in Bishop for the holiday, said it is possible to stay COVID-safe.
Climber Miya Tsudome makes her way up a boulder in the Buttermilk Boulder area in Bishop, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. (Calder Davey for Bay Area News Group)
“Since climbing takes place outside, it is fairly easy to socially distance yourself from anyone else,” said Martino, 29. “That could mean staying out of the town…Or if you do need to go into town, you’re taking the necessary precautions to try to minimize your impact as much as possible.”
Camping with friends in remote Bureau of Land Management property, his group has agreed to stay in a self-contained “pod,” avoiding others. When boulders get crowded, they move on.
Normally, climbers cluster around the tricky stretch of rock “and do it as a team,” he said. But this week, “if I come across another group of people, I’m giving them plenty of space. We might be climbing the same boulder problem or falling onto the same pads — but there are no ‘high fives.’ There’s no close interaction or close contact.”
Such thoughtful steps can help prevent outbreaks, saving lives and fending off a state-mandated closure that would be catastrophic for Bishop businesses, said Climbers Coalition’s DeLaunay. The same precautions that are needed in cities should be used in Bishop, she said.
“We can’t just go to the mountains and pretend like real life isn’t happening anymore,” she said. “We can’t escape COVID just by going climbing.”
Bishop Area Climbers’ Coalition: https://bishopclimbers.org/
