ICYMI: Arc’teryx Academy Climb event is back in Squamish this weekend

Brace yourself Squamish because the climbing community is about to triple in size and is ready to rock your weekend.

The Arc’teryx Academy Climb event is back for its 17th year and brings with it; experience, educational clinics, competitions, music and more.

Held across three days–Aug. 23 to 25– the Academy in collaboration with a number of their sponsors and partners have created a collection of events to celebrate all things climbing. 

“The climbing Academy is a sports festival that's been welcomed by the Squamish community for 17 beautiful years. We feel super honoured to be able to come back every year and bring this out to the people of Squamish.” Arc’teryx senior manager for brand experiences, Shannon Reynolds told The Squamish Chief.

The program

She says the goal of the Climb Academy is to “create and hold space” for the climbing community to come out and celebrate their love of the outdoors.

“The academies are really rooted in what we call our educational clinics, that are a variety of different levels and there's something for everyone,” she said.

“But the goal is to provide this education at an accessible price point–so whether you're just starting out in your climbing journey or you've been climbing for 30 years, we offer introductory clinics all the way to advance.

“There's running clinics, there's hiking clinics, bouldering, you name it. We just want to create space and an opportunity for the community to come out and celebrate their love for the mountains.”

Outside of the clinics, the Climb Academy also hosts a variety of different programming across the weekend including; films, speakers, product demos and music.

“There's a plethora of opportunities to come out and engage with us over the weekend, outside of just climbing, if that's not your thing,” Reynolds said.

“I think the vendor village is definitely a big ticket item … this year [it] has some incredible activations going on. There's one specifically called MO/GO Hike Assist, which is a wearable device that's designed to help folks with mobility issues in the mountains. 

“I won't give it all away, but that's a really neat activation happening at the park, as well as a ton of sponsors and partners that have come out for the weekend with the hopes to engage with folks.”

There are also educational seminars being held at the Brackendale Art Gallery, as well as stewardship walks which share the history of the land and tips on how to be better stewards of the land.

Squamish’s own Surf Hat will lead the music events held across the weekend. Their free set will be on Friday night at 8.30 p.m, at Junction Park & O'Siyam Pavilion.

Hannah Cottrell and the Loboz performs on the Saturday night at the park and there are ticketed music acts at the Brackendale Art Gallery throughout the weekend.

Dyno competition

On Saturday, visitors are able to watch some of the best climbers show off their skills in a dynamic climbing competition. 

“The Dyno comp is in partnership with The Hive, and we've been doing it now for at least 10 years now. It's basically folks that are really incredible at climbing that come out and provide some thrilling examples of dynamic climbing in a friendly competition,” Reynolds said.

“It's a really, really fun event that the community gets super involved in…people basically hurl their bodies across this wall, and can do some pretty incredible things. It’s certainly not one to be missed!”

The crowds

If you’ve noticed the buzz around the Arc’teryx Academy Climb events growing over the years you’d be right. 

“We've grown so much over the last five years in particular, I think like five years ago, we saw around 3000 people over the course of the weekend, and now we're seeing 12,000 plus,” Reynolds said.

“So I anticipate this year will probably be around 14,000 people.

“It's just a testament to the community that comes out to support these types of events. We feel super honoured to be welcomed the way that we are by Squamish and everybody who travels in for this event.”

Whether you’re a novice climber, an expert, or just like to watch climbing documentaries from the comfort of your home, the Arc’teryx Academy Climb weekend has something for everyone. 

For more information on the program visit the Arc’teryx Academy Climb website.