Customer Update 22nd May 2020

The Team at Durham Climbing Centre wanted to say ‘hi’ and to let everyone know we are working hard, behind the scenes, to ready the centre for reopening but only when it is safe to do so. We are constantly in communication with the Association of British Climbing Walls [ABC] and are seeking advice on how best to prepare and safeguard all employees and customers who come into the climbing wall.

We are using this downtime to refresh some of the centre's key features, including a full route reset, new holds and volumes from Blue Pill and X-Cult, a new colour scheme in parts of the wall and other exciting pieces we look forward to sharing with our climbers. Please watch out for progress pictures.

Managing Director, Hayley Mckenna, has created a framework for reopening, incorporating mandatory government requirements and climbing wall adaptations, to take all possible precautions we possibly can to keep the site free from COVID-19. While we are excited for the reopening of DCC, we do expect some changes to the operations in order to safeguard both employees and staff.

We are implementing more efficient operating methods, and new practices to maintain social distancing. These include mandatory online booking, a reduced capacity at any one time, panel route setting instead of circuit setting, more regular route setting, smaller coaching sessions and limited numbers of participants for school holiday climbing camps. There will be stricter hygiene measures in place, and we are working to upgrade the hygiene and sanitisation facilities to ensure customers’ safety.

The Team are so grateful for the support we have received from the DCC climbing community and we simply cannot wait to welcome you back with virtual open arms! A recent survey conducted by vertical life indicated that 95% of climbers would be willing to return to climbing walls – this is good news as we are working really hard to do everything we can to make the centre safe for our customers and staff. We have loved seeing all the pictures on social media and we welcome you all to continue sharing pictures using the hashtag #durhamclimbingcentre

We wish to see everyone soon and the whole team send their best wishes to everyone and hope you are all staying safe and well. Thank you for your continued support. Stay safe. Team DCC