Climbing Addicts

A day of climbing followed by food, fire, friends, and flashlight tag (by the littles) under the Milky Way. Couldn’t ask for a more perfect day!

First reorders of the year go to and ! Reorders make us SO psyched because they show 1.) there’s a demand for our chalk and 2.) you are all out there supporting local businesses. 🙌

We’d love to know where you’re using or buying our chalk. Please tag us in your posts or stories!🧗‍♀️❤️🌎

When you zoom in, do you see chalk on his hands? I don’t. But it’s actually there! Our friend Nick used our Gold chalk to on his Colorado climbing trip back in the fall. The idea behind Earth-toned chalk is to keep your hands dry while not marking up the rocks! Gold is our most popular color because it blends so well on mixed color rock like this.

It takes a community of climbers working together to keep our rocks and landscapes beautiful for future generations. If you’re here, it means you’re probably one of them. We appreciate it! 🧗‍♀️❤️

📍Boulder Canyon, Third Flatiron, Clear Creek Canyon - CO

📸: Nick Gunner

Happy New Year from your team at Climbing Addicts! Here are a few business “wins” from 2023 that we are really grateful for.

➡️ In 2023, we sold 605 packages of chalk, compared to 102 packages sold in 2022. It’s still a drop in the bucket compared to bigger chalk companies, but still, lots of progress for our small business and we have our customers to thank! This also means we’re making a WAY bigger donation to this year (yay!!)🥳

➡️ We invested in fully recyclable/compostable packaging (cardboard tubes) for our 100g size. This wasn’t cheap, but soooo worth it to get away from plastic. We can’t wait to switch over the 200g size as soon as our inventory runs out. 🙌

➡️ We switched to chalk sourced from SEA WATER!!! It’s freaking awesome knowing that we aren’t contributing to the pollution caused from mining chalk. 🌊

➡️ Climbing Addicts was featured again in . Big thanks to Stefani for this incredible opportunity, her editing work, and vision.

Most of all, we are thankful to YOU for following our journey, supporting a small business, and your dedication to leave no trace ethics!🙏❤️🧗‍♀️

Wishing every one of you happiness in 2024,

Josh, Alyssa, Eliana, and Mira

📸: Our first winter hike of the new year in Hunter’s Creek Park (WNY). Here’s to more adventures (climbing and otherwise) in 2024!🌄

The days have been dark and cold. I thankfully don’t have seasonal affective disorder like many people who live in this area, but days like today make me feel gloomy all the same! I’ve been missing this view, the feeling of real rock, and the *quiet* peace I feel up on a cliff. Someday, I hope, we’ll have the financial freedom to travel to warm climbing places during the winter! But in the meantime, I’ll look at pictures and visualize my happy place. -Alyssa

P.S. Our gray chalk works beautifully in areas of the . Help .official out by leaving no trace! Use chalk that blends with the rocks (or brush away your white tick marks), pick up your trash, and be a respectful human.🫶

➡️ Tag us if you use our chalk in a sunny place this winter! ☀️

As a small, family-run business, we truly appreciate every order that comes our way. When you choose to purchase our sea water sourced & earth-toned chalk, you're not just getting a high-quality product, you are supporting a cleaner environment and reducing climber impact at the crags!

To show our gratitude, we are gifting you 1 FREE bag of chalk with the purchase of 2 large bags! As always, shipping is free for orders over $25 (U.S. only). Sale ends on 11/30/23.

This is a great way to stock up for the 2024 climbing season or gift the climbers in your life eco-conscious chalk! Feel free to mix and match (or get 3 bags of your favorite color!). Shop our website here: www.climbingaddicts.com (or link in bio)

Wishing you peace and happiness this holiday season! Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours,

Josh, Alyssa, Eliana, Mira, Luna, and Moby

Only have 1 chalk bag? We do too! Often we get concerns like, “But won’t I need to buy another chalk bag for my colored chalk?” And the answer is, only if you want to!

When alternating between gym and crag, just dump your chalk into a container and refill with the appropriate color. It’s an extra step, but it doesn’t take longer than a minute! You can also dip your hands in the packaging before you climb, like T is doing in the second pic. 😍

Whatever way you choose to manage your colored chalk, it’s worth it for leaving the crags beautiful and reducing climber impact!👏🌎❤️

📣 Introducing Sea Water Sourced Chalk! 🌊

Did you know that the mining of magnesite (from which climbing chalk is made) causes tons of pollution? If you didn't, published an article by Bradley Allf called "The Hidden Environmental Impact of Climbing Chalk" that goes over the process of how magnesium carbonate is made. We encourage you to look it up!

The article describes how the mining and processing plants affect a small province in China, where about 70% of chalk is produced in the world. White smears cover the landscape and buildings, and as an added punch to the gut, magnesite mining has adversely affected trees and crops in the region.

This is all for WHAT, exactly? So rock climbers, gymnasts, and weight-lifters can feel a little more secure while trying hard?!

We've always claimed to be an eco-conscious chalk company because of the way our chalk "leaves no trace" and reduces visual impact on the rocks. That's still super important (obviously!). But the fact that mining causes so much pollution has never sat well with us.

This is why we are proud to announce that we are the first United States company to be using sea water sourced chalk! 🥳👏

Our chalk's journey starts with magnesium hydroxide being sustainably extracted from the sea. Carbon dioxide is then added. The result? The purest and most effective form of magnesium carbonate on the market. There are NO impurities in our chalk... just 100% sustainably sourced magnesium carbonate from sea water with 100% naturally derived minerals for leaving our rocks beautiful. And now, you can chalk up in peace, knowing that our company is NOT contributing to the pollution problem on this planet! 🌎

By being our customer, you are supporting a cleaner environment AND reducing visual impact at the crags. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

- Josh and Alyssa

We were so honored when Stefani from Common Climber reached out to us to do an updated interview on Climbing Addicts, since Josh and I bought the business in the beginning of 2022. If you can, please check it out here: https://www.commonclimber.com/climbing-addicts-has-new-owners.html

Here’s a snippet from the article (on how I fell in love with climbing!):

Alyssa: “Shortly after we had our first daughter in 2018, Central Rock Gym in Buffalo opened. I was struggling with postpartum depression and PTSD from a traumatic childbirth, so when Josh suggested that we try climbing together, I thought he was out of his mind. I remember arguing with him, “We’re parents now, we have responsibilities. Plus, I’m exhausted! We’re seriously going to be climbing up walls while sleep deprived?!” But despite my reservations, he finally wore me down and I joined him at the climbing gym.

I still remember my first climb. I was full of doubt (and maybe even a little pi**ed) as Josh taught me the figure 8 knot, and my best friend, Caitlin, entertained my baby. But then I started to climb, and those feelings slowly dissipated. The higher up the wall I climbed, the more free I felt, leaving room for joy and empowerment to flood in. That was the moment that changed the trajectory of my life. I realized that climbing was the thing I needed to heal, and I was hooked from that day.​“

Please let us know what you think of the article! And I’d also love to know, when did YOU fall in love with climbing? Was it your very first climb, or later on?

Thanks to our incredible community for all the love and support! ❤️

Climbing Addicts Chalk Has New Owners - 2023 Interview Shawn Axelrod started Climbing Addicts in 2015. It was one of the first companies to bring colored climbing chalk to the market to help address the "chalk graffiti" happening on the rocks at our crags. In 2022, Josh and Alyssa Christensen became the new

There’s nothing like the magic of the first snowfall.✨ Micro-adventuring with the girls this morning included climbing up (and sliding down) slippery ravines, balancing across logs, and bushwacking. I didn’t have to carry anyone and there wasn’t too much complaining… 5 and 3 are GOOD ages! We’re building up stamina and resilience for those crag hike-ins one day at a time. 💪💕🧗‍♀️❄️

Our friend Christian chalking up with Yosemite Gray before his send in the New River Gorge!

Our chalk is made from 100% earth-derived minerals that are safe for hands and rocks. Nothing artificial here! Both the Gray and Gold will blend with a variety of rock colors, effectively leaving no trace wherever you’re climbing.

If you have a climbing trip coming up and you’re in need of Earth-toned chalk, we still have a couple discounted bags left on the website! Free shipping over $25 for orders shipped in the US. And as always, 2% is donated to .

We’ve been making the most of the dreariness out here in WNY by creek walking and sliding down ravines in the rain, followed by hot cocoa by the fire!

I used to walk these same creeks as a child and it’s where I first developed my passion for outdoors and adventure! Whether my kids pursue climbing or not, developing a love for being in nature (in all weather and seasons) is soooo important.🌦️💕