5 Tips to Avoid Summer Heat.

Last week I was guiding a climbing trip for Front Range Climbing Company over at Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. Our clients were 46 kids from Cyprus on a U.S. State Department-sponsored trip. Half the kids from the divided island were from the Turkish sector and the other half from the Greek. The idea is that by coming to a neutral site in the United States, the teenagers will become friends and understand each other better in hopes that eventually Cyprus will be re-united. Cool idea. Great kids.

All that aside, it was hot out at the Monument. We got there well before seven in the morning to get the top-ropes and rappel line set up, then the kids came and were outfitted with shoes and harnesses. By the time we hiked to the Monument Slabs it was close to 90 degrees. At noon the storm of sunlight had reached a baking 96 degrees in the shade. I followed four of my five tips to avoid heat-related illnesses by drinking lots of water and sports drinks, replacing essential salts, wearing light-colored clothes and a hat, and keeping alert for signs of over-heating in both myself and the kids. The only tip I didn’t follow was avoiding the heat of the day. But four out of five ain’t too bad!

To find out more about keeping cool and avoiding summer heat problems, read my newest article on Summer Rock Climbing—5 Tips to Avoid Heat-Related Illness. It has lots of great ideas to keep cool on the remaining hot days of summer when you’re out rock climbing.

Photo Above: Greek and Turkish Cypriots belaying at the Monument Slabs.
Photo © Stewart M. Green