Climbing Adventure for Kids at UC Santa Barbara ~ August 6-24, 2012Written by Vapur Pro Team member, Laura BylundThe Vapur Anti-Bottle's colorful presence graced the Climbing Adventure for Kids this August at UC Santa Barbara. This 3-week climbing camp serviced over 40 young climbers of all skill levels between the ages of 6 and 13 years. Vapur was there each of the three weeks keeping them hydrated and fit for climbing through the summer heat.The climbers learned the ever important skills of how to conduct a thorough safety check before leaving the ground and how to communicate so they can focus on their movement on the wall. They engaged in a multitude of exercises to help them move up in climbing grade, with much focus on the most important thing and what is often forgotten in good climbing, their feet!The kids learned the proper orientation for placing their toes on the wall, how to effectively grip climbing holds, techniques for best preserving strength and energy and shifting their weight for lateral movement. They put these new skills to the test while bouldering, traversing through hula hoops, playing wall twister and braving their project route on the high wall."This was the most successful year by far," said Luke Hetzel, the camp's founding Lead Instructor. "It feels we have finally been established as a reputable and desirable kids camp and having a company like Vapur provide a quality product for everyone made it feel even more official."Many of the kids had their light weight Anti-Bottles conveniently hanging from their shorts or harnesses while traversing or going up the 30 foot sections. With all of this exhausting climbing activity, it was good to have Vapur kids water bottles there as a bright and accessible reminder to keep drinking water.It was all the more fitting to promote an environmentally friendly product in the first ever LEED certified recreation center, 100% powered by 816 photovoltaic solar panels on its tall roof, the UCSB Multi-Activity Center."It was a lot of fun, " Hetzel said, "and was really special to be able give the kids a useful and sustainable gift."
Vapur Pro Team member, Laura Bylund, in coordination with Vapur, made a contribution of Anti-Bottles to the kids involved with the camp.