At Rock and Rise we welcome women and people of expansive genders, including non-binary, gender non-conforming and transgender folks of all identities. We recognize that gender is only one factor in a complex system of discrimination and barriers to outdoor sport, but this is the line we have chosen to draw (at least for now) in order to make space for growth and learning as a community. Within these chosen boundaries, we encourage women and people of expansive genders with added intersecting identity factors (Indigenous, BIPOC, LGBTQ2+, official language minorities, newcomers, persons with disabilities, etc.) to attend!

As we reflected about why we were passionate about creating this supportive space for women, it became clear that other gender expressions were substantially less represented within our climbing community and that these members often faced much greater social and historical barriers than female climbers experienced. We thought: why not come together and build a diverse community that challenges the stereotype of the cisgendered male climber? At Rock and Rise, we are committed to fighting toxic cultures around gender and identity, and we will continue to learn and grow in order to support this greater community.

Yes! The festival has always been and still is a space for cisgendered women to feel safe and empowered in the still-male-dominated world of outdoor adventure sports. It is a space to celebrate and grow together, but also to challenge the stereotypes and fight for change. Our dream is that, through initiatives like Rock & Rise we can shift the landscape and that we will see more women and non-dominant gender folks not only at the crags, but in leadership roles across all disciplines of our sport.

No. We believe that all members of the climbing community, including cis-gendered men, will ultimately benefit from initiatives, like Rock & Rise, that strive to diversify our outdoor community. But in order to address barriers that stifle minority groups from not only accessing, but also progressing to their full potential, we feel it is necessary to remove the dominant gender to make space for these often overlooked voices. We believe the real exclusion is built into the current system that protects and supports some groups while pushing away or even harming others. Rock & Rise is a fluid space for experimentation and discovery, where we come together to shift the mould and create new norms.

Across Canada and all of the Americas, First Nations People have suffered needlessly and appallingly throughout the eras of colonization, and the impacts and intergenerational traumas are widespread today. It’s no wonder that First Nations people are underrepresented in outdoor recreation spaces and mountain sports communities. Rock and Risel has partnered with Indigenous Women Outdoors (IWO) to offer an all-inclusive scholarship program for members of the Sḵwx̱ú7mesh and Líl̓wat Nations to attend our weekend festival. For more information and to apply, click HERE. If you have questions about the IWO x Rock and Rise program, reach out to Sandy at sandy@indigenouswomenoutdoors.ca

Our scholarship application is closed for 2024 and selected candidates have been informed. Thank-you to everyone who applied! We had so many touching applications, we wish we could have chosen all of you. If you’d like to stay in the loop for next year, subscribe to our newsletter on our home page.

We’d love to chat and find out more! Adaptive climbing programs for people living with physical or mental barriers have innovated some pretty incredible tools and strategies. Don’t hesitate to reach out to community@rockandrise.com or fill out our contact form on our website and we can talk about if this festival is a good fit for you and how we can work to accommodate your needs. In the meantime, we also encourage you to check out the Canadian Adaptive Climbing Society (www.canadianadaptiveclimbbing.com) for more opportunities.

All ages are welcome at the festival grounds and for camping! However, anyone 18 years of age or less will need to have parent or guardian supervision at all times when attending the festival*. We will have a minors’ waiver form for the parent or guardian to fill out at registration upon arrival at the festival grounds, and a copy of this form will be available to view online when you go to purchase a ticket. We will not be running programs specifically for kids, however, if your child is 12-18 years (inclusive) and a parent or guardian agrees to be present with them at the festival grounds, they can register for their own general admission ticket. *If they choose to participate in a clinic, the parent or guardian will need to drop them off and pick them up from the clinic, but do not have to be present during the clinic itself. For children under 12, please see the FAQ question “Can I bring my kids?” below.

Yes! Probably… All ages are welcome at the festival grounds and for camping! As we recognize that parenthood can be a barrier to rock climbing, we are happy to let children under the age of 12 (and of any gender) come along for free, please tick the relevant box during the registration form so that we keep track of numbers. 12 and up, you'll need to purchase them a ticket. Anyone 18 years of age or less will need to have parent or guardian supervision when attending the festival. We will have a minors’ waiver for the parent or guardian to fill out at registration upon arrival at the festival. The only exception to the 24/7 supervision: for any youth between the ages of 12 and 18 (inclusive) who decide to register for a clinic, your parent or guardian must drop you off and pick you up from the clinic, but they do not have to be present during the clinic itself. Unfortunately we will not be running programs specifically for children. If you’d like to register for a clinic yourself, we encourage you to find someone to take care of your kid(s). One option could be to come along with a friend or partner and alternate who takes the kid(s) each day and who takes a clinic. However, if access to childcare is posing a barrier for your participation, please don’t be shy to reach out to us at partnerships@rock-and-rise.com and we can do our best to come up with a solution together!

Yes! Rock and Rise climbing festival welcomes climbers of all experiences levels and abilities. We will be offering clinics from beginner to advanced, and there will be equipment provided for those who don’t have their own. Stay tuned for when we announce our stacked instruction line-up in the coming months!

Nope. A big part of our motivation behind the festival is to create an opportunity for people within our community to meet climbing partners and make new friendships!

Please come prepared for a weekend outdoors and be ready for sudden changes in the weather. This means: a jacket and warm layers, sunhat and sunscreen, comfortable shoes for walking and a water bottle. If you choose to camp, you will be required to bring your own basic equipment (tent, mat, sleeping bag)*. If you register for a clinic, your mentor will reach out with an equipment list prior to the weekend*. We send out a weather update in the days leading up to the festival. Also see our answer to 'Will there be food provided?' below. *We are working to have camping equipment provided for the scholarship candidates. *Climbing equipment will be available (hopefully for free!) for those registered in beginner courses.

We are currently working to collaborate with some local food businesses and will update this information here once we know exactly what food/drinks will be available. Our hope is to have coffee and baked goods available Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as a shared dinner for the Saturday evening. Outside of this, you will be expected to bring your own food. There will be no cooking equipment provided on site, however you are welcome to use a personal camping stove to cook on.

We are currently working on the food options, so we do not have an answer for you at this time. However, we are looking to accommodate vegetarian and vegan options and will make sure to have information available about ingredients such as gluten, lactose, and nuts. Our waiver form will include a space to inform us of any allergies and existing or previous medical conditions, so that we can do our best to make this a safe space for all participants.

Probably! If so, there will be an option to select this camping set-up during the registration process. This will not affect the price. Stay tuned.

No! We are excited to offer this festival at a location where a private vehicle is NOT required. Simply take a bus (or ride share app) from Vancouver to Squamish downtown or the Adventure Center. The festival grounds and the clinics are both within reasonable walking distance from either location. If access to the festival (or moving between the basecamp and the clinics) poses a barrier for you, please do not hesitate to reach out to operations@rockandrise.com or fill out our contact form on the website and we will do our best to help find a solution together.

No. Although we strongly encourage Squamish locals to take part for the entire festival experience, we understand that this may not suit everyone. You are welcome to attend the clinics and evening programming/entertainments and then retire to your own home (or other accommodation) if you choose to do so.

Probably. If your dog is friendly with people and other dogs, and not loud, aggressive or menacing, feel free to bring them along to the festival grounds. Please bring a leash and if the dog is misbehaving we may ask you to tie it to a tree. If you wish to bring your dog to a clinic, please reach out to your specific mentor about this once we connect you in an email a couple weeks before the festival.

The festival will run rain or shine! Of course, we all hope for perfect weather, but in the case of rain we feel confident that we can still foster an incredible community weekend. We will erect tents and tarps should we need to shelter during the evening programs. In terms of the climbing clinics, our mentors will do their best to relocate under overhangs or tarps and focus on “ground school lessons,” such as practicing technical systems or talking about risk assessment and mental management. Note the Smoke Bluffs (the local crag where most clinics will take place) face the south and are exposed to the wind, so some routes are dry within minutes of the rain stopping! In the unlikely event of extreme weather warnings that pose a true hazard to the festival participants (such as dangerous highway travel or forest fires), the festival will offer refunds in full.

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In early 2023, Bronwyn and Pim excitedly took over leadership of the Treeline Community climbing festival. They worked for months learning how to run the event, gathering the funds and the permits, organizing the venue and the program, the guide roster, the artists, etc. Unfortunately, with 6 weeks to go, they felt overworked and at risk of burnout. They decided to make the tough call to postpone the event, taking what they learned this time into summer 2024! Bronwyn and Pim have now been joined by Elaiza and Amanda to share the workload and pull off the big dream together. At Rock & Rise we commend vulnerability and praise their strength and courage in deciding to pull back last year. Mental health is an important topic that we do not shy away from; instead we encourage these inner reflections and conversations with open arms and warm hearts.

A full refund will be offered for cancellations made more than one month before the first day of the festival. After that no refunds will be available. If you’d like to transfer your ticket to another person, we still need them to fill out a registration form so that we have the required information. If you know the person you are transferring your ticket to, please email community@rock-and-rise.com and include the person who you are transferring to in the email. Due to our own capacity, we are unable to accept ticket transfers within one week of the festival. If you are unable to attend due to injury, serious illness or family emergency, please email the address above. The festival will run rain or shine. In the event of an extreme weather warning, we may decide to cancel part of or all of the event, in which case we will be in touch with details.