{"id":1463,"date":"2026-07-05T04:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2026-07-05T04:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:38:24","slug":"as-war-grinds-on-ukrainian-climbers-build-a-new-outdoor-culture-inspired-by-yosemite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1463","title":{"rendered":"As war grinds on, Ukrainian climbers build a new outdoor culture inspired by Yosemite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DENYSHI, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Atop a steep granite cliff overlooking a river about two hours\u2019 drive west of Kyiv, hundreds of people pitched tents on a festival camping ground. By day, they climbed the rock face, swam in a nearby reservoir or enjoyed stand-up paddling. As evening fell, live bands and DJs took over the stage as rock and electronic music drifted through the forest.<\/p>\n

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The Stoned Climbers festival, which took place last week in the Zhytomyr region<\/span>, is Ukraine\u2019s biggest outdoors event combining climbing and live music. Like many public events in wartime Ukraine<\/span>, the festival blended ordinary leisure with reminders that the war is never far away.<\/p>\n

Visitors received multiple air raid alert notifications on their phones throughout the weekend. Soldiers on leave quietly blended into the crowd, while organizers directed all profits from this year\u2019s festival to a fundraising initiative supporting Ukraine\u2019s Azov Brigade. Unlike last year, however, no Russian drones or missiles crossed the sky above the campsite on their way toward Kyiv<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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The volunteer-run festival was launched in 2023 by about 15 friends who had spent more than a year climbing together after becoming fascinated by Yosemite\u2019s climbing culture.<\/p>\n

The U.S. national park<\/span> has long been regarded as one of the birthplaces of modern rock climbing, where climbers built a counterculture around sleeping in tents, living out of vans and spending months on the granite walls of the valley.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe realized climbing could be much more than just a sport,\u201d said festival co-founder Dmytro Isaienko, 39. \u201cIt\u2019s about a specific way of life \u2014 in nature, camping, on the rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaienko and his friends wanted to challenge the perception that climbing was reserved for elite athletes. Their first festival attracted about 150 visitors. This summer, attendance grew to more than 500, most of them beginners or amateur climbers.<\/p>\n

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Organizing the festival during wartime has given it a broader purpose, Isaienko said. He believes creating places where people can gather, learn new skills and spend time together has become a way of sustaining one\u2019s well-being through a prolonged war.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to get away from the war for a while,\u201d he said. \u201cLeave Kyiv and come spend some time here together, a little longer than usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

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