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Warning: This textual content discusses sexual violence.
On October 30, longtime Bay Area climber Jason William Crist, 38, was arrested in Pacifica, California, and charged with 9 felonies for alleged events that occurred throughout the state between March 2019 and October 2023.
He faces 29 counts associated to sexual violence, a outcomes of 4 police tales describing interactions with him in Pacifica, Presidio, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite. The felony charges embody forcible rape, sexual battery, and assault. He posted bail for $500,000.
Climbing spoke with three women who’ve made accusations in opposition to Crist. They describe how he, a former Arc’teryx NorCal ambassador and former Movement Climbing, Yoga, and Well being employee, had a continuing pattern. On the climbing health middle in San Francisco’s Presidio park—beforehand Planet Granite, now Movement San Francisco—Crist would befriend youthful female climbers, usually novices who didn’t know many people within the neighborhood and didn’t however have the talents to take themselves outdoor. Then he would “act as a mentor or their ‘keys’ to outdoor climbing,” one girl instructed Climbing.
“He was instructing on the health middle,” talked about one different of Crist’s complainants. “He was instructing men and women. He had the selection to point out children. It merely appeared like he had a rapport from the health middle and there was safety there.” Nevertheless as quickly as he obtained the women outdoor, Crist would “cross established boundaries in strategies that are not OK.”.
“He makes use of climbing journeys as the best time to hurt of us,” talked about one different complainant. “It’s an precise repeat issue.”
In step with this climber, there are in the meanwhile 10 women who’ve claimed to have associated confrontations with Crist.
Crist’s arrest comes on the heels of former expert climber Charlie Barrett’s February 2024 conviction for raping a woman in Yosemite Nationwide Park—and positively one in all Crist’s complainants talked about that Crist’s case was eerily associated for one foremost trigger:
“Everyone knew,” she talked about. “Nevertheless not one of many totally different guys within the neighborhood would inform a girl, ‘Hey, Jason’s creepy, don’t grasp round with him.’ They solely instructed me after the assault, like, ‘Oh yeah, I knew he was a nasty particular person, I was nervous for you.’”
In step with all three complainants, managers at Movement Climbing, Yoga, and Well being have been made aware that Crist—an employee of three years—had allegedly assaulted a variety of workers and members, and, after these women filed police tales, launched a months-long investigation. In consequence, Crist was fired this earlier summer season season and banned from all 29 Movement properties.
Whereas one in all many women with whom Climbing spoke expressed appreciation for Movement’s dedication, and for the help that the Movement group has provided, others are irritated that the info uncovered by Movement’s third-party investigators was not broadly publicized.
“If Movement knew additional regarding the assaults than anyone else,” says Kimbrough Moorea philosophy professor at San Francisco State School and the creator of Golden State Bouldering Guidebook“I’m disenchanted that they sat on the info considerably than sharing it with the climbing group. I don’t understand how any individual may make that choice.”
(In response to Climbing’s request for comment, a Movement spokesperson assured us that “Movement Climbing, Yoga and Well being prioritizes the safety and well-being of all group members, and we take any allegations of misconduct very considerably.” Nevertheless they added: “As that’s an lively investigation, we’re unable to comment.”)
Moore was made aware of the police tales in opposition to Crist when the complainants reached out to him this summer season season. Determining that sexual assault cases often take years to lead to an arrest, he began actively working with the Bay Area Climbers Coalition, nevertheless that they’d not however taken any movement when Crist was unexpectedly arrested.
The women we spoke with well-known that, whereas Crist and Barrett are extreme cases, they aren’t the one unhealthy actors.
“When the entire Charlie Barrett stuff acquired right here out,” talked about one girl, “everyone pointed at him and was like, ‘That’s horrible. Don’t be that man. Good issue we obtained him. That man’s gone.’ And I really feel a lot of folks missed the aim that it’s nonetheless occurring beneath our noses. I don’t want this story to be ‘Acquired one different one; good issue we obtained him.’ I want it to be an ongoing dialog. I want dudes to talk to their mates about how they’re treating women. … I want of us to know that sexual assault is a trigger that women go away climbing. Everyone deserves to essentially really feel cosy and safe after they’re on the crag. I may need left climbing. And if I may need left, then I really feel totally different women most certainly have. And I hate that.”
It’s a creating story. We’ll change it as additional information turns into obtainable.
