Alex Honnold, in a free-solo climb of Mt. Sentinel, in Yosemite, was one of the extreme climbers whose sponsorship was revoked by Clif Bar, as the company sought to distance itself from excessive risk. Pete Mortimer photo
Clif Bar, a longtime sponsor of multisport events and athletes, recently announced that it was terminating its sponsorship of five high-profile adventure climbers on the basis of the extreme risks the climbers take, according to The New York Times.
"We have and always will support athletes in many adventure-based sports, including climbing," the company wrote in an open letter to the climbing community that appeared on its website And inherent in the idea of adventure is risk. We appreciate that assessing risk is a very personal decision. This isn't about drawing a line for the sport or limiting athletes from pursuing their passions. We're drawing a line for ourselves. We understand that this is a grey area, but we felt a need to start somewhere and start now."
The Clif Bar website continues to promote a large number of its sponsored athletes in a variety of sports, including triathlon