Base Camp Blog
This is the place to get the inside scoop from Climbing's editors. In these pages, the editors share their unvarnished opinions on the day's news, favorite climbs, recent trips, and the gear that we use when we're out climbing.

  • Can Climbing Help Residents of Brazil’s Slums?

    BEYONDGear is a new organization, started by American climber Asa Firestone, that aims to raise money to support a climbing school and build a climbing wall in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

  • 2012 International Climbers Meet Recap

    Imagine being in a stunningly beautiful and ultra-classic climbing area at the most perfect time of year, camping in a secluded campground, climbing four-star routes with 50 of the most rad people you’ll ever meet from across the globe, chilling by a fire every night with a cold PBR in hand, and three ridiculously delicious meals a day served piping hot right in front of you.

  • Inspiring video: John Gill Training At Age 75

    Want to be inspired? Check out this video of John Gill working out in September 2012 at age 75, despite severe shoulder arthritis.

  • Climbing Dissed For Olympics by Sports Pros

    Which new sport would people in the business of sports prefer to see in the 2020 Olympics? Definitely not sport climbing. At least that's the conclusion you'd reach based on an online poll by SportsPro magazine.

  • Can a Hot Belay Device Melt Slings?

    The Black Diamond QC Lab looks at an age-old question: Can a blistering-hot rappel device melt the slings attaching a climber to an anchor?

  • First Blind, Female Ascent of the Grand Teton

    On August 22, Nancy Stevens, 51, became the first blind woman to climb the Grand Teton. Stevens, a Bend, Oregon, local, made the ascent in one day, climbing with three friends and four guides. Stevens needed no physical assistance during the ascent; she belayed her partners and rappeled on her own. The only aid she received on the climb was being given a general direction in which to climb.

  • Do Paul Ryan’s Athletic Claims Matter to Climbers?

    In addition to Eddie Murphy dying, Ryan was one of the most Googled topics in America this week. The Eddie Murphy thing was a hoax—no, he didn’t meet his fate snowboarding in Switzerland (I had no idea). But Paul Ryan’s respective search engine ubiquity came as a result of general election–cycle spray and his alleged truth-stretching about a couple of athletic feats, including climbing.

  • Rockfall Destroys Chimney Rock Classics

    A major rockfall around July 4 or 5 has sheared off a big section of the east face of Chimney Rock in northern Idaho's Selkirk mountains. A photo sent by reader Pete Fisch from Washington shows a massive scar on the left side of the east face. At least eight routes appear to be gone or severely impacted. "The second pitch of the classic Cooper-Hiser (5.9) fell off, along with a few other great routes," Fisch said. "Another route that is gone is Lord Greystoke (5.11b).

  • Banff Announces 2011 Film and Book Winners

    The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival has announced its 2011 winners. The grand prize for films went to the movie Cold (preview below), which features the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum II in Pakistan with Cory Richards, Simone Moro, and Denis Urubko. From Forge Motion Pictures and producter/director Anson Fogel: "For the past 26 years, 16 expeditions have tried and failed to climb one of Pakistan's 8,000-meter peaks in winter. On February 2, 2011, Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards became the first."

  • Two Attempts on Twins Tower

    To my mind, one of the coolest things that happened this year in North American alpinism was a pair of failures. The Canadian climber Jason Kruk attempted the legendary north face of Twins Tower in the Rockies twice, in the spring and the fall, getting high on the route both times. An obsession was hatched: If conditions and partners align, Kruk will be back next spring. This mile-high wall of limestone on the cold flank of North Twin, the third-highest peak in the Rockies, has only been climbed three times in 37 years, each by a different line, and each an epic.

  • Kevin-J-Sprained-Ankle.jpg

    Jorgeson Sidelined on Dawn Wall Project

    Bummer! Shortly after beginning this fall's efforts on the Dawn Wall, the multi-year project of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson to create El Capitan's hardest free climb, Jorgeson badly injured his ankle and began hobbling around on crutches. Jorgeson smashed his ankle late last week during his first attempt at the huge horizontal dyno on the 15th pitch (5.14+); a visit to the doctor revealed "severe ligament damage."

  • Anchor Ban Proposed for Many Alaskan Crags

    Attention Climbers: The May 2011 Draft Chugach State Park Draft Management Plan has recommended "permanent rock anchors" be prohibited in Chugach State Park (CSP). If the proposed ban is not stopped then all technical climbing within CSP will essentially be banned. Given the poor rock quality and lack of natural protection in Chugach rock, permanent anchors are a necessity for climbers' safety. Likewise, permanent rappel anchors are needed on any technical mountaineering, ice, or rock route that lacks a walk off descent.