Cover: Lauren Lee goes with the flow on Le Bluebard de la Glaciere (8a), La Piscineta, Rodellar, Spain. Photo by Keith Ladzinski

FEATURES

GALLERY
Supercracks from Squamish and Smith, and dyno hand drilling... ground up, on lead!

KING OF KINGS
Chris Sharma put up Realization, the world’s first real-deal 5.15a, six years ago, cementing his status as a 21st century climbing icon. But he’s nothing if not human. Climbing sits down for Sharma’s most candid Q & A yet.
By Fitz Cahall
Photos by Corey Rich

TALES OF THE UNRULY
We’ve all heard them, those campfire stories that seem too out there to believe, but are they true? Climbing goes inside the vertical world’s Top 10 “urban legends.”
By Whitney Boland and Dougald MacDonald
Illustrations by Keith Svihovec

NEW DIMENSIONS
Welcome to Rodellar, the limestone mecca in northern Spain exploding standards with its rowdy, three-dimensional tufa climbing... and a king’s ransom of untapped caves.
By Abbey Smith
Photos by Keith Ladzinski

BANISHED!
Gym season is upon us, as are the crozzly characters who haunt the chalky depths. Here’s how to survive.
By Michael Kennard
Illustration by Mike Tea

DEPARTMENTS

CONTRIBUTORS
Ian McEleney and Bernadette Regan, Cheryl Raether, Corey Rich, Michael Kennard: words (and photos), words, photos, words...

EDITORIAL
A chilly intervention with the “World Dyno Record”

LETTERS

BASECAMP
HOT FLASHES
OFF THE WALL
JUST OUT
TEN THINGS
WHIPPED
ROADKILL
SUSTAINED

EQUIPMENT
Plug your digits into something that’ll make you mad strong — nine of the industry’s leading fingerboards, as real-world tested at The Spot gym.

CLASSIC CLIMBS
Dark Shadows (5.8-), Pine Creek Canyon, Nevada: sucream sandstone a stone’s throw from the Strip

TECH TIPS
Sport: Strong, like boulderer — whip yourself into hangboard-ready fitness
Training: Pill power — a climber’s guide to supplements

PERSPECTIVE
Johnny Dawes: climber, author, artist, teacher, thinker