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 Tech Tip - Trad - Wide-hands crack technique
When I first learned to crack climb, I loved tight hand cracks. But when things got a little wider — around three inches — my spirit sank, and all my strength suddenly drained from my body.  Tech Tip - Sport - The matter at length.
As sport climbers, we deal with draws that are usually between four-inches and six-inches long. A sportie using a long trad draw is considered old school. However...  Tech Tip - Alpine - Difficulties with diesel.
Your long-awaited overseas climbing trip is just a few days away. You’ve packed everything, but what fuel will you use?  Tech Tip - Sport - Resting ... the strategic way
Rest. How long, how much, how often — everyone has an opinion. To a climber with a strict training background, to whom more than one rest day is nearly unthinkable, three rest days could seem counter productive.  Tech Tip - Aid - Taming dicey aid
Sketchy aid climbing can be a brain-numbing, adrenal-gland-tapping affair, especially when the consequence of falling is a monster whip or a trauma-inducing impact.  Tech Tip - Safety - Old rope safety - the rug
I become dangerously attached to my old ropes. I use them until they have the nap of an old blanket and the hue of a faded pair of jeans. When I get a new rope, I’ll still keep breaking out the old one when I’m in need of the mountain karma of my youth, or a whiff of the lichens of yore.  Tech Tip -Trad - Can You Hear Me Now?
Get out your copy of Freedom of the Hills. There’s a command that’s heard often enough at crags nationwide to deserve a spot on the list of common rope commands: “F-ing slack!”  Tech Tip - Sport - Core Strength That Counts
Talking about the importance of “core strength” is in vogue these days, yet many climbers are uncertain just how the core muscles — the muscles located between your shoulders and pelvis — affect climbing performance and, furthermore, how they are best trained.  Tech Tip - Alpine - Snowshoeing for Climbers
During the 1992-1993 winter, while training for a spring attempt on Everest’s north side, I climbed a Colorado Fourteener every weekend. I sought full-on winter conditions, and the Colorado mountains didn’t disappoint.  Tech Tip -Trad - Making the Call
Deciding when to retire gear is tough. Losing half your rack to an unplanned escape is one thing, but decommissioning gear is quite another.  Tech Tip - Ice - Use your head ... and your feet
Regardless of how much better ice-climbing equipment gets — better tools, easier-to-place screws, heel spurs, or better clothing — ice climbing has a different learning curve than rock, and, in general, it’s best not to fall off.  Tech Tip - Alpine - Four features of mixed mountain routes
Overhanging dry tooling and free-hanging daggers are now standard fare in the relatively low-risk cragging environment, but moving on to mixed climbing in the alpine arena is a step.  Tech Tip - Sport - The basics of falling
Falling is part of the climbing process. A hold breaks, we slip, pump out, and we're off. It's important to find appropriate ways to practice falling so we learn to do it safely.  Tech Tip - Aid - Hooking
Anyone who’s done much hooking can tell you that there’s something undeniably special about hanging from a fingernail-sized piece of chrome-moly steel.  Tech Tip - Trad - Avoiding the sting
I was lying in the Yosemite Medical Clinic, the entire left side of my face horribly swollen; it would be 10 full days before the inflammation subsided and I could climb again. |
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