Weekend Whipper: A Valuable Lesson for the Belayers Among Us
Critiques are tough—but so is belaying. Here’s to approaching both with caution.
Critiques are tough—but so is belaying. Here’s to approaching both with caution.
Accidents happen. Every climber should be able to troubleshoot difficult rappel situations, and one of the best ways is by mastering the buddy rappel.
A meditation on the cracks that divide the walls, yet draw us—wiser, more grown, hopeful—together.
As we age, does climbing hard go out the door? According to hard data, the answer is yes—and no.
With such a wealth of training information out there, it’s hard to know where to start. For some of us, simpler is better, as with this easy gym workout you can do solo, once or twice a week, either to maintain fitness gains or even push to the next level.
Nick Bullock and Greg Boswell are attacked by a grizzly bear on Mount Wilson in the Canadian Rockies.
THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Duo climbs 100 V6s in a day; Niky Ceria logs a highball stunner; One of the UK's hardest boulders is downgraded; Amity Warme ticks 'Father Time' (5.13b; 2,000ft); Meru South gets a new route.
The 2023 death toll on Everest has already reached double digits—with multiple people still missing. And the climbing season isn’t over yet. (From Outside Online)
While there are numerous ways to haul and lower, we’ve outlined simple and efficient methods that are versatile for a number of situations and easy to learn by beginners and longtime climbers alike.
Chris Winter is stepping down, but he leaves Access Fund in strong hands
Heidi Wirtz, pro climber and yogi, shares 5 reasons climbers should take up yoga
This eight-phase (12-month) training series will present specific workouts based on the principles of periodization. Each six-week segment will build upon the previous one.
Honnold is famous for (among other things) cramming as much climbing as he can into each day. To do so, he's developed some efficiency tricks that the rest of us can imitate.
The void swallowed him alive, his streaking form more easily imagined than described. The air froze in my chest.
There are two miracles in this week's whipper: 1) He survived. 2) He caught the fall on video.
Stop wasting your money on shoes that don't fit or are painful or fail you. Don't be disappointed again. Here's how to buy what' just right, just for you.
When one of the world’s best crack climbers was grounded by chronic fatigue syndrome, his life became an uphill struggle just to feel human again.
They figured they knew enough about climbing to wing it, but took a dangerous risk that could have cost them.
During my senior year of high school, my friends and I were bored. We decided we collectively knew enough about climbing for it to be safe. We went to the local outfitter and bought harnesses, carabiners, and belay devices, but we scoffed at the price of a rope. It was way outside our budget. Instead, we went to Home Depot and bought 100 feet of poly cord that was rated for 200 pounds. We climbed on that rope all day, just easy 5.3 climbing on toprope. I’ve included a couple photos. It wasn’t until I was lowering at the end of the day that I realized what a mistake I’d made. The 100-foot rope had stretched to about 200 feet, shrinking to the size of 8mm cord. I bought a real climbing rope the following week. Wanted to share because we are all new at some point and even with the best intentions mistakes are made. We should collectively work together to improve safety across the sport. I wish someone would have stopped us from climbing on that poly rope.
—Kyle Harris, via email
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LESSON: Modern climbing ropes include a number of climber-friendly features. They can hold thousands of pounds of force. They have durable sheaths that prevent abrasion and cutting. They have the ideal amount of stretch to catch a fall softly, and then bounce back to their original length and diameter. They’re supple and easy to tie and untie. They’re tested to meet rigorous safety standards. And they work great with modern belay devices. A random hardware store rope is not designed with any of these goals in mind, and can’t be expected to meet them. Always use proper climbing gear designed and rated for climbing.
These Kids Used Parachute Cord For Slings …. Said They Learned It From The Boy Scouts