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If you can't use the hold, you can't do the move. If you can't do the move, you won't do the route. Nina Williams makes the case for why sport climbers must train power

Stick-clipping can be a safe way to start your route. But only if you do it right.

They were trying to be safe, but in their zeal they neglected to follow three tenets of basic anchor construction.

How a legal fight between an esteemed climber and local politician in France is a harbinger of future tensions in the warming Alps.

I wrote off the potential repercussions of alcohol because I don’t identify as someone who has a drinking problem. But then I realized my performance was still being negatively impacted.

The story of the deadly avalanche in October 2022 on India’s Draupadi Ka Danda II.

Many a visitor has left our shores with crappy dacks (a quaint piece of slang meaning basically what you'd expect) after an exciting episode with this Aussie icon.

This circuit is designed to strengthen injury-prone areas and weak spots in a quick 15 minutes.

This isn’t a guide to 2025's flashiest bivy gear—although there are some instant-classics included below. This is the gear we return to time and again when we’re headed for the hills.

Plus: V13s for Shauna Coxsey; a nemesis route for Jonathan Siegrist; and hard, scary trad for Connor Herson and Brent Barghahn

The 26-year-old female was on ‘Blitzen Ridge.’

After his brother was paralyzed from the waist down, the climber was determined to make big adventures accessible for everyone.

Climbing has a weight problem, and many believe the IFSC isn’t doing enough to fix it.

After quitting climbing to join a Swiss monastery in the early 2000s, Berthod returned to Squamish with two goals.

Results and thoughts from this past weekend's Lead and Speed World Cup.

Climbing falls can be disorienting and unexpected. Why not wear a bucket?

A gym climber needed a belay, so a stranger offered to hold her rope. Literally, just held onto the rope for the belay.

Straightforward techniques for effective sloper sending

How many pitches do you climb in a year? For many of our readers it's probably close to 1,000. If you make a critical error one out of a thousand times, the outlook is bleak.

Affinity groups like Brown Girls Climbs, Queer Crush, and ParaCliffhangers worked closely with the AAC and the Yosemite Parks Service. From the start, the event was intended to be community-run.

Utilize the relaxing breath to improve on-route performance.

"When I see pads crushing bushes, small trees, and flowers, I wonder if it wouldn’t be more honest just to toprope?"

A Gen Z staffer meets an old-school climber, and the dreaded belay test ensues…  

Check out Julie Ellison's author page.

"The Roach was nonplussed about snagging the route. He didn’t apologize, nor did he brag, and he obviously had designs on other new lines. We considered chopping the bolts."

The linkup, which she nicknamed “Zamboni the Rinc,” included hard-trad benchmarks like 'The Evictor' (5.12d R) and 'Musta’ Been High' (5.13c R/X).

Only 10% of those who encounter lightning are killed, but 70% of survivors have lifelong debilitating injuries. If you've got any doubts, play it safe.

Here’s a rundown of all the World Cup action from both the lead and speed disciplines at Villars

This one will make your palms sweat.

Mugs Stump spearheaded a fast-and-light approach to alpinism during the 1970s and 1980s when siege-style expeditions were still the norm. His style was a form of artistic expression: He sought purity through simplicity.

Use these stretches as a way to balance your time hangboarding, climbing, or at home to keep your hands, wrists, fingers, and elbows strong and mobile.

In August 2007, Colorado alpinists Micah Dash and Jonny Copp made an alpine-style first ascent of the Colorado Route (1,000m, VI 5.11 M6 Cl) on the east face of the Shafat Fortress (19,500 feet) in Kashmir, India. As Dash's hilarious account testifies, some surprising things went wrong.

Whereas climbing was once a niche sport of soul seekers and dirtbags, it has transformed itself into a multi-billion dollar industry. That’s had positive and negative effects on the culture of indoor climbing, which in turn shapes the community at large.

Here's your checklist to stay injury-free out on the blocks.

Heat, ice, and contrast baths have all been touted as recovery tools. But to what extent (and when) are they effective?

A roundup of all the old gear we can’t stop using

The 22-year-old spoke with us about 'Law'—the hardest route of his career—and his desire to bolt hard new American lines.

Although the Gunks are known for spectacular moderates, the most prevalent grade is 5.10, and these seven 5.10s rank among the best.

Wright recounts that time he and Alex Honnold were sandbagged

THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Daniel Arnold links up 5,000 feet of Swiss granite in 9.5 hours; Rachel Pearce ticks two runout 5.13s in a week; a first-ascent spree in the Karakoram; Ontario's amazing limestone cragging is at risk of closure; Leo Bøe hangs on for a battle with 'Thor's Hammer' (5.14d).

Plymouth Gin is all about keeping our oceans clean and the martinis dirty

How to care for and extend the life of the most important piece of climbing equipment.

The 20-year-old Canadian, a former competitive swimmer, did his first V15 last winter. He’s also at the heart of a vibrant young bouldering scene in Squamish.

A beginner climber is forced up a route, gets in a dangerous situation and her partner refuses to help. Should you intervene?

Probably not. But they're some of them.

So close…

A rare glimpse of the hardware carried by John Salathé, Royal Robbins, Warren Harding and William "Dolt "Feurer to pioneer Yosemite's granite crucibles.

Austin Howell soloed harder and more often than almost anyone else in the country, documenting his exploits on Instagram and a podcast. But behind the scenes his mental health was faltering.

THE WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP: Italian alpinists establish 'Gold Rush' (5.12a A1+; 1,970ft) on their first trip to Alaska; Drew Ruana has his "best week ever"; Katie Lamb makes the probable first female ascent of 'Chocolate Jesus' (V13).

Endurance isn't merely a function of fitness. The best climbers have tricks for fighting off the pump.

And how to prevent these simple mistakes.

Rest days back then were endless and boring and horrible, but we learned to face our non-climbing purgatory with courage

There’s a fatal flaw to many climbers’ training regimen: monotony. Get strong by having fun.

Results and a recap from this past weekend's bouldering and lead World Cup in Innsbruck.

It’s a quick, dashed-off bit of cheerleading, almost a courtesy, extended to friends, acquaintances, and random climbers at the gym and crags alike. But does it really help the climber? And why do we do it?

An experienced climber makes the mistake of lowering over another team's rope.

What was once grippy, clean stone can devolve to a soapy mess.

Field Tested: Trango's Stratus Crashpad

The author was mean to his body in the worst ways. But is he really sorry?

It's easy to dismiss pinches as a grip you seldom use, but in fact you use your thumb in pinch mode more than you think. Train pinches and your overall skill and performance will improve.

Yosemite in the early 1980s was nearly carefree living, but with an undercurrent that could pull you under, suffocate you from not knowing what you were doing or where you were headed.

Climbing was no longer about having fun—it was about fulfilling potential. I was getting stronger, but my ability to connect to anything other than my own small world had withered.

The Keto diet may be all the rage, but your body needs carbs to perform optimally and be healthy.

Either be mad about overcrowding or try these productive actions.

Here are a few reasons to haul, tips on how to do it, and some cautions gleaned from years of experience.

THE WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP: Austin Purdy breaks into the V16 grade; Canada's hardest-graded boulder sees a second ascent; Drew Ruana continues crushing Colorado; and Elnaz Rekabi competes for the first time since doing so without a headscarf last year.

After saving a fallen cyclist, a lifer reflects on his own goals, illogical fears, and life's finite opportunities.

Check out Michael Levy's author page.

"Twelve years ago, I’d tell my mother climbing was no more dangerous than driving. That was before I’d been to a half-dozen climber funerals in the same picnic area in Eldorado Canyon."

Editor at large Jeff Jackson literally ropes in a cast of oddballs to belay him on new routes at Sequoia National Park.

The world’s highest tattoo parlor just opened up at everyone’s favorite climbing destination.

Intriguing battles continued in this past weekend's Bouldering World Cup in Brixen, Itatly.

"Grades don’t matter as much as we tend to think they do, but at a certain point they have an impact."

There’s plenty to learn from this one.

If you’d like to add yoga to your training program, below are a few poses that open and stretch injury-prone areas.

The secret history and modern rebirth of Western Colorado’s sleepy Unaweep Canyon.

Acclaimed author Jeff Jackson gets called to help find Amanda Eller, who was missing for weeks. What he finds reveals true nature in all its forms.

The breakup between Kristin Harila and her Sherpa team, Pasdawa Sherpa and Dawa Ongju Sherpa, highlights an ongoing power disparity in the Himalaya.

The actor may have washboard abs and have taken the lead role of my teenage dreams, but I’m not impressed.

Is the world's greatest endurance sport climber going to turn into a crimp specialist?