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Swelling and pain are your body trying to heal itself the natural way

Proper belay technique can mean the difference between pulling gear or breaking ankles and just hitting the end of the rope.

These films capture climbing at its best.

Joy is the best fuel for performance. Dynamite Starfish wants to help you find it again when personal pressures and fears weigh you down.

Paul Gleason was a talent of his generation and would be well-known today, but his greater impact was elsewhere, in firefighting where he revolutionized and saved lives.

Seeking information on whether supplementing estrogen is good or bad for athletes, Gym Climber interviewed Keith Baar, Ph.D., a professor of Physiology and Behavior at UC Davis.

Terminally pumped? Follow these tips to achieve a restful stance on vertical rock, steep caves, corners, and more.

When Ken Murphy soloed up an overhanging route to help a climber in a dire situation, he said, climbing “never felt so easy.”

The Australian style of rappel might be fine if you are being shot at, but for climbing it's a very unnecessary risk.

Results and action from the Lead World Cup in Koper, Slovenia.

Watch Memphis Rox’s Jarmond Johnson and Alex Honnold explore how solar energy can help communities like Memphis keep the lights on.

Climbers should be wary of the risks associated with burning fuel in an enclosed space.

Cast by chance into the frenzy of a dramatic rescue, the author confronts his youthful fears head on.

Seb Bouin visits the little-known crag of Seranon and repeats a beautiful 5.14d first established by Enzo Oddo.

"Other than almost decking this is a phenomenal route."

On the big stage or in your own climbing world, most of us deal with nervousness at some point. Top climbers give their tips for managing and even using it.

You’re weaker now. So what? Here’s how to handle setbacks and get back to your old sending self.

They were on one of the world's highest and most difficult faces. Then a storm rolled in and the climb went from merely desperate to living hell.

“The Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin” is a ten-episode, cross-genre investigation into extreme sports athletes and the moments when, thanks to poor judgment or bad luck, they pushed too close to the edge. 

An eclectic crew made the first ascents of a 3,750-foot 5.11- X and a 1,500-foot 5.12c while collecting data to inform climate-change scientists.

Bishop Bouldering guidebook author Charles Barrett was charged following an investigation by the National Park Service.

Everyone’s a critic.

Get the weight off your arms by putting more on your feet using the miracle of the drop knee. Here's how.

When a team needed a rescue, the author and her climbing partner sprung into action. Later, her partner rescued her from a hairy situation.

When mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja climbed K2 this year, he and other climbers stumbled onto rancid food, tattered tents, and piles of human waste.

“Amity doesn’t seem to take rest days. ... That's probably the biggest influence on her impressive ticklist."

From the archive: In Henry Barber's 2008 interview with Mark Synnott, he discusses his philosophy of minimalism and tolerance: "Let’s make sure that we allow these people to be themselves, and not try to make them all the same. This sport has to be different for everybody—it has to be."

Climb long enough—and a few months will do it— and don't take proper care of that crucial joint, the elbow, and you'll be in a world of hurt for just about the rest of your life.

Andrew Bisharat dissects the art of the gear review, and relates some of his more memorable (mis)adventures during the process of gear testing.

Webbing may cost less than climbing rope, but it doesn't stretch and belay devices aren't designed for it. It seems self apparent that you should only climb on an actual climbing rope, but not everyone has gotten the message.

Climbing caught up with Chris Winter, Executive Director of the Access Fund, to talk about what this means for climbers, local tribes, and the long-term health of the region.

Steep, sandy jugs—what could be better?

Recent research in the fields of movement science and psychology confirm that being curious and trying a variety of movement patterns and techniques helps us to become better climbers.

The second part of a three-part series on basic techniques, this lesson drills down into flagging, the move for making reaches on steep rock without having to increase your power.

If you don't onsight 5.14, but instead toil like the lowest of serfs on routes of lesser grades, read on. I can give you the psychological edge to succeed.

A proper warm-up will target mobility and stability in both the wrists and fingers. Here's how to do it right.

Progress capture devices can be used to save energy and climb harder on big alpine routes.

Some nights I couldn’t fall asleep until 4 or 5 a.m. Supplementing my diet with magnesium helped.

I had seen Dean Potter in the mags and on videos and he seemed like a true ancient spirit. I loved the whole thing he had about being the bird and how different he was from all the other climbers. I thought he was great, still do. He was obviously hot property here for he stood ridiculously tall in the center of a small group arranged around him protectively. He was like a big scruffy lighthouse with wave upon wave of hangers-on breaking onto his rocks. We were psyched.

What does it mean to try hard? Is it physical or mental, and how do we get better at digging deep? The author discusses.

Grade VII Equipment’s new line of climbing packs are comfortable, durable, and climb like a dream.

The world's best all-around climber shares his philosophy on diet and nutrition, the stuff that's powered him behind and in front of the scenes.

Rohr, who recently sent the first pitch of “Change” (5.15a/b), has felt beckoned to Flatanger season after season.

Learning to lead climb involves memorizing various systems—how to tie in, how to clip quickdraws, how to clean anchors—AND accumulating fluency and trust in those systems.

Brian Kennedy and Jack Beard died in a fall, following a likely first ascent of a remote spire.

Raboutou at last discloses one of his two rumored V17 ascents.

Follow these simple guidelines for better climbing photography

It’s Siegrist’s fifth 5.15 in 2022.

This 15 minute "prehab" routine can reduce the rate of shoulder injury and increase your performance on shouldery moves.

A small cam provided a secure catch for five sessions. The #0.2 was bomber, until it wasn't.

Onsighting is a practice, and there are tricks for improving. Here are nine steps that apply to both indoor and outdoor settings.

It was an artful deceit, a blurring of fact that eventually led to one of Yosemite's finest routes.

John Q Public always imagined that we climb by throwing grappling hooks up the cliff. Turns out they were right.

Bad landings, bad spotters, a fear of falling that makes you more likely to fall—don't make bouldering more dangerous than necessary.

These famous climbing accidents are equal parts gripping and inspiring. If any reader should someday find themself in such a desperate situation, we hope they too will remember how others endured, living to climb another day.

Cubans face the worst economic catastrophe in 30 years. Blackouts and food shortages are now the norm.

Climbers often neglect limbs that can be especially useful for climbing, like the head, shoulder, knee, and hip. These seven tips show the importance of keeping an open mind and using any body part, no matter how ignoble a figure you cut.

Sick of being the weakling and the buffoon? Forget excuses. “Discrete tension,” aka DT, can earn you credit for routes significantly harder than you actually redpoint.

Are rocks beings? Most climbers, when asked, would say “No.” But in our conversations, stones often becomes animate—they take the subject position, acting on the human sphere. What could this mean for our world?

The volcanic peaks Carihuairazo, Cayambe, and Illiniza Sur each saw serious accidents on August 13.

I thought about it for .0000004 seconds and realized the opportunity was just too good to pass up.

Lucas Uchida, a 24-year-old Canadian comp climber-turned outdoor crusher, just sent “Singularity,” one Squamish’s most iconic hard lines. Check out the story and interview.

Dropped, forgotten, or mysteriously vanished gear can ruin a climbing day. Worst case, it can be life-threatening. But with a little know-how, you can recover from bone-headed mistakes and keep climbing—and also impress friends with your savvy.

He had big goals. The trip was going to be a veritable sendfest. It wasn't, but it taught him an invaluable lesson 40 years in the making that can change how we view success (and failure).

New Zealand student Anna Parsons has broken nearly every bone in her body following a trad fall on Snake Dike (5.7 R).

As a teenager he saw a terrible accident on El Capitan. A chance meeting 40 years later finally brought closure.

Oh, your Tinder date climbed the world’s highest peak? I’m unimpressed.

The Scottish climber has just opened what may be one of three V16s in the UK.

Who said sport climbers can't take gear rippers?

Climbing straight on, hips parallel to the rock is the natural way to climb, but on steep rock this technique drains power and limits your reach. Learn the proper way to outside edge and step through and you will boost your performance without having to get stronger.

There's something magical about doing big routes in faraway places. But on these walls it's important to have your systems and tactics totally ironed out.

Zofia Reych’s work spans the full gamut of climbing’s history and manifold disciplines, blended with engrossing anecdotes from their own climbing story.

More risky behavior, as if climbing the proper way isn't dangerous enough.

Hangboards and TRX routines can get awfully old... And they'll only get you so far on their own.

Climbing is a jargon-filled sport. And sometimes the jargon isn't even a complete word—it's an abbreviation.

The 36-year-old Norwegian is already ahead of Nims Purja’s schedule on the 14 peaks. She tells us her mission is to prove that high-altitude expeditions aren’t just a man’s game.

Failure in climbing can mean many things: disappointment, sadness, even injury or death. According to Mina Leslie-Wujastyk, failure is, once we recover from it, one of our most powerful tools.

Originally published in Ascent, in 2012, under the title, "In the Name of Kor," Chris Kalous's classic feature dives into the notion of influence—specifically as it pertains to his obsession with one of climbing's original icons, Layton Kor.

The 1970s were heady times in Yosemite, ruled by the high kings of rock, The Stonemasters. And then there were the HoseMasters, ordinary climbers who did something extraordinary.

Harnesses, shoes, carabiners, oh my! Top climbing brands reveal new and soon-to-be-released gear for climbers at Utah’s outdoor trade show.