"Once upon a time, I was a rope gun. Now I’ve become a belay anchor."

The party had brought a crashpad to the crag for a different, more dangerous trad route, and was able to deploy it here in a flash.

How do you figure out impossible moves? Is there a strategic way to rest? How much should you be warming up? It's all here.

I’ve been loving this 25-liter pack for its extremely light weight, durability, and surprisingly low price.

Quentin Roberts writes about one of the most badass first ascents in recent memory: His mind-bending—and Piolet-winning—trip up Jirishanca’s previously unclimbed Southeast Ridge, in 2022.

Well, that looked exciting.

Bouldering is commonly referred to as a resistance-based sport, but there is a significant aerobic demand that can impact athletic performance and recovery time.

A lifer reflects on risks taken (and fates avoided) thanks to the unexpected friendships forged along the way.

The 30-year-old Olympian talks about her struggles with hair loss, mental training, the joy of competing, and why she’s (finally) focussing on rock climbing full-time.

This week’s edition is a classic Weekend Whipper: airy, huge, and quite bold.

Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golovchenko climbed some of the world’s hardest alpine walls. But in a heart-breaking twelve months, they were both killed on Gasherbrum IV.

A tribute to this man's best friend.

Now, we know what you’re asking: The belayer doesn’t look that much lighter than the climber—so why did he get sucked up so high?

A reflection on mortality and renewal.

An epic Bouldering round sets up a big showdown in Lead

'La Flecha Perdida' is a…classically bolted sport climb.

Here were the biggest and best moments from the Lead portion, the “grand finale” of the men’s Sport Climbing discipline at the 2024 Olympics.

Climbing “French free,” Italian Stefano Ragazzo has made the first rope solo ascent of 'Eternal Flame' (VI; 2,100ft).

The nearly perfect semifinal route was a fair and exciting test for the athletes. But some big names—including USA’s Natalia Grossman—didn’t make it through.

While mortal injury is highly unlikely, sport climbing is still hard on the body.

After today's tumultuous (and poorly set) lead semifinal, where numerous top names struggled, Friday's final will be a mix of favorites and upstarts.

An interview with Zach Hammer, one of the fastest climbers in the country.

American Sam Watson runs 4.75!

Janja Garnbret, Sorato Anraku, and Jakob Schubert are clear crowd favorites. But there are plenty of others who could snag gold.

The setters compressed the difficulty into the tops of each of the four boulders. It made for a slow start and an exhilarating finish.

“Just because you are the belayer,” notes this week’s whippee, “doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt.”

An ambitious alpine ascent on the West Face has ended in disaster. Elsewhere on the mountain, its speed record is cut in half.

The men’s boulders, for instance, are as hard as V14. We caught up with Paris’s head Boulder setter to learn what strengths and skills a climber needs to grab gold.

Bernadette McDonald has spent her career celebrating communities the Western world has trained itself to ignore. Now, at 72, she’s tackled the most complex story of her life.

Petzl's new Neox is a sleek assisted-braking belay device. How does it stack up to the Grigri? We put it to the test.

The fact that anyone could win is why we’ll all tune in starting August 5.

“New Heights” is the first video game to capture the physics of rock climbing. Every climber should give it a try.

Astra Lincoln confronts the shame that kept her from the crag while on an international climbing trip.

Speed climbers were dealt a rough hand at the Tokyo Olympics. This time around, we'll finally get to see who the best speed climbers in the world are.

Once you watch this clip, you’ll understand his revelation.

With a field this stacked, it's hard to pick winners. But these eight women are leading the pack.

In what he describes as a momentary lapse of judgment, Rajesh Lama decided to walk from his doorstep to the highest point on Earth.

Turns out, becoming your worst nightmare isn’t actually so bad.

Are you a climber with a deep editorial background? We want to hear from you.

With a route name like “Slammin’,” perhaps this violent whipper isn’t so surprising.

An unknown American climber found the corpse, searched it for identification, and found a perfectly preserved driver’s license alongside various personal affects.

After getting dropped off by plane in a narrow, threatened valley, the “easiest” way back to civilization was up the giant East Face of Mount Hunter.

Sunna Shinn went from fundamentalist Baptist teacher to nonbinary climbing TikTok influencer in five years. As they learned to climb, they learned to embrace their queerness.

Watch this belayer’s gold-medal worthy performance.

It's been a long road to get here. Let's take a look at the history.

“Should I prioritize saving my life, or should I prioritize climbing? When I thought about it, I became convinced climbing was an essential part of my life.”

When a cadre of climbers developed one of New England’s biggest sport crags, weekend warriors came in droves. The problem? Climbing in Merriam Woods wasn’t exactly allowed.

It’s not just errant legs that flip us upside down.

Our reviewer says La Sportiva has (finally) nailed their No Edge shoe tech with the Mandala. He quickly added the new-school weapons to his steep sport climbing quiver.

Grades were meant to guide climbers to appropriate challenges—but a new anti-grade sentiment seems to be gaining steam.

“I basically had a personal trainer!” our reviewer raved. “I don’t know what else I could’ve even asked for.”

The Belgian shared her experience on recent project La Planta de Shiva (5.15b) and what it’s like to be one of only four women to send the grade.

A fourth of July ascent, to see the fireworks from up high, went a bit haywire.

The 46-year-old was a beloved community leader in his local New Hampshire.

A family illness seemed to dash Harrison’s Olympic prospects. But in November 2023, he fought for a second chance.

Neil Gresham is an elite climber and coach, but he specializes in training V2-V6 mortals.

Maybe cams placed in concrete aren’t that bomber after all.

Pedro and Tomas Odell learned how to climb on the Cerro Chaltén skyline. Now, they’re leading a bold new wave of Patagonian alpinists.

Unlike their Nepalese counterparts, Pakistan’s untrained high-altitude workers seldom have their own guiding companies or receive acknowledgement for their vital role in mountaineering. But a shift could be on the horizon.

“It was a little too close to the deck for comfort.”

Coach and elite climber Cameron Hörst explains how sport climbers in the 5.10-5.13 range should train for the crag.

This budding leader took a 30-footer trying to do her first 5.10.

Martin Feistl, 27, was among the most talented and bold alpinists of his generation. He died after a 130-foot fall.

“I’m sure there must have been edges to make the foot placements better," says Jesse Dufton, "but because I can’t see, I didn’t find any. I’ve never known such pain in my calves.”

Coach and elite climber Cameron Hörst explains how boulderers in the V3-V9 range should train for the blocks.

Cannon has freed El Cap in a day, made the second ascent of 'Cowboy Direct' (VII 5.13a) on Trango Tower, and repeated 'Wet Lycra Nightmare' (5.13d A0) on the Leaning Tower. But his story is much deeper than that.

“I pushed it until absolute failure and ended up taking the whip mid cam placement!”

Coach and 5.15 climber Cameron Hörst explains why—and how—climbers should perform a self-assessment protocol.

That could have been so much worse.

REI’s anniversary sale is a rare opportunity to score real deals on premium shoes and hardware.

Berthod first tried 'Cobra Crack' in 2005, gunning for the first free ascent. Shortly after, for reasons unknown, Berthod disappeared into a Swiss monastery, where he stayed for over a decade.

“What’s the biggest, baddest mountain around here?” a youthfully ignorant Jim Donini asked.

Coach and 5.15 climber Cameron Hörst explains how to develop a training program for 5.10-5.13 climbers.

The Slovenian powerhouse made quick work of Austria’s ‘Bügeleisen Sit’...before running a second lap.

Especially if your guide doesn’t correct your mistakes.

"We hadn’t accomplished our goal of free-climbing 'The Diagonal,' but it was one of the wildest days of my life. After that, I stopped climbing for a few months, spooked."

Mecus and her partner fell 1,000 feet while attempting Mt. Johnson's Southeast Face. Mecus is remembered as an incredible climber and encouraging of all women.

Oh how we love to dispatch the crux. But it’s no reason to lose concentration.

You loved the mountains, you taught us how to enjoy them, and you always made us laugh. The world needed more of you.

"It is important to have books like The Art of Climbing in today’s digital world," Adam Ondra writes. These books create passionate climbers—and passion is what gets us to the top.