Alison Osius

Revere but replace. You'll be amazed and amused at all the other uses people come up with for them.

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

 “Aside from knowing how to safely operate the belay devices, giving a soft catch is the most important, and least understood, aspect of great belaying.”

The Superset 30 truly has a place for everything.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

How you hold the rope is just one aspect of the belay—no more or less important than vigilance, rope management, how and where you stand, and communication.

Two lifelong friends face rockfall and the life-altering aspects of sudden Injury.

Getting started in the Alps can be intimidating, and picking your first climb can mean the difference between a rude awakening and happiness. The Balmhorn in the Bernese Alps practically guarantees a soft landing.

When a climber dies, friends, family and editors reconstruct a life now gone.

In 2016, shortly before he went missing on the Ogre II in Pakistan, Kyle Dempster applied to the John Long Writers Symposium; but Kyle submitted his application late and the class was full. A few weeks later a slot opened up, but Kyle had just booked his tickets for Pakistan.

Things fall apart. In climbing, that can mean whole walls in far mountains, sections of cliffs from the San Jacintos to the Adirondacks and White Mountains, and iconic forms or features on area crags.

The death of Hilaree Nelson highlights a double standard that still exists with mothers in the adventure world

Rescuers arrived on the scene to find the two climbers deceased.

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

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

Ph.D., biophysical chemist, author, executive director of Green Science Policy Institute.

In the past I’d had the same concerns, but this time it all hit me again. That could have been me.

The climbers who fell on Tahquitz Rock in October 2003 were experienced, known for "quadruple-checking" things. Yet as they finished a multipitch route, something went terribly wrong.

Free soloing means climbing with no rope, a genre that verged into American consciousness in the 1970s. In 2018 it blew up, with Alex Honnold's mind-bending solo of El Capitan and the award-winning film that chronicled it. Let's take a look back.

A lifelong climber lays out her advice for avoiding accidents.

The Alpinist wins "Outstanding Long Documentary" award, accepted with these words: "Most of all, thanks to Mr. Marc-André Leclerc, his family, his friends and his community."

Earl Wiggins was a leading free climber and soloist in the 1970s and 1980s. (He did the FA of Supercrack / Luxury Liner in Indian Creek... placing hexes.) But in the early 2000s, he took his own life.

"Marc-André deserves to be there at the Emmys with us"—though being in a city and a suit, and the center of attention, might be his worst nightmare. PLUS: the many climbing films to receive Emmy or Academy awards or nods over the years.

The Princeton Tec Snap Solo is a clever twist on an old classic, the essential headlamp. It has a magnetic head that slides out of its holster, so that the light can attach to any metal surface.

Never again will there be anywhere like Sibleyville, outside Eldorado Canyon, Colorado, where for 50 years climbers came to crash—and when they crashed.

In this film based on a true incident on Mount Washington, particulars are off but the message is hope.

Years ago I cut squares, small windows, into the rands of my climbing shoes to ease pain on the small toe. This year I found a better fix.

Rich Romano established some 80 routes, many of them R rated, at the steep and remote Millbrook, the Shawangunks, New York.

Injuring your digital nerves through climbing can create numbness. The real question is when (or whether) it will go away.

Seventy years ago, a woman climber-writer created a gritty, gifted, slum-born character.

Where indoor climbing was once simply a way to train during the off season, it is now a sport unto itself—many gym climbers have no interest in ever climbing outdoors. How did we get here?

Upcoming novel explores a great climbing partnership, a calamity, and the effects of loss on two different people.

The film follows the journey of an injured climber, Jim Ewing, guided by a climber-amputee, Hugh Herr, an MIT biophysicist who works with brain-controlled prosthetic limbs.

Author Alison Osius, a senior editor at Climbing, has been climbing hard and writing about it for decades. Here are five crucial things she's learned.

They say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but I found this amazing rope-cleaning hack that gets rid of washing-machine rope tangles.

The cave divers are reminiscent of climbers, in their focus and individuality, and they have an unimaginable task. Then, amid the film of this critical operation, onto the screen appears a longtime climber, Josh Morris, one of six climbers from different countries who played key roles in the mission.

The U.K. comp-climber Molly Thompson-Smith struggled with being known as just a plastic puller.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

The Preseli stones were all transported to Stonehenge, 140 miles away. Preseli is a climbing area—a bouldering crag. 

Paul Sibley, Deborah Hammock and Josh Gross and Madoline Wallace-Gross have given and given to the climbing community.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

The first real crash pads came out of Hueco Tanks, right? But that is not where the light bulb first went off.

Coming untied from the rope while on lead doesn't happen every day, but it happens often enough that you should put the scenario on your radar.

In the spirit of celebrating giving, we bring a tale from last year of people helping people.

Now you can green with a recycled chalk bag made from canvas and plastic bottles.

The climbing scene in a holiday hit was filmed in a real gym in Vancouver. Spot the locals.

I call these Boring Epics. Not that much happens, but they take forever, with not even a funny or good story afterwards. Nothing learned except, Don’t be an idiot.

We rapped in the dark and clambered and stumbled out the long gully. We had headlamps, but the problem was keeping track of the trail when we got out of the scrub and crossed bare rock. We lost the trail and any visuals. These are big spaces.

Created for winter expeditions and camping, they are a game-changer for belaying at the crag. They immediately warm your lower core, and that jacks up your comfort overall.

Check out Alison Osius's author page.

Six surgeries in 13 months is a lot, and a lot of recovery and painkillers, and Kelly Cordes will tell you he was a little whacked even before that. An alpine, ice and rock climber, Kelly broke his ankle and pulverized his tib-fib ice climbing. He tore his knee. He destroyed his shoulder. But the worst insult was yet to come.“Leave it to me,” he says.

It's that time of the year, when your hands numb out and dragging yourself outside to climb hardly seems worth the pain. Take cheer! Implement these simple tips and you'll be warm and toasty as ever.

The original R1 fleece had a raised grid pattern on the inside, with a smooth exterior. The R1 Air, which came out autumn 2020, is all zig-zag, and comprised of hollow-core yarn.

He faced tragedy, but persevered and has important words of wisdom for all of us.

Climbing and life partner interviewed on eve of “The Alpinist” premiere recalls his process, extensive visualization, and the energy she called The Storm.

DiGiulian posted on Instagram, "Thank you, Darek, for the incredible climb, I hope you know the positive impact you had on the climbing community."

This past year Brooke Raboutou went outside and climbed in Rocky Mountain National Park. Was that any kind of factor? Just maybe.

In a surprise lead finish the young Spanish climber took the gold while Ondra finished out of the medals.

When I first saw the Petzl Sakover Chalk Storage Bag—essentially a storage bag for your chalk bag, or maybe a “chalk-bag-for-a-chalk-bag”?—I thought it was a nothing, a trifle. That lasted about 1.5 seconds.

If the Olympics happened in her era, she'd have been there. Now Hill is watching Brooke, whom she has known since the young climber's infancy.

Check out Alison Osius's author page.

The men's Combined Qualifiers have concluded with two Americans advancing, while Adam Ondra passes through.

He will always be known for the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat—an 18-day ordeal—yet also as kind and gentle.

Even expert climbers forget to finish their knot, or just don't tie it right. Don't let that be you.

There’s falling at a crag and unfortunately also crawling from it. That you do not want to do, and you can prevent it.

Competition climbing had scrappy origins, but thanks to a dedicated crew it took off.

When the rest of the press moved to the other side of the stage, our then website editor stayed right where he was for the clear shot, and caught the flying iron cross.

Founded in 2005 by a champ, Team ABC keeps turning them out.

Herson, with a background in the Valley as well as sport and comp climbing, is "really psyched to try more hard sport climbs!"

The 20-year-old has done some 50 5.14s. See him climb the route that was a whole "next level" in difficulty.

Ancient Incans are said to have used alpaca for currency—they had their reasons.

When the first international competition came to these shores, it was a big unknown, with many opposed. It could have been a bust. One guy saved it.

Johnson joins a pantheon of heavy laborers—just ask Tommy Caldwell or Chris Sharma

Ten years later, Alex Johnson Sends The Swarm

One inspired the world, one is in danger of being forgotten, and one disappeared.