Mental Health

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.

Musings on the state of our sport after a failed mass shooting at the Smith Rock Craggin' Classic

Not sending was a fate worse than death. Naturally, we were willing to cross the line.

Sometimes the only way to become a better athlete is to step away—and to never look back. 

In the thirty-fourth year of my life, I walked into a ring of oak trees in the foothills west of Carbondale, Colorado, to kill myself.

"Call it what you will—adrenaline, salvation, therapy—climbing represented a form of gravity-defying strength that I lacked but craved."

"I survived the sort of trauma that utterly breaks people, and climbing by itself isn’t a silver bullet for recovery."

"It wasn’t until now, years later, that I’ve really come to realize what Steph realized all that time. Accidents don’t end during the ambulance ride, or even with apology publications years after the fact."

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.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month we present 12 feature stories about climbers struggling with depression, alcoholism, disordered eating, grief, loneliness, and more.

Empty MoonBoards are nice, but you might be missing something else.

The author grieves for a dog that helped her find her love for climbing again, and then passed too soon.

Our community has come a long way towards educating climbers about the dangers of disordered eating. But mere progress isn’t enough. 

"In a sport that prizes youth and energy and boldness and good health, it is, I realize, anathema to confess to any sort of weakness..." But sometimes embracing your weakness can help.

Addiction. Encounters with death. The weight of everything, including happiness. Here are five personal essays about the intersection of climbing and dark manifestations.

"Eating disorders are often symptoms of larger issues. Bearing witness develops empathy.”

Last summer, Tiffany Thiele, a young rock climber from Reno, Nevada, took her life after posting a Facebook message saying a ski patroller had raped her. She left behind an unsolvable mystery about what really happened, along with urgent questions about whether more could have been done to heal her feelings of pain and distrust.

Ian Powell, hold shaper, recounts how art and addiction impacted his life. He was one of the best in the industry; then he went to prison. 11 years free, he's since changed the industry, again.

"In a community that’s fixated on optimizing health and performance, I was heartbroken to realize how many people were barely hanging on."

Check out The Editors's author page.

The only American to summit an 8,000 meter peak in winter is hanging up his ice axes.

Wondering if you’re a “real” climber yet? Feel like a fraud? That your best is never enough. You’re not alone.

Getting out on the rock has greater benefits beyond simply being fun.

The trick to getting your ideal summer cragging body? Redefine your ideal.

The climbing community has an eating-disorder problem—but will there ever be a solution?

Check out The Editors's author page.

Molly Mitchell shares her journey to climb China Doll (5.14 R) while navigating generalized anxiety disorder.

Eating disorders, dangerous dieting, and bad body images run rampant in the climbing community. We’re all playing a game with gravity, but what happens when we push our bodies and minds into unhealthy territory—and how do we stop it?

Check out American Alpine Club's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out Stefani Dawn's author page.

Check out Bennett Slavsky's author page.

Check out Matt Samet's author page.

After a slew of climbing tragedies last fall, big wall climber Madaleine Sorkin partners with the American Alpine Club to provide resources for climbers affected by death.

Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.

Check out Ula Chrobak's author page.

Check out Hailey Moore's author page.