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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Black Diamond Mercury Mitts Review
Driving back from skiing in Marble yesterday, it’s pretty apparent the ice season in Redstone has come to a close. The Pencil fell down, the Pillar is missing it’s top, the Drool is running with water. What a season it was though! Aside from all the incredible ice that formed up, I also got more […]
The Choss Files, Retro-Edition – Coal Creek Boulders
After our “discovery” of the Narrows, we started to look around with open eyes. What else had been overlooked by those before us? One day I took a drive up Coal Basin, and came across the talus field with all the boulders sitting in it. After hiking up to a few, I found that the […]
Climbing in Kansas
Here’s a great article from Alpinist.com on what it means to be a climber in Kansas: A man was arrested a few years back for roping up and climbing an offwidth up the side of the University’s Memorial Stadium. Rumor has it that Fraser Hall used to be bolted, and someone free soloed the 80-foot […]
Relics, Grand View Spire, Colorado National Monument
I have to admit, this spring I haven’t really given much thought to climbing. Sure I’ll get out here and there as the days warm up, but mostly I am excited to keep backcountry skiing. This is the time of year when the snowpack starts to stabilize, and you can get out on the bigger […]
Avocados Are A Girl’s Best Friend
By Tracy Wilson, who climbed Avocado Gully for the first time last week. BJ Sbarra on the huge second pitch. For many of the locals, Avocado Gully is part of their winter training routine. It’s 13 miles south of Carbondale, and is a true classic, offering three fun pitches only ten minutes from the road. […]
Black Diamond Punisher Gloves Review
Finally, I’ve found an ice climbing glove that offers warmth and dexterity in one simple package! For the last couple of years, I’ve climbed in thin Arc’teryx gloves, and just dealt with the cold hands that sometimes resulted. Having a good pair of belay mitts would help, but on some days it would just get […]
Timmy O’Neil Petzl Harness Video
Here’s a great video that Petzl put together to promote their new harnesses. Aside from how funny this stuff is, it’s a great lesson in online marketing and using social media for all the companies out there that are obsessed with this new “buzz word”, but don’t really have a clue what it means. I’m […]
5Point Film Festival
Look out Banff and move over Telluride, there’s a new kid in a town as Carbondale’s own 5Point Film Festival will debut May 8-10. The brain child of Julie Kennedy, the event will feature adventure films, guest speakers and a panel discussion. The festival aims to “inspire adventure”, and with over 25 films on the […]
New Carbondale Rec Center Climbing Wall
For all you local folks, the new Carbondale Rec Center is opening this weekend, and to celebrate they are offering free access all weekend long. Besides featuring a large gymnasium and extensive fitness equipment, the best part is the new climbing wall. While there have always been some options for bouldering on plastic, we’ve never […]
New Adirondack Rock Guidebook
Ok, so the Adirondacks are a long way from Colorado, but it’s where I got my start as a climber, and it still holds a special place in my heart. It’s a rugged and wild area about the same size as the state of Vermont, with endless climbing opportunities. As witness to that, the new […]
The Choss Files, Retro-Edition – The Narrows
With the new Western Sloper guidebook coming out, I thought it would be fun to go back and revisit how some of the new crags were found. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of finding a new cliff and envisioning all the potential lines that can come of it. First up, the Narrows. It was […]
Cody Ice in Wild, Windy Wyoming
Guest blog by Rob Griz. Cody is a bit of a stretch from Frisco CO, but I heard good things about the pure ice lines that lace the hills of the South Fork valley. All of my drives through Wyoming have been an adventure. Passing through towns like Douglass, claiming to be the “Original home […]
The Pencil is IN!!!
Just got back from a week long trip to Jackson and Boise. We skied some incredible terrain, if you’re interested you can check out a nice vid we put together over on Skiing the Backcountry. Around these parts, word has it the Pencil is IN! This climb hasn’t come in for at least ten years […]
Climbing News
On the road right now, but here’s some links of interest out there in the Climbing world: Beth Rodden sends the first ascent of a 5.14 trad route in Yosemite. Dean Potter fires a hard new roof crack near Moab. Four Americans climb a new route on the huge desert walls of Oman.
Kelly Cordes on Alpinism
Saw this over on the Cleanest Line, Kelly Cordes talks about what it takes to climb at a high level in the mountains.
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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