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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Spring Gear Review Roundup
It’s been a busy spring, and we’ve had the chance to put some excellent new gear through the ringer to see how it stacks up. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve taken a look at so far this year.
PSA: Leave the Lowering ‘Biners Alone!
This is a public service announcement brought to you by the Western Slope Choss Association in conjunction with the People Who Climb Sport After Work Club. An increasing problem being reported at sport crags from Colorado to Quebec is people stealing lowering carabiners off anchors.
Trad is Rad…Or is It?
Sitting outside at a popular Moab watering hole, I couldn’t help but laugh. The shirt was clever enough, on the front, “trad is rad”, on the back “your moma’s a sport climber,” but that wasn’t it. What made me chuckle was that this guy was probably just in Indian Creek, thinking he was climbing some rad trad. And maybe he was, but probably like the rest of us he was sport climbing on gear.
Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign
Unfortunately, we live in a country where climbing is a fringe activity, and as such, is given little respect by the general public. Even organizations that should be on the same page, like the National Park Service, continue to threaten climbing access. In order to step up efforts to preserve and protect climbing areas across the country, the Access Fund has launched a really great new program: the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign.
Five Ten Grandstone Review
The perfect Indian Creek shoe is an elusive thing. You want it to be comfortable, so when your jamming your toes into cracks the pain is minimized as much as possible, but not so sloppy that you can’t milk the occasional foot hold for all it’s worth. You also want them to be durable, because they are going to take a serious beating if you’re spending a significant amount of time there. The new Five Ten Grandstone combines all these things into what I think is pretty close to the perfect crack climbing shoe.
Bouldering for Bolts
Just got wind of a fundraiser on Saturday, May 22nd at the Grand Junction Climbing Center. The proceeds will go to the Western Colorado Climbers’ Coaltion, which presumably will use the funds for bolt replacement projects at local areas like Unaweep Canyon.
Things to Do While Waiting to Climb
So let’s say you have 6 hours to kill before guiding some clients on Wall Street. A reasonable objective might be the North Chimney on Castleton, with your friend who has never climbed the tower. The climbing is moderate and you should have plenty of time to get up and down quickly.
Black Diamond Equipment Going Public
On the surface it sounds like the demise of yet another core outdoor company: Black Diamond Equipment is merging with Gregory Packs and going public under the name of Black Diamond Equipment. However, unlike some recent examples, this is considered, at least by the folks on the inside that I talked with, to be a [...]
La Sportiva Boulder X Review
The Moab area saw a cold and snowy winter this year, and on my first trip to Indian Creek for the season, we had to contend with some pretty muddy and snowy approaches. I had just received the La Sportiva Boulder X approach shoes and figured what better conditions to see how they handled. Thankfully [...]
The Future of Bolting
In the not-so-distant future, it’s unlikely that climber’s will enjoy the freedoms we currently have when it comes to establishing routes. For a long time we’ve flown under the radar as a self policing community that, aside from a few high profile spats, has proven it can manage itself in a responsible fashion. As the sport continues to grow, however, and more people are putting up new routes, we are coming under increasing scrutiny from land managers. This will inevitably lead to tighter rules and regulations, especially when it comes to the ever controversial bolt.
Red River Gorge iPhone App is Here
The much anticipated Red River Gorge climbing guidebook app from Wolverine Publishing is now available through the iTunes store. Since I use the cell phone company with the red map, I don’t have an iPhone, but I did find a thorough review over at Mountain Project. Also, Dave Pegg sent me this promo video which [...]
Vail & Redstone Ice Featured in North Face Athlete Videos
It’s mid winter, might as well keep the ice climbing stoke going! The North Face just released two new videos profiling their athletes Emily Harrington and Sam Elias, with some sweet footage shot at Vail and Redstone. It’s also cool to get some insight into how each of them approaches the sport, as they are [...]
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