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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Black Diamond Launches New Climbing Packs
To an outside observer, this would look really strange. There we were, at about 13,000′ on the Southwest Ridge of Mount Sneffels, and Jeff Achey and I were actually putting big rocks into our packs for the remainder of the ascent. We were on a press trip, to try out the new climbing packs from Black Diamond that will launch in spring 2011.
The Science of Climbing’s Awesomeness
“Tristan, it’s all about flow! I can totally understand now why you climb!” I doubted this very much. These words were coming from my next door neighbor, who has gone climbing all of two or three times in her life. She had, however, read about something called flow theory in one of her classes, and went on to explain it to me. And I have to admit, I was pretty intrigued.
All’s Quiet On the Drilling Front
For several years, I was pretty focused on new route development in the Roaring Fork Valley. There were three cliffs in particular that we had a vision for, knowing that when they were complete they’d offer fun, unique climbing that was much closer to town than anything currently established. There were only a couple of us toiling away at adding routes, and it was a lot of hard work. Finally, in about 2007, the crags were developed enough that whether you were in the mood for granite, sandstone or something else, you’d have about 50 pitches to choose from at each spot.
Busted Climbing Myths!
Everyone’s got their favorite climbing myths, but these sites show you why those myths are false, with some solid research and testing behind their results.
Wildfire Burning in Main Elk Creek
Driving home from Rifle yesterday, we were awed by the sight in front of us. A huge column of dark smoke was billowing skyward until it met the building storm clouds high in the atmosphere. The plumes were moving upward at what looked like a thousand feet per minute, and it looked less like a forest fire and more like a huge bomb had been dropped on Main Elk Creek.
Petzl GriGri 2 Coming Spring 2011
All I can say for Petzl is that they sure stay tight lipped over there until they are ready to launch something. I asked about a GriGri that would work with skinny ropes at the last Outdoor Retailer show and they told me nothing was in the works. Well, it looks like maybe we’ll get […]
Climbing Leads to Addiction?
I’m not usually a fan of Outside Magazine, but occasionally some decent writing ends up in there, and a recent article written by a friend of mine is one such exception. In it, Matt Samet chronicles how his obsession with climbing lead to anxiety and panic attacks that he medicated with drugs, and how that lead to a drug addiction that nearly claimed his life.
Rocky Mountain High
We just got back from two excellent days in Rocky Mountain Park, and I thought I’d share a few lessons that were impressed upon us during our attempt to climb Notchtop via the Direct South Ridge. We got chased off by weather about halfway up, and though I’ve climbed in the Park a half dozen times before, we learned a few things that we’d do different next time to insure success.
Outdoor Research Climbing Clothing Review
If you grew up in the Northeast, or the Northwest, you probably had a pair of those Outdoor Research gaiters, and in your mind they were forever relegated to being the kinda-dorky-hiking-gear company. Well, apparently I haven’t been paying close attention, because these guys are now putting out clothing for everything from rock climbing to mixed climbing. I had a chance to check out some of their climbing oriented pieces this spring, and I was impressed, to say the least.
In Pursuit of the Vertical World
It all started innocently enough, with a 13 year old boy halfway up an obscure, 60′ wall of gneiss in upstate New York. Fast forward a couple years, and that same boy, now 15, could be seen 500′ up a giant slab of rock in the Chapel Pond region. It was on that climb that the boy realized this was something he loved, and so it began.
Confessions of a Tick-aholic
Tickmarks. Something so small, and yet so big, at least when it comes to the emotional response they elicit in climbers. Some folks consider them a fact of life in modern climbing, and others think they rob you of the purity of the experience, but maybe we can find some middle ground.
Rock Climbing Colorado, 2nd Edition
Many years ago now, I came out to Colorado for a summer of fun in Estes Park. Not knowing where I’d want to climb, I bought a copy of the Rock Climbing Colorado guidebook, as it seemed to have good info on many different areas. Times have changed, and guidebooks have come a long way since that original edition. Full color photos are the norm, with heaps of useful info guaranteed to get you climbing more and fumbling around looking for routes less. And so the old standard of Rock Climbing Colorado has finally been upgraded into the 21st century.
Alpine Splitter Choss
By now, everyone probably knows that Colorado is a sea of choss, but this time of year you are continually reminded of that fact when you head into the mountains to enjoy the alpine summer. Ascending many of our mountains, you see they are nothing more than giant heaps of rock, sometimes stacked quite precariously, and in various states of decay.
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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