We actually used this thing as a mattress for car camping a couple of times before I got to take it out to the boulders. After a couple of sessions at Coal Creek, where the landings are typically less than ideal, I was sold. This thing is huge, and easily covers over a large area at the base of any boulder. It’s also thick enough to smooth out some pretty rough landings, which is nice to know when you are 12 feet above your pad in talus field. The main benefit of this thing is that the pad is HUGE, which of course is also the main downside. It takes up a lot of space in the back of our Subaru, you might have a difficult time fitting it and your climbing buddies into the same car. It also takes up a lot of space at our house, but if you are doing the dirt bag thing, you could use it as a mattress to solve that problem. In terms of bouldering comfort and safety, this thing is tough to beat.

I’ve had these shoes for about a year now. In the past my experience with 5.10 was that they made good shoes which didn’t hold up well over time. Thankfully it appears they have worked out these quality control issues, as this pair has held up extremely well and the new incarnation of 5.10 rubber sticks like a charm. I have them sized relatively small for performance oriented climbing and found them to be an excellent choice for bouldering and sport climbing. If I want to feel more of the rock underfoot, I’ll usually reach for something softer, but if I know I’ll be standing on small holds, these are my shoes of choice. Overall I would highly recommend them if you are looking for a high performance edging shoe.

Anybody else have any experience with these shoes? Comments are on.

I’m in Vegas right now for a convention. Looking out at Red Rocks from the monorail each day on the way to the convention center is making me really want to skip out and hit up the climbing. Oh well, maybe I’ll come back in a month or so. The weather here is perfect right now, 60’s and 70’s and sunny. Back to work for now…

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Roaring Fork Climbers’ Coalition. The RFCC seeks to give climbers a voice with local authorities and promote and preserve climbing in the Roaring Fork Valley. The most pressing issue we are currently dealing with is the access to Thompson Creek. Check out the website for more information and to sign up to become a member.

Anyone else not ready for winter? I love skiing as much as anyone, but with such a mediocre fall and some nice days finally here, I still find myself wanting to be out on the rocks. W got to climb at the Black Cliffs outside of Boise, Idaho this weekend. It’s a nice local spot that stays really warm. We didn’t have a guidebook and it was fun just to walk up to a climb and see how it went. In our beta intensive climbing world that seems to be a rarity these days. Same thing happened to us in Eldo about a week ago when we climbed Yellow Spur. We originally planned on doing another line, but they were all taken and Yellow Spur was open. Normally I would probably go on Mountain Project and get the super double secret probation beta, but this time around I just had the brief guidebook description. And we had a blast. Seems like the last couple times out I’ve been learning to take the experience for what it is, and that has been super enjoyable.