For those who don’t know, the Enormocast is the rebirth of what was the Off Belay Podcast, and Chris is getting together some great content. Be sure to head on over and check out the latest episode, along with some of the other podcasts with guest co-hosts Lisa Hathaway and Kelly Cordes,

If you enjoy the show be sure to leave a comment over on the page and let Chris know, so we can get more fun stuff to listen to!

The winter show is always a little quieter than its summer counterpart, especially on the rock climbing front. Most of the new gear on display will be coming out in the fall, so usually that means new ice gear, winter clothing, etc. On the flip side, the gear that we could only look at in the summer will likely be hitting retail shelves soon, so it’s exciting to see what will be coming into play for the spring season.

Despite my social director (Tracy) being absent, I still had some good times on that front. I want to give a shout out to Edelrid and Sanuk for the appointments with most laughs. Ran into David from Climberism, who looked to be all business. Finally met Brendan from Semi-Rad.com, and had some good laughs as people were scooping up his stickers left and right from the booth we were chilling at. And a big thanks to the Rab ladies for getting me out to the free Franti show on Thursday night, it was phenomenal. Even got some exercise in, hitting up Momentum and the Front, unreal how good those facilities are. OK, enough of that, onto the gear!

This time around there was the usual fun stuff from a variety of folks, although a few booths were fairly quiet. Here’s a recap of (almost) everything we saw:

Black Diamond

The big focus here was all the fun skiing stuff, but that’s a topic for some other website. This spring there’s a slew of new rock gear coming out, including the Flight, Siren and Focus harnesses and the new Vector helmet. For the Fall, keep an eye out for the new hooded Oz and Oz rackpack. The Oz is now hot forged, so even with the hood it still weighs only an ounce. Also in the fall comes the Aspect and Lotus harnesses, getting more upgrades in materials.

Evolv

The new Astroman, which debuted at the last show, got some refinements, including the now popular love bump under the toes. This gives it a more high performance edge, but I’m wondering if it’s crack jamming abilities will suffer without your toes being flat. Time will tell, it’s due out in early summer. Also, picked up a pair of the Cruzers, the new lightweight approach shoe, and wore them around the entire show. Surprisingly comfy given their minimalistic feel.

Five Ten

This was a pretty quiet show in the Five Ten booth, and they’ve actually parred the line down a bit for next year. (Adios Supermocs and Hornets). They do have a new slipper coming called the Outlaw, which will offer a more narrow fit then is usual for the brand. They’ve also tweaked the Anasazi High Top, which offers the performance of an all day shoe in the convenience of a slipper. I was told the summer show should be more exciting, as they will have their feet under them from the Adidas buyout, and will be pushing forward in their usual manner.

Gregory

The Alpinisto is a new alpine/ice climbing pack, available in a 35L and 50L sizes. A bunch of great features on this one, including my favorite, a side zipper that allows access to the inside of the pack.

Mammut

For Fall, there’s a couple new jackets, along with a new helmet. The Alpine Rider will appeal to the jack of all trades, as it’s certified for use in snow sports as well as climbing and mountaineering.  And keep an eye out this spring for the enviro friendly Transformer rope, and the stylish El Cap helmet.

Metolius

Some great stuff coming out this year, including the SafeTech Crux helmet, which I’ve been wearing since October and absolutely love. They also have two new harnesses, the SafeTech Trad and comp, both featuring speed buckles and lighter weight materials than their predecessors. Boulders will want to take a look at the Bouldering Shield, an item taken from the stunt world to help better direct falling climbers onto pads.

Mountain Khakis

Having earned a permanent place in our hearts with the wonderful Lake Lodge Twills, they continue to put out high quality lifestyle clothing. They’ve also got some new bags, including one that uses recycled rope as the handle.

Native

A new lense was the big news here, which blocks up to 40% of infrared light from hitting your eyes. The result is that your eyes get less tired, and wont get as dry without all that heat reaching them.

Outdoor Research

Some fun stuff here, as the company continues to pump money into R&D. First up, the Lodestar jacket and pants, which blend “the warmth of a puffy with the moisture-wicking properties of fleece and the protection of a softshell,” and are sure to appeal to those spending most of their time ice climbing in cold weather. The Salvo utilizes Windstopper X-Fast material, and should bring a smile to the light and fast crowd, and the Incandescent is a new puffy made with Pertex and filled with 800 fill down. I got warm just looking at it. The other thing that stood out was the Feedback Flannel, which looks and feels like a cotton shirt, but is really synthetic, offering some style as well as performance. Lastly, the Mixalot glove looks to be an excellent light climbing glove for those spend most of their time on the steep stuff in the winter months.

Prana

These folks are jumping full steam ahead into more winter wear, with a wide selection of jackets that bring a lot of style to a somewhat boring space. They’ve also got a new women’s hemp yoga collection that sure to please the enviro friendly crowd.

Patagonia

Some fancy new digs going on at this booth, including the Nano Puff Hybrid, which features a Nano Puff top combined with R2 fleece on the bottom for an ideal active-in-cold-weather jacket. Not content with that fantastic creation, the mad scientists at Patagonia have also combined Polartec Wind Pro with Power Dry to make the Piton Hybrid, the perfect softshell for long alpine climbs. Many of the colors on display here were more reminiscent of the latest trend in the ski industry, with lots of bright neons, and anyone who had fun in the early 90′s will surely be nostalgic for those days when they see the Fall ’12 lineup.

Petzl

Probably the most innovative new gear at the show was on display here with their NAO headlamp, featuring a reactive lighting system. There is a sensor on the headlamp which detects the ambient light and adjusts the output of the beam accordingly. So imagine you are climbing the Grand, and you start in the early morning dark. As it gets lighter with the coming of the day, your headlamp automatically adjusts the brightness lower and lower, saving a bunch of juice in your batteries. It’s also programmable with multiple modes via their Petzl OS software. Also, the Elios/Elia gets an upgrade, the e+LITE is brighter, and the large Ange biner is coming soon.

Rab

The usual sickness was on display here, and the highlight for me was the new Generator Alpine Jacket, a 21 oz synthetic shell with 100 grams of insulation in the body. The Ice Fall looks like a great ice climbing jacket, both bomber and highly breathable. And there are some new offerings in their MeCo line, which features a blend of Merino wool and recycled polyester that dries five times faster than standard Merino.

Scarpa

The new Boostic is coming this Spring, along with the Crux, an everyman’s approach shoe at the reasonable price of $99. The Gecko gets a sole upgrade, making it more versatile in a wider range of conditions, and the Tech Ascent will be a new mid top approach shoe with GoreTex.

Sportiva

No longer just about footwear (and skis), they have introduced a new clothing line, featuring everything from base layers to hard shells to puffy jackets. In all there are 48 different pieces in the line, each bringing some Euro style to the market. For the spring, the Futura is on the way, along with a slew of new approach shoes, the most interesting to us being the featherweight Vertical K. I also spoke with president Jonathan Lantz about the production issues that have been problematic for the brand over the last year, and he gave me a glimpse into the fascinating world of high end cobblers and Italian labor laws. Rest assured for the loyal Sportiva fans out there, they should have everything back on track very soon.

We also saw great stuff from Sanuk, Osprey, Nau, Vapur, Treksta, Deuter, Patagonia Foootwear, and others. Thanks to everyone for a great show!

“The Idaho Mountain Festival will offer a four day event where climbers, as well as trail runners, can gather to enjoy endless climbing, trail races, activities, giveaways, music, meals, and workshops.

On September 27 – 30, 2012, festival attendees will enjoy a slew of free amenities including tent camping, dinners and breakfasts, and entertainment. Festival tickets will go on sale starting in March. Ticket options include an all-inclusive ticket for $45 that includes almost everything and a daily pass ticket for $25 that excludes the free tent camping.

The Idaho Mountain Festival has teamed up with Asana to make this event possible. Asana is an Idaho based company that specializes in bouldering specific climbing gear.

As of now, the Access Fund and Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ have also jumped on the bandwagon as sponsors for the festival. The Access Fund will be sending their new Conservation Team to manage an Adopt-a-Crag day that will allow the climbers to give back to the parks by cleaning up climbing areas and trails. Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ will be providing a Sunday morning breakfast as well as sending one of their athletes to host a bouldering clinic.”

Download the full press release here. (PDF)

As far away as the perfect fall days of September seem, we’re already looking forward to what promises to be an exciting event, stay tuned for more details as it gets closer.

The Road to Astroman

An excellent story of succeeding on a dream route, by Luke Stefurak.

Jubilant Song

An honest tale of overcoming mental barriers.

Against the Grain

Peter Beal talks about embracing what you have in your backyard, and how the 1% might include some folks you hadn’t considered before.

Pure Imagination

A fun look at the woman who is redefiing the notion of what female climbers are capable of, and her recent tick of a 9a route in the Red, making her the first American woman to climb that grade.

Sasha DiGiulian. “Pure Imagination” 5.14d (9a). from Adidas Outdoor on Vimeo.

Oreganic

A visual tour of Riggins, Idaho and Smith Rock and Trout Creek in Oregon.

Oreganic Volume 2 from Greg Garretson on Vimeo.

Starting at 6:30, local talent  Hayden Kennedy, Sam Stevens and Jake Sakson will be giving slideshows from their respective discplines. The $20 admission fee gets you a burrito and drink, and all the proceeds go to benefit the Carbondale Middle School climbing program.

Should be a great time!

Yet again it was one of the filmmaking competition shorts that probably got the most laughs of the evening, with the Climber Kid/Karate Kid spoof. After that, things got kicking with Ice Revolution, which was a cool look at the most bizarre ice climbing on the planet. Even though it’s obscure, it was hard not to get caught up in Will and Tim’s enthusiasm, and Helmcken Falls looks like a truly surreal place to climb.

Next up, Cold, which I saw at the 5Point Film Festival, and which has been winning awards left and right in the film community. First time around, I thought it was a brilliant and raw glimpse into the world of extreme high altitude mountaineering. Second time around, it was just as powerful. The moment after the avalanche when Cory Richards is looking into the camera the look of raw fear on his face is simply unbelievable. My only gripe the first time ’round was the excessive use of f-bombs, which I thought detracted from an otherwise excellent film, so I was pleased to see it was edited for Reel Rock into a much more polished version.

And then finally we got some rock climbing, with another glimpse at the Dawn Wall project on El Cap with Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson. Billed as the “hardest big wall” in the world, their efforts on the ultra techy granite are truly impressive and inspiring. The segment was a little shorter than I would have liked, but since it remains undone, I’m sure we’ll see more in the future.

I was hesitant about the bouldering segment, only knowing it revolved around a nine year old kid. It seems like every year there is a feature on some uber-strong grom who by the next fall has fallen off the map because the stress of high end rock climbing is just too much for their young minds. This one, however, ended up being my favorite film of the night, as it had a real story to it. I’d always wondered what happened to Obe Carrion, and this film shed light on his rise to stardom, his burnout, and his return to the sport he loves. In a way, it was just as much a film about him as it was the incredibly talented, nine year old Ashima, who puts down a V12 in Hueco in impressive style.

The second half of the show kicked off with an overly long segment about the speed record on the Nose. Those of us who went to 5Point a couple years ago felt like we were seeing Hans Florine’s slideshow from that festival turned into a movie. It’s certainly interesting, and crazy to see some of the risks these guys take. “No gear don’t fall” is yelled by Potter as he and Sean Leary near the top, and it’s hard to imagine being that high on El Cap, that tired, with no margin for error. I think this would have been better as a shorter segment in the first half, and they could have used this space for something a little more interesting to the masses than a speed record which, these days, comes down to mere seconds.

And then there was the last segment, about a sketchy fellow named Andy, who apparently is the top slackliner in the world. He spends his days cooking up insane tricks and free solo high lines between desert towers. I honestly felt like I was watching an episode of Jackass, where they recruited a bunch of dirtbag climbers to do all the dumbest stuff possible. I also cringed as I thought of all the high school kids in the audience, watching these guys pull off stunts that should not be emulated by kids without much technical savvy. This one left a sour taste in my mouth, and it may sound harsh, but no one will be shocked when we learn that this guy has perished. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for a film like this, but why feature it in the closing spot? I’d much rather go home with something inspirational like the Obe/Ashima piece swirling through my thoughts.

Overall, a fun show to be sure, and always fun to see the local community come out of the woodwork. Hopefully they raised a bunch of money for the high school, it seemed much better attended than last year’s event. I think overall the Tour wasn’t as impressive as year’s past, though the first half of the show felt cohesive and complete. I would have preferred to see the spotlight in the second half given to something with a little more substance, but I guess there’s always next year!

Also, in order to keep the climbing stoke up through the winter, we’re starting a new monthly contest over on the Splitter Choss Facebook page. All you have to do is like us, and post a photo of you climbing somewhere outside during the winter. Doesn’t matter whether it’s sport, bouldering or even ice climbing, we just want to encourage folks to get out. At the end of the month we’ll randomly pick a winner from the submissions we received, with new prizes and a new drawing each month. To start things off for November, we’ve got a La Sportiva hoody, a Black Diamond Livewire draw, and an ATC Guide/locking biner. Winners for the first round will be picked on November 30th, so get out there and send us some photos!

Unfortunately, the main developer is one of only three boulderers that live in Western Colorado, and he’s had a hard time convincing all the sport wankers around here to make the trek up to check them out. If you want to get in on the fun, drop us a line and I can put you in touch with him. Maybe then he’ll stop talking about it 24-7 to the rest of us who only use our crashpads for sleeping on in the back of a van.

First Look at Colorado’s Newest Bouldering Find, the South Fork from Rock & Ice on Vimeo.

*I’m not a boulderer, and cannot vouch for the validity of these claims. Explore at your own risk, it could be a talus field full of decomposing choss…