“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.

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.

SplitterChoss is taking a break this week, to go climbing. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and we’ll see you next week with the usual whit, charm and insight you’ve come to know and love.

We were sitting around the living room, racking up for a weekend of climbing on the Front Range. My friend grabbed a set of nuts, and mentioned how he was excited to get to climb on some granite where he could actually use them. Around here, you see, we don’t get the opportunity often, as we’re either clipping bolts or sinking the occasional cam, so this was going to be a nice change.

The recent warm weather has turned my thoughts to summer climbing trips, and one of the areas I’d like to get back to is Maple Canyon, in Utah. This is one of my favorite sport crags, where the funky cobbles, modern bolting, and unique setting all contribute to a great overall experience. Of course, one of the hassles with visiting Maple is that there is no current guidebook. The last edition is long out of print, though apparently a new book has been in the works for quite some time.

Over the next couple of days you might see the site template shift back and forth. We’re working on launching a complete redesign, including the other half of the site which currently isn’t run on Wordpress. Bear with us, and please feel free to leave comments here with any feedback. Thanks for your patience!

I spent several days last week working/climbing along Potash Road outside Moab, UT. For those who haven’t been, it’s Navajo sandstone, which is softer than Wingate, the stuff at Indian Creek. It’s a popular crag, however, being right off the road and offering many bolted pitches, which is somewhat rare in the Utah desert. Anyhow, [...]

It seems to be how we comfort ourselves in the climbing world. When news comes of a fallen climber (and that news has been all too frequent this year) there are many who say that because the person died following their passion, this was a much better way to die, as if it’s somehow nobler.  [...]