Luke Mehall reads his piece, “Climbs Fall Apart” which is published in Volume 24 of The Climbing Zine; the episode ends with his poem “A Climber Who Cries” from the upcoming Microdose Mixtape. Zine links: Support our podcast on Patreon KEEP THE ZINE ALIVE + Subscribe Score 15% off anything in our online store Our…
My friends are gettin’ older, So I guess I must be too. Without their loving kindness, I don’t know what I would do. —Greg Brown, “Spring Wind” This story can only begin in one way, and that is with tears. Whether they were the tears from heartbreak, loss, or just from when John…
In my body, I’m a climber; in my imagination, I’m a rapper. The poets of my generation are MCs—embodiments of the modern American Dream—and the music of hip-hop is so ubiquitous with our culture that it’s hard to imagine life without them. I don’t just listen to hip-hop; it bleeds into my soul. All music…
And so castles made of sand Fall into the sea eventually —Jimi Hendrix, “Castles Made of Sand” “Did you hear the Crooked Arrow Spire fell down?” my buddy, Ben Kiessel, asked me. Another one bites the dust, I thought. I used to be surprised when I heard a climb or a major section of a…
I know he knows. Adam Lawton is proud. In every group of adventurers, there is a leader, and every great leader must be a visionary. Adam dreamed the dreams for the entire crew. He found excitement in little breakthroughs, like the time I got a job dishwashing at Crossroads Cafe in Joshua Tree—he couldn’t have…
I don’t have climbing heroes, because, to paraphrase The Big Lebowski, what’s a hero, anyway? There are a few climbers that I look to for inspiration though, and at the top of that list is the duo known as the Wideboyz: Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker. They have a deep love and commitment to…
This is the most beautiful place on Earth, but of course, like Cactus Ed Abbey said, every person carries in their heart an image of the ideal place, the right place. This is just the right place for me. But, right now, something is not right, and it’s pitch black anyways, no beauty to be…
It is like any other start to a day of climbing in the Black Canyon. Dave and I are up before the sun, throwing down coffee and a quick breakfast, and assembling all the hardware needed for the day’s climb. We gently descend down the Cruise Gully, careful not to dislodge any loose rocks, with…