“If you just stop for a second, I can show you there’s no road out there!” Ben said. “I know there’s a road there; we drove it a couple years ago!” I fired back. We hadn’t even started an ordeal that would surely drive us to our wits’ ends, and we were already lost and…
There’s a land at the end of the world that sleeps and wakes in its own time. It lies alone in the vastness of the ocean, the only land piercing otherwise unbroken sea. The wind whirls around the Antarctic vortex with the force of a spinning planet and slams into this land with cold indifference,…
Shara Zaia reads her essay published in Volume 24 of The Climbing Zine. Plus a bonus tune from James Parr, inspired by Greg Petliski’s essay, Scotch on The Rocks, also published in Volume 24. Zine links: Support our podcast on Patreon KEEP THE ZINE ALIVE + Subscribe Our sponsors for Season 5: Kilter: http://settercloset.com (email holds@kiltergrips.com…
The reflection targets my disfigurement. If only the borders of this mirror could protect the rest of the world from my hideousness. My life’s insignificance rampages through my thoughts like an atrociously loud party that never ends. Nothing I do is good enough. I want to expunge my existence on a daily basis. Not even…
Since November, I’ve been in Modesto, California, with my family and, while here, digitally archiving the multitude of slides, negatives, writings, etc., that occupy nearly every corner of our home. Luke and I had discussed doing this photo essay months ago, and it’s been a bizarre endeavor, writing about something as personal and precious as…
The night was cold, and where the moon and stars shone around patches of clouds, they were incredibly bright. There was no ambient light out here. I was standing on a half-finished patio attached to a half-finished house in an otherwise empty summer-herding village. It was early March, months before the village would be occupied.…
As I’ve said and written before, my favorite thing about publishing The Zine is the connections it helps create. I am able to connect with people that I wouldn’t otherwise be connected to if I didn’t publish this zine. Thus is the case with the legendary climber Jimmie Dunn. by Luke Mehall I met…
As time goes by our original issues of The Climbing Zine have become collector’s items. Since we printed so few of our first issues, by my estimates there are less than 10 complete collections out there. So when we post up back issues they are scooped up by avid readers right away. Now we’re introducing…