The Climbing Zine is a creative collective fueled by passion, dirt, and rocks.
Just over seven months ago I got a vasectomy, and I promised myself I’d document the process. Surprisingly, I received more feedback, messages, and comments than anything I’ve written in the last year. Most of that came from women, many of them thanking me, which was interesting. by Luke Mehall, banner photo by Jake Burchmore …
As we are embarking on our “keep the zine alive” campaign to add 2,000 new subscribers, many of our current subscribers under our old model have asked how you can support. We’ve got the answer: subscribe to our new system, and we will give you credit for the value of your remaining issues in…
Trigger warning: This article discusses topics of depression, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety. For some, the content may be triggering. Please use your own judgment, and if you feel that you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. With my feet planted firmly on the belay ledge halfway up the rocky face…
Exactly 24 years ago today is when I mark my official start as a climber: 4-20-99. I finally mastered the figure 8 knot that day, the knot of infinity. This was during the worst year of my life, I was severely depressed, and was on a dangerous cocktail of substances. I told no one about…
The Climbing Zine Book 2, filled with favorite stories from Volumes 1 – 13, plus color photos. Note: this is a follow up to original Climbing Zine Book, and features material from Volumes 12 and 13, as well as other stories that didn’t make it into the first Zine Book. Cover Photo: Kathy Karlo climbing…
Note: this piece was published way back in Volume 2. That zine out of print, but you can pick one up on Kindle for $0.99. For me, it has always been about the Mother. Since the first time a Zen dishwasher took me climbing just outside Gunnison, Colorado, I have found myself in a constant…
Banner photo: The author on her winter project, Crystal Dawn (5.13d), Red Rocks, Nevada by Max Barlerin Waiting for a storm to go or the sun to come, or the doubt to go or new shoes to come, or the pump to go or a move to stick, or the snow to snow or waiting…
To Roy McClenahan by way of The Climbing Zine, Glancing through the pages of Volume 16 of The Climbing Zine in my local climbing gym in Missoula, Montana—a setting that feels a galaxy apart from the rugged hill country of east San Diego County where I grew up—I was stopped in my tracks when…