“Ummm…honey, you know that nice hiking weekend we have coming up together? Well, ahhh…Dale just asked me if I…ummm…could climb tomorrow, and I’ll be back before we leave. Sooo…would that be ok?” Sweating after an awkwardly tense eternity of silence—but in reality it was only a few seconds—you blurt out in pure, unadulterated desperation, “But…
In the process of looking for a new approach shoe that I could also do some running in I came across the Garmont Sticky Rock. Retail: $145.00 Over the last three months I’ve tested these out on the local trail system, and on approaches across the American West, mostly in the Moab desert area. For…
Without climbing I’d be dead or in jail. This is not the first piece I’ve ever started off with those words. But in the past I never really elaborated, until this week, when my memoir, American Climber was released. by Luke Mehall (banner photo by James Q Martin) It has been 17 years since I’ve…
After a decade of writing, and re-writing, my memoir, American Climber is finally complete. It is a 75,000 word tale about my life experiences with climbing—a sport that saved my life—coupled with reflections on the dirtbag climbing lifestyle. The hard part—the writing—is done, and now the challenge is very simple: get the word out about…
The Mountainsmith Mayhem 45 is an innovative and creative backpack—perfect for certain uses, but hindering for others. Here’s what I liked about it, when I’ll use it, and when I’ll find another pack in the hopper to take up to the crag. Retail: $159.95 Upon first glance this pack is different. Obviously different. The thing…
It’s that time again when I need a new cragging rope. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or particularly light, just something durable that my partners and I can take a thousand falls on and never worry about it. There are lots of options out there, and the Curve 9.8 mm rope stands out as…
I am sitting in front of my computer, doing what I do to make my pennies, but in a few hours, when my writing is done, and the car is packed I will head out to my favorite place in the world, the most beautiful place in the world, my second home, Indian Creek. by…
“What about you, Georgie? Are you a feminist?” I was sitting around a campfire with a group of friends. I had climbed outside maybe twice before. “No,” I replied, scratching at the label on my beer bottle. “Because I don’t think women should have to be doctors and engineers in order to be considered a…