My hands gripped a small undercling in the alcove I had been resting in. I looked up at the move I would perform. Full extension, my hand rested a solid two feet below the next good crack system. I glanced down at the worn out webbing that represented my last piece of protection; the frayed…
As a pure rock climber with zero ambition for the alpine, but a desire to stay warm in cold camping temperatures, I often find myself using gear that is marketed towards alpinists. The Black Diamond Cold Forge Hoody puffy jacket is one of those items. Retail: $299 As the fall Indian Creek desert season began…
Usually, just the thought of a new pair of mountaineering boots would make my feet ache, but that is not the case with the Lowa Alpine Pro GTX. These boots were comfortable straight out of the box. Reviewed by: Amy Stevens (banner photo © Cody Tuttle) The Alpine Pro GTX has been designed by professionals…
Morning light reflects bright off the white granite ledge as my pal Patrick is slowly pushing our rope up pitch 4 of the Muir Wall of El Capitan. A local climber of immortal fame joins me on the large ledge. We each quietly feed and take rope while enjoying the morning view of the Valley…
We pull into the Supercrack parking lot in a rusty, mud smothered Subaru, named Shelly. The lot is dotted with similar vehicles, their windows all dusted by relentless desert sand, (some of which have been decorated by a climber’s tough calloused finger). Shelly the Subie has been with my friend Amy and I since we…
A combined-gender review: both men’s and women’s versions If you’re a woman, I imagine you might be frustrated by the pervasive lack reviews for female-specific gear. At The Climbing Zine we feel it’s important to provide objective information to everyone, so I partnered with Lilly Hancock to test both the men’s and women’s versions of…
My second book, The Great American Dirtbags is now available in the printed form, and as an e-book. by Luke Mehall, publisher of The Climbing Zine This book, which I am proud of, is a collection of eighteen stories and a couple poems, and the pieces range from my depressed teenage years to my current…
I woke up before dawn in the parking lot of an apartment complex. My girlfriend and I had been living on the road for two years, and the tiny trailer we called home was furnished with a memory foam mattress atop a plywood bed frame I’d installed in its previously empty interior. If we were…