We arrived to Creek Pasture past midnight to a deafening stillness. Unable to locate our friend’s campsite, we perched our cars at an empty parking lot and fell asleep in the backs of them, exhausted after the nine-hour drive. I wore my long johns since the desert air seeped easily through the car door. by Madeline…
How can I describe the size of this place? How can I describe the dizzying gulfs of air below us as we claw our way towards the summit of Poincenot, glaciers splayed below like blue tongues cascading into tortured icefalls, and the Torre spires emerging from whorls of cloud across a valley too deep to…
I’ve spent a long time looking for good mid-temperature alpine and ice climbing glove. It needs to be warm enough to be useful down to the ‘teens temperatures, dexterous enough to operate carabiners and cams without frustration, weather-proof enough to keep my hands dry in reasonable conditions, and durable enough to withstand the abuse of…
Back in the day when I learned to tape my hands my climbing mentor taught me an elaborate process of how to do it. First we would bust out this huge bottle of adhesive spray (the size of a spray paint can) and apply it on our hands, followed by the application of the tape.…
“The best climber is the one having the most fun.” Alex Lowe This is a new column for The Climbing Zine, and a space we’ll use each issue to review a climbing related book, new or old, for our readers. For this issue the book is Forget Me Not, written by Jennifer Lowe-Anker, and published…
Cliff took out his trimming scissors and chopped several green buds off the stem of the marijuana plant. After he did this he looked across the room, as nine of his other comrades of cannabis did the same. One bud at a time they tossed the nuggets into a plastic bin at the center of…
I was riding shotgun in an ‘86 Safari van, smoking a cigarette, and wondering where the hell we were headed. I had agreed to go on a climbing adventure with a boy I met just a week ago. I borrowed his harness to try rock climbing. Returning it after only one use, I found myself…
Last year we posted a review of the innovative Petzl NAO headlamp, and loved the Reactive technology, but noted it was a bit heavy, and expensive (retail $175.00). So, after they added two more headlamps to their Performance Series with Reactive technology we knew we had to take a look. We ended up testing out…