Curled into the bench seat like astronauts they hurtled through the dark, stars hanging low outside the dust-dimmed beam of her headlights, his eyes twinned planets in her mirror. This poem is published in Volume 23. Art by Rhiannon Williams Rambling conversation, comfortable strangers, that strange intimacy of predawn, those trickling hours that bathe any…
There’s a lot of information out there about how to belay, and sure, the mechanics of holding a rope are important. Project belaying is another cup of tea entirely, an art that walks the line between self-sacrifice and domination over your climber partner. A good project belayer will say only, “Excuse me—can you hold on…
“If Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.” Empire State of Mind by Jay Z Some call him Two Tent Timmy, some Gold Tooth Timmy, while others may know him by his comedic, pseudo, weatherman name T-Drizzle. I call him all these, as well as my best friend. But, before he was…
I. Trapped Kaiser Santa Clara Hospital, June 2018 The haul bag sits, a stuffed pig in the trunk. Cams, nuts, and two foil-wrapped burritos vibrate with expectant energy. But the car is parked in the red haze of the emergency room parking lot sign, and it won’t be going anywhere tonight. Inside the hospital, her…
UPDATE: Keep The Zine Alive reached 500 in 2023. Last year around this time I wrote a short post called “Keep The Zine Alive”. We had lost a couple sponsors, print costs were soaring, and I was wondering how we would sustain The Climbing Zine through the year. The response to that post was beyond…
by Lucas Roman. This story is published in Volume 18. Banner photo by Hobo Greg Brad Gobright is pure of heart. So pure, in fact, that he may never have faced a dilemma in all his life. That’s not exactly serving him well right now, as he’s stuck in a pickle of his own making,…
“There were no girls when I started climbing [in England],” Alan said, in a tone more serious than joking. I’d just met Alan Carne only twenty-four hours before, on a warm September day seeking refuge in the shade of the 4×4 Wall at Indian Creek, and we instantly became friends, that kind of instant friendship…
There are climbing partners, and there are the climbing partners. The partner you want to climb to the ends of the Earth and back with. The one you’d follow all the way to the moon. The one who eats, drinks, and breathes climbing. The climber who is not only skilled but also a student of…