Climbing Culture

by Pat Ament (note the full version of this piece was published in Volume 17, which is now available in…

The teenage Federale slings his machine gun over his shoulder and bends toward my bag. Cocaine? he asks. Marijuana? I…

We rounded the bend and there were half a dozen people lining up at the base of the route. Rock…

“Keep dreamin’, stay hungry, and remember that there is no finish line.” This quote by Todd Skinner in the opening…

“Oh you feel and you taste it and you want to go higher. So what do you do? And so…

On the ledge that night, I felt at home and at ease. We were on the rock of our dreams.…

It’s the same story the crow told me It’s the only one he knows Like the morning sun you’ll come…

*Trigger Warning* This article discusses self-harm. “Look at my hands!” I hold my blistered and scabbed knuckles out to…

I hold and turn my helmet like a classroom globe, dragging my fingers over each mark, each sign of wear.…

There’s a lot of information out there about how to belay, and sure, the mechanics of holding a rope are…

And then there’s Lizard Head. I have never climbed such rotten volcanic rock in my life. I didn’t know volcanic…

Standing there, gaping at this monstrous and inhuman spectacle of rock and cloud and sky and space, I feel a…

In the rich caravan of climbers whom we meet at the crags, people come and go. Some, like the flowing…

Note: this poem is published in Volume 24, now available Banner photo: Becky Zunigar climbing Manifestación del Yang, a 5.12+…

This is the most beautiful place on Earth, but of course, like Cactus Ed Abbey said, every person carries in…