The Rockies in winter are known for their cold temperatures and fierce winds. When I’m climbing ice in these mountains I need a belay parka that blocks the wind, has enough loft to keep me warm at a long belay, and compresses enough to carry easily on the back of my harness. Reviewed by: Drew…
Books often inspire me more than the imagery or dialogue in a movie and I think it has to do with the fact that a book is more my speed. If a particular passage calls to me, I can re-read it; If I drift off whilst reading, I can come back in my own time;…
Every single physical activity I do (or don’t do) is related to climbing – even if there’s no climbing involved. Running is one of those perfect cross-training activities, and living in the mountains the conditions vary from season to season, even day to day. Retail: $69.95 In Durango, Colorado where I train, in the winter,…
Note: this article was originally published in The Durango Telegraph. Last week my monthly contribution to the Durango Telegraph was delayed by a week. Normally I don’t like getting bumped from my usual spot, but this time there was good reason. When my editor wrote me saying that there was a guest contributor, Burt Baldwin,…
I must admit I’d never heard of Cypher rock shoes, and when I brought them to the gym I got constant questions about what I was wearing, especially with the neon green suede. The small company from Sandy, Utah has been quietly making shoes and quickdraws for a few years, and people are starting to…
Kansas City is situated in the navel of the United States surrounded by rolling hills, which make for beautiful ever-lasting sunsets, but sadly, they don’t produce ideal features for notable hard sends. Secretly, tucked away in the gut of the city, concealed in the shadows of the towering skyline, resides two crags: Cliff Drive and…
How much is there to say about a chalk bag? All it has to do is hang out back there and have that powdery gold ready for your sweaty, trembling fingers…and not fall off mid-way up a route…and not spill all over the tiny ledge you’re belaying on, or the gym floor. Reviewed by Drew…
“Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right” Scarlet Begonias by The Grateful Dead “I just want one first ascent,” I told my best friend Two Tent Timmy, while we stood amongst the winter solitude in our desert home of Indian Creek. Timmy just…