Volume 13 of The Zine is now printed and available to order. Here’s a look at the introduction from our publisher, Luke Mehall. Cover photo by Sagar Gondalia. Introduction Welcome to Volume 13 of The Climbing Zine. From the vertical search of flying squirrels in Pakistan to navigating big walls amongst poppy fields in…
Every once and a while I bust out my typewriters for a writing contest. This year at the International Climbers Fest in Lander, Wyoming we held a “love letter to climbing” contest. Sara Aranda was this year’s winner, and it was her first time ever using a typewriter! Here’s her poem, in original format and…
The Pinnacle of Technology, as we called her drifted through the endless space, the time continuum that is road tripping. Flakes of snow silently hurtled themselves at the windshield and accumulated on the invisible roadway beyond our high beams, as if the stars of hyperspace were falling out of solution. by Kevin “K-Bone” Volkening (note…
The construction style “Mussy Hook” has always been one of my least favorite pieces of climbing hardware to see at an anchor. They tend to get sharp quite easily from wear and tear, and their gates often stop functioning properly, leaving an open part of the biner in the system. Reviewed by: Shaun Matusewicz, Senior…
Doing a gear review Climbing Zine style for a rope is difficult. For starters our method for reviewing gear is simple: we use it in our normal day-to-day climbing, as anyone else would. We pay attention to what we like, and what we don’t. by Luke Mehall Ropes are tricky because any rope can get a…
Many a metaphoric parallel can be drawn between climbing and motherhood, and it’s plain to see neither activity makes the other any easier. by Mallory Logan, originally published in The Climbing Zine, Volume 6 (out of print) Countless others who have already made the journey will offer their beta and guidance in kindhearted earnest, but…
Squish Squash, Squish Squash, Squish, the English mud through my toes feels soothing as I perch 30 feet above a poor cam in rotten rock on this small ledge listening to intimidating ocean waves smash the cliffs below. During WWII, Nazi bombs exploded over this Island landscape spurring Winston Churchill to urge his citizens to…
Hayden, I am just so sad that you’re gone. The news struck me like a train. It literally knocked me off my feet. Since then I have felt waves of sadness and spasms of tears that continue to bring me to my knees. The circumstances of your death still seem utterly impossible to me. I…