Friendship Is The First Belay, Intro from Volume 24 by Luke Mehall
When life looks like Easy Street There is danger at your door —Grateful Dead, “Uncle John’s Band” I’m sitting here…
Wearing our heart on our chalk bags.
When life looks like Easy Street There is danger at your door —Grateful Dead, “Uncle John’s Band” I’m sitting here…
Help us get to our “Keep The Zine Alive” goal: subscribe/renew and get a free t-shirt. We are at 575,…
It was that familiar feeling you get when you finish a big climb—that immense wash of relief that climbers all…
We meet in the parking lot at dusk. Cold winds curl the sandstone cliffs whose strange shapes speak of time …
I see it being used all around me to describe women, often by other women: badass. I have always considered…
If I close my eyes and never awaken A thousand adventures I hope to have taken Some with family and…
“Think we could throw a haul bag out of an airplane? That would make the approach really easy.” Kennan was…
Journal entry from 10/15/2014 Zion is the word. Despite all of our differences, to so many people the meaning of…
The fog rolled in surreptitiously, encroaching every visible surface. It wasn’t just there one day when I woke up, the…
This story starts and ends with a chicken. On a bright morning in a high valley of the Hindu Kush,…
Brad Gobright is pure of heart. So pure, in fact, that he may never have faced a dilemma in all…
SHOP Our biggest bundle sale going on right now: score 600 pages of reading material and four of our…
I started this painting over a year ago after seeing a beautiful sunrise over the North Six-Shooter. It was a…
Volume 24 is now available to order The issue is printed and has started shipping. Here’s a look at the…
It starts with a plan like a break in the clouds. We set out thinking on the lines, the foods,…
Mudstrosity Yes, it wobbled. Three feet high, one foot wide, a foot deep, probably outweighing me, the block sat at…
The Microdose Mixtape is a pairing of Luke Mehall’s poetry with Devin Dabney’s music and launches later this month. We…
The Climbing Zine is now accepting stories, photography, and art for our 2024 volumes. Below are our loose guidelines. Words…
I love being challenged by the nature that has been sculpting the rock faces of our planet for many centuries.…
Joshua Tree National Park is a refuge. I don’t know if I’d decided this by then, sitting folded into the…
Dearest Luke, I have been meaning to write to you for some time, but I have Zine 23 fresh on…
Luke Mehall reads his piece, “Climbs Fall Apart” which is published in Volume 24 of The Climbing Zine; the episode…
My friends are gettin’ older, So I guess I must be too. Without their loving kindness, I don’t know what…
I am a writer, too, kinda. I am also writing a novel. I’m working on a novel. I also write.…
“You’re on belay, Mom.” “What does that mean?” she replied. “You’re safe, Mom. Climb when ready.” Over the last five-plus…
A conversation with Felipe Garcia. Felipe and Luke have a conversation about climbing in Guatemala, first ascents, living, working, and…
Four fingers grip an empty cup. “Go back to your country, terrorist!” a stranger spits, tossing his beer on me…
The Microdose Mixtape is our first ever mixtape from The Climbing Zine. With music by Devin Dabney and poetry by…
In my body, I’m a climber; in my imagination, I’m a rapper. The poets of my generation are MCs—embodiments of…
It’s the beginning of August, 2018. Two months earlier, I’d been fortunate enough to be working for a prestigious think…
Note from the editor of the Valley of Giants book, Lauren DeLaunay Miller: A book about the women of Yosemite…
And so castles made of sand Fall into the sea eventually —Jimi Hendrix, “Castles Made of Sand” “Did you hear…
A preseason conversation with our digital editor and producer Chad Reich. Plus a poem from our upcoming Microdose Mixtape. Support…
“If this climb doesn’t blow you away, nothing will,” James ventured as he hit the brakes. “I still can’t believe…
Living on the road feels like traveling through space in a spaceship. You are in your car spaceship, flying in…
The reflection targets my disfigurement. If only the borders of this mirror could protect the rest of the world from…
One persons project is another’s warmup. As climbing grows to be more competitive, I think we should all keep that…
A passion that fuels Is one that burns brightly Words by Devin Dabney. Photos by Angelique Brown. Published in…
Walking up to the base of Freerider, I felt rested, light, but increasingly nervous. Two years ago, I’d never climbed…
“Keep dreamin’, stay hungry, and remember that there is no finish line.” This quote by Todd Skinner in the…
This year we’re closing out older designs while we make room for the new ones. Send Your Face is on…
Screams are a colorful thing. Each one has its own distinct message. An anger, a joy, a pain. The nature…
The black-and-white photograph is small and square, half a century old, showing my grandmother posing in front of the dark,…
I know he knows. Adam Lawton is proud. In every group of adventurers, there is a leader, and every great…
I don’t have climbing heroes, because, to paraphrase The Big Lebowski, what’s a hero, anyway? There are a few…
The expenditure of energy on a trip of this sort is massive and one only has so much of this…
In the late 1300s, experts point to drought and other environmental stressors impacting the Puebloan people in the Southwest leading…
In 2016 at the International Climbers’ Festival in Lander, Wyoming, we held a “love letter to climbing” contest. Ana Ally was…
Ring the bells in elegy For the last engine Of the last Saturn On (semi) permanent loan From the buddy…
Fifteen meters up Rutabaga, a moderate 5.9 splitter at the base of Squamish, BC’s Stawamus Chief, stretches a traverse between…
by Joanna Spindler, published in Volume 16, now available. Banner art by Rhiannon Williams We didn’t have much time Because…
Yeah, we are star matter from the big bang And that love ain’t far behind you Love ain’t…
This is the most beautiful place on Earth, but of course, like Cactus Ed Abbey said, every person carries in…
It is like any other start to a day of climbing in the Black Canyon. Dave and I are up…
Chuck Pratt: Liquid Sunshine by Pat Ament (note the full version of this piece was published in Volume 17, which…
Me and my higher self, We often would speak Somehow we lost the connection, Might meet at Joshua Tree —Nas,…
Acknowledging the roots and conceptualizations of the outdoor activities that we so passionately pursue enriches our participation and ties us…
*Trigger Warning* This article discusses self-harm. “Look at my hands!” I hold my blistered and scabbed knuckles out to…
The distinction between a “climber” and “someone who climbs” has always fascinated me; it’s a nuance I’ve observed throughout a…
Curled into the bench seat like astronauts they hurtled through the dark, stars hanging low outside the dust-dimmed beam of…
There’s a lot of information out there about how to belay, and sure, the mechanics of holding a rope are…
“If Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.” Empire State of Mind by Jay Z Some call…
I. Trapped Kaiser Santa Clara Hospital, June 2018 The haul bag sits, a stuffed pig in the trunk. Cams, nuts,…
UPDATE: Keep The Zine Alive reached 500 in 2023. Last year around this time I wrote a short post called…
by Lucas Roman. This story is published in Volume 18. Banner photo by Hobo Greg Brad Gobright is pure of…
“There were no girls when I started climbing [in England],” Alan said, in a tone more serious than joking. I’d…
There are climbing partners, and there are the climbing partners. The partner you want to climb to the ends of…
“You know there’s something special you’re needing. And you know there’s no drug that’ll do the healing, and no liquor…
It’s a dingy bar. Dark and musty. Where, I’m not exactly sure, but there is a feeling of sadness that…
Luke reads his “Love Letter To The Firebrand” the final episode of Season 5. With a special guest surprise from…
Think back over your climbing career. I bet you’ll find a climb—or two—that define you. These won’t be your hardest…
In Memory of Towyn Williams (1926 – 2016) I associate much of my childhood with a little white farmhouse in…
Gray and white clouds rack up in billowed folds like the belly scales of a snake and curl widely across…
The uninitiated, those who don’t climb, always ask me why I do. I normally begin my response with the statement…
Do you know what a perfect hand jam feels like? Do you remember the first time you really nailed one,…
I clipped her to the anchor, untied her knot, and pulled the rope through the gear. “I need more time.”…
Seems to me like it was just 2002 And me and Two Tent Timmy Were high And soloing 5.5 He…
“He always called me James instead of Jimmie.” Jimmie Dunn told me these words each time I’ve had a conversation…
June’s humid breath settles in waves over the Mount Washington Valley as the sun dips low in the west. A…
A black fin of sandstone protrudes from the right side of the crack. I pinch it like a tufa and…
Though I’ve been dangling off the cliffs of Yosemite for twenty-plus years now, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with…
A conversation with filmmaker, climber, and lover of slab Anna Hazelnutt. Anna bridges the old school and new school with…
Over hundreds of thousands of years, water has trickled, raged, and poured down cracks and creases, winding and weaving through…
As time goes by our original issues of The Climbing Zine have become collector’s items. Since we printed so few…
As I’ve said and written before, my favorite thing about publishing The Zine is the connections it helps create. I…
As I listened to my boyfriend make his tenth phone call of the hour, I absentmindedly stirred vegetables and reflected…
Well here we are, old bolt; let me just say this before I remove you. You should be proud because…
open jug filled by authentic rubber and stretched leather laces of Velcro rooted in gravity toward the edge of rock…
The granite escarpments of Castle Crags silhouetted the western skyway, massive gargoyles hunched and staring. I thought of my mother’s…
I started seeing it sometime last year, and it got a small chuckle out of me then: #bitchesonpitches. But the…
Have you been to the boneyard? The blank eye on the map perched above an asphalt brow there, an…
It’s the same story the crow told me It’s the only one he knows Like the morning sun you’ll come…
The Korean folklore goes: the Creator called upon all domes and boulders of Korea to gather up north, where they…
Milton had overgrowth knots, the greasy kind, matting his beard to his wooly secondhand pullover, which sagged without shape over…
“Hey, wake up. Wake up!” Brian whispered harshly. “There’s someone out there.” I half opened an eye and begrudgingly listened…
It was getting dark, and I was wedged hot dog–style in a two-man tent between two college boys who hadn’t…
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goerte I…
I hold and turn my helmet like a classroom globe, dragging my fingers over each mark, each sign of wear.…
Standing there, gaping at this monstrous and inhuman spectacle of rock and cloud and sky and space, I feel a…
Way back when, which seems like not so long ago, your guidebooks tended to be a few pages of the…
“Life can be rugged and cold, or smooth and exciting. The climb these two have just performed today symbolizes life…
“There’s someone on that off-width you wanted to do.” I pause—midstride—and look up to see someone hanging out halfway…
I remember arguing with my partner about wearing his helmet before starting a climb for the day. “It’s only 5.9,”…
In the rich caravan of climbers whom we meet at the crags, people come and go. Some, like the flowing…
The teenage Federale slings his machine gun over his shoulder and bends toward my bag. Cocaine? he asks. Marijuana? I…
A conversation with writer, climber, and podcaster Andrew Bisharat. Andrew is a major part of the award winning film Resistance…
Doug Tompkins opens the door to a South American summer evening. At seventy-one—stooped and shuffling, a button-down shirt tucked into…
November is closing in fast, and on this turn around the fireball, we reach a strange and interesting milestone in…
It’s your mom’s minivan pimped out And only seats two Because if it wasn’t hard enough to live in a…
Note: this piece is published in Volume 17, and it is an excerpt from his book, The Desert. Both are…
I’ve heard some describe Yosemite as a vortex, and so is the culture that comes with it. I am sucked…
“Yucca sandals,” I say to myself. “How’d they do this move in yucca sandals?” The sheer sandstone wall below me…
At some point in my early to midtwenties, I came to the conclusion that life is not about rock climbing.…
A conversation with my brother from another, Greg Pettys. Greg is an original contributor to The Climbing Zine, and though…
Do only writers cry when a writer dies? Do only musicians cry when a guitar player dies? Do only climbers…
Is climbing as innate as sharing, copulating, greed, or even walking? Many evolutionary biologists would offer that the essence of…
Five hundred words… A blip, a blurb, Of every send and every slip And every crimp and every clip That…
My dear friend Gregory Pettys insisted I check out Substack, and though I’ve only been dabbling for a week, I…
Our new Potrero State of Mind design is now available in stickers and shirts. Designed by Mallory Logan of RoShamBo,…
A conversation with my dear friend Bryant Aucoin, of Stickerart.com from his podcast, “So What Do You Like To Do”.…
The dance of renewal, the dance that made the world, was always danced here at the edge of things… …
Man what a route! As a child, I remember looking at photos of it in my Dad’s climbing books thinking,…
We are hosting a “Climbing Zine Thing” on Thursday, August 10th at Jagged Edge Mountain Gear. Stories, poetry, and a…
We’re trying out something new today, with the release of our new Be The Goat shirt, designed by Mike Handzlik,…
The American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) is the leading bolt replacement group in the United States. This conversation with Nate…
A conversation about keeping our printed zine alive with our friends at The Runout. Big thanks to Andrew Bisharat and…
Luke Mehall reads his essay, “To Live and Die in Yosemite” published in The Climbing Zine Volume 23. Zine links:…
Volume 23 is now available to order! Order/ subscribe here Cover photo of Kaya Lindsay on Whipping Boy by Mary…
These days the publication of each and every zine is a small miracle. And, for the publication of Volume 23…
Our second episode recorded in El Potrero Chico, Mexico, is with Mark Grundon. Mark and Luke have been friends for…
My phone was blowing up before I even read the editorial. Last week the Dana Johnson of the group Wilderness…
Our first episode recorded in El Potrero Chico, Mexico is with Becky Zunigar, who is the producer of the film…
The Squeak Goes Adventuring package. Children’s books for ages 2 and up. Written by D. Scott Borden and illustrated by…
The original Climbing Zine Book is now available in paperback! The Climbing Zine began as a modest, stapled together, black…
The night was cold, and where the moon and stars shone around patches of clouds, they were incredibly bright. There…
Most women, at some point in their lives, get discouraged about their appearance because they may not possess the ideal…
Just over seven months ago I got a vasectomy, and I promised myself I’d document the process. Surprisingly, I received…
As we are embarking on our “keep the zine alive” campaign to add 2,000 new subscribers, many of our current…
Trigger warning: This article discusses topics of depression, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety. For some, the content may be triggering. Please…
We pride ourselves on independent distribution. Below is a list of our beloved retailers where you can find our zines,…
Exactly 24 years ago today is when I mark my official start as a climber: 4-20-99. I finally mastered the…
The Climbing Zine Book 2, filled with favorite stories from Volumes 1 – 13, plus color photos. Note: this is…
Note: this piece was published way back in Volume 2. That zine out of print, but you can pick one…
Banner photo: The author on her winter project, Crystal Dawn (5.13d), Red Rocks, Nevada by Max Barlerin Waiting for a…
I started climbing in Durango, Colorado, a small and isolated burg on the edge of the desert and the mountains,…
To Roy McClenahan by way of The Climbing Zine, Glancing through the pages of Volume 16 of The Climbing…
I was told it must’ve been awful for a person like me to spend the large majority of days locked…
Our final episode for Season 4 is a story read by Kaya Lindsay. This story was published in Volume 22…
“Everybody must give something back / For something they get” —Bob Dylan, “Fourth Time Around” On Writing (about climbing) Writing…
I looked down at my Gri-Gri as a salty tear rolled off my cheek into a thousand feet of space…
Two podcasts at once! I chat with Steven Dimmitt of the popular Nugget Climbing Podcast. We take turns interviewing each…
TC, The OG, a conversation with Tommy Caldwell dropped this week on our DSOM podcast. We have an interesting, wide…
“Keep dreamin’, stay hungry, and remember that there is no finish line.” This quote by Todd Skinner in the opening…
“I am glad / For every thought that puts my memory / On my past time.” —Michelangelo This piece…
Mehall reads the essay “Creeksgiving”. A tale of the old school celebration in the Super Bowl campground. Check out some…
“Get outside. It’s where the good stuff is happening.” In loving memory of Eric Klimt (February 8, 1980 – March…
No place soaks up sun like the Johnny Cat enclave at the Cat Wall, Indian Creek. The maroon cliffs are…
A conversation with Sebastiaan Zuidweg about building a climbing gym from scratch. Gravity Lab opens up in Durango, Colorado this…
Adventures With Two Tent Timmy is a zine classic, that will be republished in The Climbing Zine Book 2, now…
Cover photo of Dave Marcinowski and Luke Mehall on Franklin’s Tower by Jake Burchmore Here’s a look at the story…
Our second episode from the El Cap Meadow with Lauren DeLaunay Miller. Lauren was a contributor to Volume 12 of…
This is part 2 of Pat Ament’s essay, published in Volume 17. If you missed part 1, you can read…
Here I am again writing because of a promise I made to myself. I am just over a week out…
Yesterday I got a vasectomy. It was one of those procedures I’d built up a lot in my head; partially…
Luke sits down with Beth Rodden in the El Cap Meadow, during the Yosemite Facelift. Beth contributed an essay called…
You know you’re getting old when they start replacing the bolts you used for a first ascent. That was my…
I’ve been working on my first ever “mixtape” – a collection of my poetry, paired with music from Devin Dabney.…
I’ve been working on my first ever “mixtape” – a collection of my poetry, paired with music from Devin Dabney.…
For 20 years Luke Mehall, publisher of The Climbing Zine has been writing climbing poems. In 2020 he’s decided to…
Jennaye Derge is our special guest host for this conversation with Marcus Garcia. In this episode they discuss Marcus’s passion…
The best thing about America is that it gives you space. I like that. I like that you buy into…
Stacy Bare is author of two popular Zine stories, including Climbing Past War, published in The Climbing Zine Book. Luke…
Pulling into The Chief campground in Squamish for my first time, I had to double-check the sign to make sure…
We are in the middle of our KEEP THE ZINE alive campaign, well, at the beginning really. The goal is…
Brittany Goris has contributed to the last two issues of The Climbing Zine, and her spirit matches our mission. We…
I’d been driving past this rock, near Hanksville, for years. It’s just begging to be climbed but looked impossible without…
Part 2 of Dancing With The Queen read and written by Luke Mehall, published in Volume 22 of The Climbing…
Volume 22 of The Climbing Zine is off the printer, and into the mail. This story, Dancing With The Queen…
It’s 1981, and I’m 22 years old, about to graduate from college, trying to sort out what happens next. And…
***UPDATED on 6/7 WITH NEW NUMBERS**** This year has started off a bit rocky for our print publication. Our print…
The Factory Bouldering Gym in Orange, California, was by no means small, but it felt small that day. In addition…
My college years in The Desert were adventurous and crazy, a complete immersion in the unknown. After I graduated, I…
Jimmie Dunn is a climbing legend. On El Capitan he succeeded with Cosmos where Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, and Jim…
Last weekend I learned of the demise of Climbing magazine in print, as everyone else did: on the internet. I…
Note: this piece was originally published in the Durango Telegraph newspaper. After a decade plus of writing for The Telegraph,…
For this episode, we look back at a classic chapter from American Climber, Luke Mehall’s 2016 memoir, and the subject…
Editor’s note: Longtime Climbing Zine contributor D Scott Borden wrote this piece for Volume 7, and sadly as the Zine…
Remember when, a while back, some prominent climbers were proclaiming, “the dirtbag is dead”? Well, they were right, it is.…
Luke sits down with Scott Borden, a friend and climbing partner of 20 years. Scott is a prolific contributor to…
If there’s a hill I’m willing to die on, it’s in the land we call Indian Creek, a part of…
What once started as a stapled together black and white zine, has evolved into the last independent rock climbing print…
I don’t really have the time to write this article about Outdoor Retailer—as a small business owner the little voice…
“The same thing that makes you live, can kill you in the end” – Neil Young. Luke Mehall reads his…
Words by: Luke Mehall Director: Greg Cairns Mehall is the author of five books, including The Desert, a dirtbag climbing…
Luke Mehall reads his essay, “The Art of The First Ascent”, first published in Volume 15 of The Climbing Zine.…
Erik Murdock is the Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs at the Access Fund and a key player in…
The second episode of Season 3 is a conversation with Kaya Lindsay, from One Chick Travels. Kaya is a contributor…
Volume 21 is here. Cover shot of Brittany Goris by Garet Bleir Five Rings by Alex Johnson The Art of…
I’ve spent much of my adult life working towards a dream—a writing dream, infused with climbing—that has largely come true.…
Season 3 is here and we’re kicking it off with our conversation with Tommy Caldwell. Big thanks to Shaun Matusewicz…
This winter I’ve had the fever. No, not the fever for more cowbell, or the fever from COVID (thankfully), but…
Another bonus episode, Luke Mehall reads a story from Volume 21 of The Climbing Zine. (Photo of Hobo Greg by…
Luke Mehall reads a piece of his, about some winter climbing adventures and first ascents in Indian Creek. This piece…
UPDATE: the second edition of Squeak! has been released. Same great story, with a couple updates, including The Climbers Pact…
A bonus episode to wrap up 2021, about Mehall’s experience at this year’s Creeksgiving, in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National…
Just A Climber (For Bears Ears) is the result of 20 years of thinking and recreating in Indian Creek. When…
For our final conversation in 2021, Luke chats with Devin Dabney, who is a Senior Contributor to The Climbing Zine.…
This fall I sat down with Peter Horgan, from The Climbing Advocate Podcast, in a camper in Indian Creek. We…
Once upon a time, my crew was wild AF. And that wildness would often come to a climax on Thanksgiving,…
Lucas Roman has emerged as one of the best climbing writers in the last couple years. Luke met up with…
Chris Schulte is one of the more prolific contributors to The Zine, and we sat down in Durango for a…
The pandemic shut down live events for a long time, and it was terrible timing as we wanted to celebrate…
Back in May, while hanging out in El Cap Meadow, I overheard a friend talking about Leah’s goal to climb…
A conversation from Indian Creek with my friend Mike “The Mayor” Shaw. Mike is a longtime contributor to The Zine,…
A conversation with Chad Andrews of Clipping Chains. Luke Mehall reflects on the origin story of his writing and The…
Seven years after Luke Mehall appeared on The Enormocast he turns the tables on Chris Kalous for an interview. The…
We are back, with our first in the interview series of Season 2. Luke sits down with Kris Hampton of…
The Climbing Zine creates stories for all our readers; whether you’re able to pay to read them or not. Most…
A little something while you wait on the rest of Season 2. A poem: The Last Dance Support The Zine…
An epilogue for Season 2. Producer Chad Reich brightens our spirits. Plus some words for our dear friend Dan Escalante…
In the final episode wrapping up The Desert, a big block, and a big fall. Plus the beauty of leaving.…
Contemplating Bears Ears National Monument, and the whack president that tried to shrink it. Plus, traces of blood in Castle…
What once started as a stapled together black and white zine has turned into a worldwide leading climbing publication. And,…
As we continue on with The Desert, Mehall matches up with his project, The King, and he proclaims his love…
As Mehall continues on with reading The Desert he explores first ascents of king lines and onsight love letters. Support…
Mehall and his friends navigate new routes such as The ODB and Purple Haze and end up finding the light;…
Mehall continues to work on new routes, finds some dead ends, and meets a new friend who becomes part of…
The craft of replacing bad bolts leads to the adventure of opening new lines. Support The Zine + our podcast…
Mehall begins going down the rabbit hole of finding new routes with his best of friends. Support The Zine +…
Introducing a new package for those of you who MUST have “Everything Climbing Zine“. Here’s a list of what is…
As we continue on with The Desert, Mehall reflects on his writing heroes, and commits to the climbing and writing…
There’s a lot to write about these days, yet I’m sure I’m not alone in struggling to find the motivation…
Everything come back around full circle Why do lies sound pleasant but the truth hurtful? Everybody gotta cry once in…
Fight for your right! Powders of Persuasion and of course, the Shit Tent. Support The Zine + our podcast by…
Our second episode for Season 2. We are continuing on with The Desert, as the author explores the climbing around…
We’re back baby! Season 2 kicks off with “The Desert and The Dog” the beginning of The Desert. Support The…
I guess you could call it a town. It’s open three or four months per year. Driving east, hues of…
My father taught me how to climb, just as he taught me how to play guitar and ski—badly, I could…
We are hard at work getting Season 2 ready for your ears. In the meantime here’s a poem: Walls, by…
A new sport is captivating the nation, smash climbing records, and overcoming the issue of being old and washed up.…
You, outdoor recreator, are probably quite educated: bachelor’s degree, possibly a master’s degree or PhD. You wore a cap and…
Although the issue was delayed by COVID, we’re proud to announce that Volume 19 is now off the press. Banner…
I promised my father I’d never free solo. I remember, as a young kid, how his voice rocked back and…
As The Zine grows in popularity we have seen more and more interest from our European readers. We are psyched…
Our final episode for Season 1. Shout outs for the climbing podcasts that inspired us, plus Mehall reads his poem Grateful…
An Open Letter to the Buttermilks by Georgie Abel Photos by Tristan Greszko Dear person who climbed the Peabody boulders at…
A remembrance of our fallen comrades, as well as the long gone friendships. Originally published in The Climbing Zine Book.…
A roommate and dear friend of mine used to talk both eloquently and incessantly about her Purple Rabbit. She would…
My left hand cups a full undercling while my right shades the sun from my eyes. Above me, the short…
“If you just stop for a second, I can show you there’s no road out there!” Ben said. “I know…
Mehall gets a reminder of what life is like without climbing when he is suffering from some bad tendonitis. Stuck…
Mehall and his friends come up with a way to enjoy a long multi-pitch adventure in Red Rocks, near Las…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4215PT2n1R8 Dedicated to Mehall’s fiancee Amber DeHerrera and all the medical professionals out there fighting COVID (and everything else).
Three years of dirtbag house sitting adventures in Durango. All to keep the climbing and writing dreams alive. This story…
Luke takes us on some adventures with Two Tent Timmy, his best friend since high school, and climbing inspiration. This…
A story about buildering. Originally published in Mehall’s first book: Climbing Out of Bed. Names changed to protect the guilty.…
My path as a climber had to face a most real enemy: pure unadulterated fear. This fear manifested itself in…
Adventures with Mark Grundon, a climber with an infinite amount of energy, who endures an avalanche and cancer all while…
Luke and Dave cruise The Cruise in The Black Canyon, and then on the Painted Wall, Colorado’s tallest wall, well,…
Everybody poops, including us in Indian Creek. Luke and Tim Foulkes discuss a variety of Indian Creek issues: first ascents,…
Humbled The cam lobes slide in the fissure as I test it, useless. This dark, metamorphic rock, tortured entrails of…
Season Finale. Mehall goes all in on new routes in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument; following the adventure all…
“Oh you feel and you taste it and you want to go higher. So what do you do? And so…
In the mail that day came The Climbing Zine. It was addressed to Alyssa. I knew she wouldn’t mind me…
Luke Mehall explores Indian Creek, Utah for new routes; the land now part of Bears Ears National Monument. In the…
When I heard that Jim Bridwell had died, my first thought was, I bet even he didn’t think he’d live…
Remembering our friend Adam Lawton. Finally getting a job in Durango. Getting The Zine going, and eventually having success on…
Mehall moves to Durango, Colorado, and fights for his soul by writing and climbing. Big wall adventures take him back…
Luke and Gene take The Freedom Mobile to Yosemite, to get a taste of failure and success on big walls.…
In love for the first time at 30 years old. Venturing out onto Stoner’s Highway in Yosemite. And a dream…
The dirtbag climbing life has highs and lows. Eventually I got to a point where I was tired of it,…
Check out our latest film from Luke Mehall and Jake Burchmore. Dedicated to Mehall’s fiancee Amber DeHerrera and all the…
Volume 19 of The Climbing Zine is now ready to preorder. Here’s a look at our cover and the lineup…
A dollar and a dream in Joshua Tree, Califorinia. Easy solos and hard climbs. Living amongst the dirtbags and legend…
Luke and Dave’s first big walls in Zion. Benighted too. High on life and surviving in the vertical. Being a…
“All I wanted to be after graduating college was a climbing bum”…Working in a paper factory in Illinois for dough…
A nibble from a fox of the Western Colorado University campus. Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Amber (Mom) and Greg.…
I think I’ve read the words afraid, scared, terrified, anxious, and fear more over the last two weeks than in…
Continuing on with American Climber, Luke Mehall’s memoir. To subscribe to The Zine visit our site: https://the-climbing-zine.myshopify.com/ To support us…
Episode 7 of the Dirtbag State of Mind podcast. Mehall and friends have misadventures from Indian Creek to Yosemite National…
We are rolling along with Luke Mehall reading from his 2016 memoir American Climber. Here we get into yet another…
We are back with episode 5 of our first season! This is our first episode that I’ve recorded from my…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ises1elSYiY Greg Cairns and Luke Mehall joke that it took them 2 years to create the 3 minute film, Just…
This piece is published in Volume 18, now available to order. You can read Part 1 of the story here.…
I thought that my last column was hard to write, but this one might be even more difficult. Last time I…
The Climbing Zine is proud to announce that Volume 18 is off the printer and will be arriving to subscribers…
Publisher’s Note: As this issue was going to press, the coronavirus began to ravage the United States. This issue is…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaOLHaq8aVE Footage shot by Jake Burchmore, an outtake from Grateful Hussle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NnqBUiKnmM A Message From Mehall 27. The poem one. 4.22 (EARTH DAY)
This episode is our first interview with Shaun Matusewicz. We originally intended to have a series of interviews with characters…
Footage from Purple Reign, a climb that Luke Mehall and Dave Marcinowski established in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument.…
While we originally planned to drop an episode a week, we are continuing to post these episodes as quickly as…
Friends of The Zine: we are continuing the expediting of this new podcast. We know everyone is looking for more…
The Power of Close-to-Home Nature In The Time of Coronavirus From the Access Fund Brad Mering grabs the first real…
This first episode features a story I told at the Raven Narratives, a storytelling event held here in Durango. The…
Note: this poem is published in Volume 17, now available. Banner photo of the author bouldering in Coopers Rock State…
Say a prayer for those you love and everyone else. That’s what I’ve written on my sleeping pad, and the…
Just A Climber (For Bears Ears) is the result of 20 years of thinking and recreating in Indian Creek. When…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xto72JlMCeo The Great American Dirtbags is Luke Mehall’s second book. This promo was shot by Greg Cairns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76-aB_lPoF4 For 20 years Luke Mehall has been writing climbing poems, and in 2020 he’s decided to give the writers…
This last month, as we raise funds for The Climbing Zine Book, I’ve been telling a lot of stories about…
Since November, I’ve been in Modesto, California, with my family and, while here, digitally archiving the multitude of slides, negatives,…
It would have been hard to write about Phil Schaal even if he were still here—here meaning still alive. Alive…
As we get The Climbing Zine Book ready for publication we’re going to feature a few of our writers and…
Tim Foulkes of TFTV tells a story for a Creeksgiving film project. Filmed in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfI5uhtMn8 The Climbing Zine is celebrating our 10th anniversary by releasing a Climbing Zine Book featuring the best essays from…
Most women, at some point in their lives, get discouraged about their appearance because they may not possess the ideal…
The fringe is where the magic happens. Four climbers pack into The Freedom Mobile, a graffiti-ed vehicle, spray painted red,…
We are super psyched to announce that the new DIRTBAG STATE OF MIND hoodies are in, and to celebrate their…
A short clip of The King, a 5.12+ in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument. From an upcoming movie by…
Another clip from an upcoming film by Jake Burchmore and Luke Mehall.
Dave Marcinowski working out the final moves to Purple Reign, a climb in Indian Creek, part of Bears Ears National…
“I’m glad Royal Robbins isn’t here to see this shit show,” I said to myself as I watched the youngsters…
A short clip of Luke Mehall working out a project in Indian Creek. Full film will be released in 2020.
Long before we decide, the path is carved for us. Sliced through existence to be forged for this one, and…
We’ve never done this, and perhaps it would be a failure (anything can be) but I’m hoping to rally a…
“I’m not saying I’m going to rule the world, or I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee you…
One of the greatest joys I have as a publisher is discovering an amazing climbing project, and then being able…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B32pcIopo_Q Luke Mehall cleaning a loose rock while establishing a climb called Help On The Way in Indian Creek, Utah.…
From Townie Books in Crested Butte, Luke Mehall and friends tell stories from his books American Climber and The Desert,…
From Townie Books in Crested Butte, Luke Mehall and friends tell stories from his books American Climber and The Desert,…
I see it being used all around me to describe women, often by other women: badass. I have always considered…
Publisher Emeritus Shaun Matusewicz tells some stories of failure by The Zine. Filmed at the fall book tour kickoff for…
We may be late to the game but better late than never…we’ve got a YouTube channel now!
Tim Foulkes yarns a tale speaking on Luke Mehall’s fifth dirtbag climbing book called The Desert. The Desert is Luke…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMCT7FBRda4 Publisher of The Climbing Zine, Luke Mehall, reads from Volume 16. Inspired by Mr. Rogers! One of six in…
Fall Tour Kickoff: Thursday, August 15th 7:00 p.m. Townie Books 414 Elk Ave. Crested Butte, Colorado Dear readers, reviewers, promoters,…
One thousand twenty-seven. One thousand twenty-eight. One thousand twenty-nine. My head is lost in some sort of vortex. I’m not…
Egestas augue ac molestie pharetra. Sed porta dui interdum elit blandit, volutpat nibh. Cras rutrum est et velit semper sodales.…
Some are blessed by fate With thews and spines of steel, Some work hard and fiercely fight To rise above…
“I’m not saying I’m going to rule the world, or I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee you…
I wasn’t sure if I should start this piece with being three thousand feet off the ground on El Capitan,…
“I try to pursue my enjoyment with the idea that folks care and love for the land the way I…
The sun’s last rays glance across the underside of a cloud-swept November sky as it sets south of the La…
Greg Cairns and Luke Mehall have finished their second short film together, called “Just a Climber, For Bears Ears” and…
At The Zine we’ve got a plan. We started out small, really small, and we printed like 100 copies per…
The Desert, Luke Mehall’s fifth and final book in his “dirtbag climber series” begins a Kickstarter campaign today to fund…
It was just weeks into this move that I realized just how much closer I was to Indian Creek, that…
Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you in better living conditions. —Hafiz I’ve…
“They’re not like those trees,” said five-year-old Remi Middendorf, pointing at the young birches lining the hot springs. “They’re special…
Volume 13 of The Zine is now printed and available to order. Here’s a look at the introduction from our…
Every once and a while I bust out my typewriters for a writing contest. This year at the International Climbers…
The Pinnacle of Technology, as we called her drifted through the endless space, the time continuum that is road tripping.…
The construction style “Mussy Hook” has always been one of my least favorite pieces of climbing hardware to see at…
Doing a gear review Climbing Zine style for a rope is difficult. For starters our method for reviewing gear is simple:…
Many a metaphoric parallel can be drawn between climbing and motherhood, and it’s plain to see neither activity makes the…
Squish Squash, Squish Squash, Squish, the English mud through my toes feels soothing as I perch 30 feet above a…
Hayden, I am just so sad that you’re gone. The news struck me like a train. It literally knocked me…
Note: this piece was originally written for The Gulch, a fine, free magazine out of Durango, Colorado. Enormocast: climbing’s favorite…
Dusk comes gold Off the dust of farmlands Where tractors still plow Fields nestled below mountains Dressed in ribbons of…
Volume 12 is now printed and can be ordered here. The story only version is also available on Kindle. Below is a list…
Again, this one starts with a crying baby. This time the baby is Isabella, and we’re deep in a wild…
This is an excerpt from the book, which documents Mehall’s tumultuous journey to climbing, which ultimately saved his life. You…
The Climbing Zine has recently updated our online store – with your experience in mind – and we’ve even added…
Luke Mehall, Publisher of The Climbing Zine will be embarking on a modest U.S. book tour this year, celebrating the…
The Creek 50 from Black Diamond was one of those pieces of gear I just had to check out. Since…
Steve Byrne on Equinox, Joshua Tree – CA (1986) Photo and Essay: Brooke Sandahl Note: This is included in Sandahl’s photo…
The single most important choice you’ll make before any big (or little) climb is your partner. The right partner hopefully…
We were about thirty minutes into our adventure and five minutes away from finding the explosives. I looked back to…
As we’ve grown from a black and white stapled together zine to our full color book/magazine hybrid we currently have…
Two years ago I pitched an idea about a film I really had nothing more than a spark of an…
To all our Climbing Zine friends and family: for the last year Greg Cairns and I have been working on our follow…
It takes ten sleeps Of sleeping in Ten Sleep To enter into the dream The Ten Sleep dream by Georgie…
Every once and awhile a climbing product will come along and as a community we’ll collectively be like, “that’s a…
There are certain products that come along on every adventure. This past fall, as temps cooled and the stoke rose,…
And then there’s Lizard Head. I have never climbed such rotten volcanic rock in my life. I didn’t know volcanic…
My one-year-old and I are in Rocklands, South Africa, when I let a stinky one slip inside a bouldering cave,…
Creeksgiving, 11.24.2016 Hungry, fervent hyenas, eyeing the foil and fire, giggling with the steam and prospect of turkey. Side dishes…
Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song And who do I think that I am…
How did this happen? I grew up in Queens, New York, and New Jersey after that, and now I’m a…
In the desert in rains In the desert climber brains Can think of nothing but climbing But climbing is not…
It was many, many years before I realized that this environment in The Desert was the ultimate. I just didn’t…
We always wanted to make some Zine hats, we were just waiting for the right design. Years of waiting led…
Tuesday, September 5th 6:00 p.m. Townie Books 414 Elk Ave. Crested Butte, Colorado The dirtbags are coming! As Bob…
With more and more options for a safer belay, The Zine got its hands on two of the most innovative…
I was put on drugs by the time I was seven years old, a kid labeled as having Attention Deficit…
Erosion [i roh zhun] The process by which the surface of the Earth is gradually worn away by the action…
It’s a singular feeling when you’re 33 and talking to your mother and she says, “You know what I think…
Climbing helmets have come a long way in the last few years—mostly by shedding weight and becoming ultralight. I’ve realized…
I could see him clearly from directly across the alleyway. A light was on and a white balding office worker…
On Sunday, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke stood in front of a small, windowless conference room in Salt Lake…
Like most desert rats, I first heard of Tom Randall during his and Pete Whittaker’s infamous off-width tour of the…
If you are sick of new climbers coming in and ruining everything, do something about it. If you hate how…
We’ve got that springtime crazy Our hearts have grown hungry under desert skies by Georgie Abel, Contributing Editor, author of Go…
by Spenser Tang-Smith To the Tamers of the Fiery Rooster God, We three travelers attend no church, recite no prayers,…
This spring I got to check out some items from The North Face’s Progressor Collection, and this piece, the Insulated…
Go to the desert Or whatever place Is The Desert To You by Luke Mehall, photo by: Greg Cairns For…
Note: this piece appears in the Off Route column of the newest Zine, Volume 10, The Raw Issue. Hello, I…
Oh baby I like it raw, Yeah baby I like it raw —Ol’ Dirty Bastard, “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” It’s a…
“Holy, shit!” was all anyone of us could say. A buddy of ours was showing us a ring off an anchor…
A memorial toilet is a hard thing to explain. But that’s exactly what my friends were constructing last weekend, a…
The Deuter Gravity Haul 50 is advertised as a backpack that can turn into a haul bag. That’s a combination…
Check out Climbing Zine publisher, Luke Mehall on the Enormocast with Chris Kalous. Please throw the Enormocast a buck or…
by Georgie Abel (photo by Dylan Hightower) I was this close To forgetting what it feels like To sleep in…
When my college crew began climbing in the Black Canyon, topos were scribbled out on beer soaked napkins, during big…
The Grivel Salamander 2.0, while designed with zero frills to keep operation straight-forward, is a versatile helmet with a few…
The other day, on the Internet, I read about a climber whose fingertip broke off in a crack when he…
If these rocks could talk, they’d tell a hell of a story: one of nature and development, of perseverance and…
Awake. Alone. It’s 3 am. Only two more hours to sleep, the clock is ticking. The world is silent. Maybe…
Scarpa’s Vapor V rock shoe now has an upgraded model. The new Vapor Lace shoe offers a more customizable fit,…
The trend of “stretchy jeans” for men in climbing seems to be gaining traction ever since Outdoor Research introduced the…
I won’t say that I’m afraid of heights, but to be standing on the edge of anything looking down more…
We rounded the bend and there were half a dozen people lining up at the base of the route. Rock…
We couldn’t have planned for how perfect this truly went. The weather for that whole week in July was bluebird…
If you’re a climber, you have a puffy coat. That’s a given—the best climbing days usually give way to cold…
This young hippie left a bag of his groceries with my stuff after last weekend climbing in the Creek—granola, ramen,…
Times are scary, and common sense decency seems to quickly be fading from day to day life. We’ve got a…
I’ll never forget it — we were three newbie climbers racked up for Supercrack in Indian Creek when an older…
When I was 33 I set a goal to write five books by the time I was forty—for a while…
Utah and Colorado. We are neighbors, and many of us go back and forth between our borders so often it’s…
The longer I review gear, the more jaded I become. It’s hard to be impressed. I’ve become more selective about…
It was a sign of the times, a turning of the page, a shift in aesthetics for these two climbers.…
Scott Adamson and Kyle Dempster no longer walk among us in this life. They died in Pakistan some time in…
Then, when all seemed like peace had been restored to my existence, 9/11 happened. I was out on a morning…
We sometimes treat them like the lowest of the low — like a new recruit in boot camp in the…
Climbing with a pack on is the worst. It’s heavy, it’s awkward, and you don’t even use half its contents…
Good friend of The Climbing Zine, and contributor for our next issue, Kathy Karlo recently created this beautiful short film…
Right now, this detail is all that matters: the carabiner just fell back into the crack, and you’re staring it…
I needed the perfect rope for my project. It had to be an 80 meter rope and it had to…
When one seeks out to know the full truth in a situation it seems like there are always twists and…
The RinseKit is one of those outdoor products that at first glance seems a little unnecessary—until you use it. I…
Freedom, where are you? I found you briefly, growing up in the flatlands And then, you were flattened By growing…
Mammut designed the Whymper Jacket to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of Edward Whymper’s ascent of the Matterhorn. With taped seams,…
I’ve been climbing for a just over a year now. The first time I pulled on real rock was only…
So you’ve spent the last number of weeks, months, and days obsessing about this upcoming adventure, but what have you…
I figured that it would be just a regular outing on the rock that would pose only minor difficulties given…
When climbing in remote areas beyond the reach of immediate help you learn to understand the importance of having a…
Marketed as a piece that blurs the line between a mid-layer and a shell, the Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody turned…
While many of you are just starting to savor the latest Climbing Zine, Volume 8, The Old School Issue, at…
The gear: Exped Synmat Hyperlite sleeping pad, size Medium (msrp $169) and Schnozzel Pump Bag UL (msrp $40) Reviewed by:…
by Elliot Natz Note: This piece is published in The Climbing Zine, Volume 10 photo of towers in Canyonlands National…
“Ummm…honey, you know that nice hiking weekend we have coming up together? Well, ahhh…Dale just asked me if I…ummm…could climb…
In the process of looking for a new approach shoe that I could also do some running in I came…
Without climbing I’d be dead or in jail. This is not the first piece I’ve ever started off with those…
After a decade of writing, and re-writing, my memoir, American Climber is finally complete. It is a 75,000 word tale…
The Mountainsmith Mayhem 45 is an innovative and creative backpack—perfect for certain uses, but hindering for others. Here’s what I…
It’s that time again when I need a new cragging rope. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or particularly light,…
I am sitting in front of my computer, doing what I do to make my pennies, but in a few…
“What about you, Georgie? Are you a feminist?” I was sitting around a campfire with a group of friends. I…
Wearing something from Voormi—a clothing line based out of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, attracts attention and curiosity. Retail: $149.00 For the…
“This book is a gift…Karl’s gift to you,” writes Fred Knapp from Sharp End Publishing, in the foreword for the…
The story of climbing in Yosemite is one that is well known and well told, and at times it seems…
The Rockies in winter are known for their cold temperatures and fierce winds. When I’m climbing ice in these mountains…
Books often inspire me more than the imagery or dialogue in a movie and I think it has to do…
Every single physical activity I do (or don’t do) is related to climbing – even if there’s no climbing involved.…
Note: this article was originally published in The Durango Telegraph. Last week my monthly contribution to the Durango Telegraph was…
I must admit I’d never heard of Cypher rock shoes, and when I brought them to the gym I got…
Kansas City is situated in the navel of the United States surrounded by rolling hills, which make for beautiful ever-lasting…
How much is there to say about a chalk bag? All it has to do is hang out back there…
“Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right”…
“Never pass up an opportunity to shut the hell up” I don’t have to squint to read the bumper sticker;…
Are you looking for a synthetic, 3-season technical pant that moves as you move? If so, read on. Featuring NanoSphere®…
Every sport has a Michael Jordan, the athlete whose fame stretches well beyond the playing field, and for climbing that…
My hands gripped a small undercling in the alcove I had been resting in. I looked up at the move…
As a pure rock climber with zero ambition for the alpine, but a desire to stay warm in cold camping…
Usually, just the thought of a new pair of mountaineering boots would make my feet ache, but that is not…
Morning light reflects bright off the white granite ledge as my pal Patrick is slowly pushing our rope up pitch…
We pull into the Supercrack parking lot in a rusty, mud smothered Subaru, named Shelly. The lot is dotted with…
A combined-gender review: both men’s and women’s versions If you’re a woman, I imagine you might be frustrated by the…
My second book, The Great American Dirtbags is now available in the printed form, and as an e-book. by Luke…
I woke up before dawn in the parking lot of an apartment complex. My girlfriend and I had been living…
Scarpa redesigned their most popular shoes this year, with a new model to cover each style of climbing. I had…
True climbing encourages bravery and induces suffering. It’s at the heart of the endeavor, and all seasoned climbers recognize this.…
This was my first time wearing a pair of Tenayas. I felt like flatlanders must on their first visit to…
UPDATE: Sometimes initial impressions of a piece of gear change after months of use. After all, that’s what we do with…
As of last weekend there’s a brand new wall in Indian Creek: The Dove Creek Wall. The best part is…
For as long as I’ve been climbing Mammut ropes have had a reputation for durability and good handling. The Infinity…
Note: Since we all know we want our climbing gear to stand the test of time The Zine is starting…
It was sunny, warm and beautiful. There was no wind, and we were walking across the glacier to the base…
As climbers we all have that place, that favorite place where we’ve pushed ourselves to the limit and back, the place…
This shoe fits like a glove. Perfect for overhanging terrain with foot trickery when you don’t really need to edge…
Note: this is a new column for the Zine, Modern Dirtbags The dirtbag in us never dies, but we do…
I’ve got a confession to make people: I haven’t seen “Straight Outta Compton” yet. Like many hip-hop fans I’ve been…
How do you choose a single rope for multi-pitch and alpine climbing? Considerations include weight, dry treatment, durability, and the…
This tent is a great value for a 2-person, 3-season backpacking tent with some innovative features. The tent follows the…
Sometimes, the balm of the day is Happy Hour, when we can leave the stress and bustle of work and…
“I was crazy and I was wild and I have seen the tiger smile.” Drive On by Johnny Cash This…
Ever wondered what kind of dirtbag you are? Or have you spotted a hipster that kind of looked like a…
editor’s note: Last month we got word of a very inspiring project called Rewilding. The project is centered around Anthony…
Canadian ingenuity re-born: an elite all-around harness Let’s cut right to the chase: climbing harnesses range in price from $50…
With rock climbing gear we are living in the days of refinement, over pure innovation. Most of the gear is…
I wish I could tell you all about Clark in the exact way that my brain experiences it. But that has…
There is something to be said about reading books written by rock climbers – they seem to consistently capture the…
I’m standing in the closet, packing for weekend of ice climbing or skiing, holding a pair of pants in each…
Climbing does not always go as planned. Rosa Malloy-Post of Durango, Colorado, is evidence of that. At the age of…
Summer is finally upon us again and it’s time to get up and seek adventure in the high country. We…
As I start this piece it’s that time of the year when the Animas River here in Durango looks like…
To My Dearest Cascades, Thank you for some of the best four months of my life. After exploring the remotest…
Dirtbag instincts suit the gear reviewer well. Which is why, for each and every day over the last two months…
I have a road trip rule: when in doubt, listen to some Bob Seger. This rule stems from a trip…
Our vehicles make statements about our lifestyles, and in the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado there is quite the…
I always think I’ll write about something else, but these stories keep happening. Then I realize that is the channel…
The sixth volume of The Climbing Zine is now live on Kindle and available in print. Titled “Prose and Parables From…
My first impression of Scarpa’s redesigned Vapor V was how comfortable they were out of the box. I sized mine…
Love them or hate them, fixed draws are becoming more and more of a staple in the sport climbing world.…
Amongst the hot new climbing gear released this season, something I’m most excited about is the newest ultra-light triple-rated rope,…
I awoke in the Indian Creek desert to the sound of a crying baby. I tossed and turned over in…
My life is now unmistakably entwined in the rhythms of grad school; work ebbs and flows, and when it flows…
“The world has enough for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.” Gandhi Where do we look for hope,…
At the Climbing Zine we get lots of gear to test, sometimes too much to really wear something for longer…
I knew this whole Dawn Wall climb was big when President Obama started tweeting about it. In case you’ve been living…
A line graph showing the hipness of my sunglasses over the years would look like the jagged silhouette of the…
To dirtbag or not to dirtbag, that is the question. The technique of dirtbagging is one that can only truly…
The Mutant 28, by Osprey, packs the essentials for a minimalist looking to get into alpine, ice or vertically mixed…
For us posting this video, is a case of “I don’t always (fill in the blank) but when I do…”…
It’s amazing that climbing El Capitan in Yosemite is no big deal for a lot of people: routes that originally…
For once, I’m actually psyched to “leave it on,” as their ad campaign suggests. For climbers and skiers, the best…
Westcomb’s Tango Hoody is a formidable layer for a variety of conditions, with a lot to love in a simple,…
I have been alone on the road bouncing from park to park for 2 months. My car is a wreck.…
These days, more often than not, someone in a climbing crew of craggers has a speaker. If you want the…
“This stillness to which all returns, this is reality, and soul and sanity have no more meaning here than a…
The Mammut Sensor is a perfect name for a rope that encourages safety in the way it feels and handles.…
Green, jasmine, earl, chai and black. Tea. I love it all! A day of climbing ice, I pack my thermos…
Light is Right! is the new slogan for today’s alpinism. We pare down the grams in our clothing, sleep systems,…
The good times are moving fast these days, zipping by as we fly through space on this big ball of…
For a climbing slipper priced under $100 the Evolv Addict may be the best out there. The Addicts are a…
In the Last Pitch section of the new Climbing Zine, there’s a great, sentimental piece, written by Mallory Logan. Titled…
Soft-shell clothing has become popular over the years because of its adaptability, allowing athletes to bring fewer clothes and be…
There are many sacrifices and struggles to live the dirtbag life, but my most major gripe has always been…
There’s always room for innovation in climbing gear, but I thought belay devices had been pretty well figured out. I…
Canadians are nice, it rains a lot in the Cascades, and Idaho is quiet and quaint. I’d heard these things…
In the deep of the twilight, the night, buzzed on something, spirits, smoke, the usual, a change occurs: an athletic…
“The Psicocomp was even better than last year,” seems to sum up the response to the second annual deep water…
The 5.10 Guide Tennies have long been my favorite approach shoes. I like them primarily for two reasons: the burly sticky…
“What are those?” I’ve been asked that question 20 times in the last month, while testing out my new belay…
The Western United States is a developed land, yet it is also very wild. Especially when you hail from the…
The Climbing Zine’s guide to helping men and women understand the complexities of the ever increasing bromance. bromance: A bond…
When I was in my later years of being a teenager I was convinced that I was born too late.…
The Dream In May 2012 I leaned against the rail of the overlook on the North Chasm View Wall on…
Sanuks have always looked comfortable and sexy – I’ve wanted to check out a pair for a while now. The…
As we descended further into the dark abyss, that haunting, uncanny mood settled in once again. It was an awareness…
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson made a life and a living off that…
I’d been reading a book on relationships. It suggests not to spring things on your partner; that if you have…
Early summer in Durango, Colorado is great. Blissful. Idyllic. A typical afternoon usually involves waking up from a sound nap…
“This is a low key festival that was formed to share the genuine love of climbing.” That’s how Mandy Pohja…
Amongst the wide variety of approach shoes available today, these shoes stand out as the armored tank of the fleet.…
I have a hard time with gear geeks, those who go on and on about features of the equipment for…
It was 2004 and Kelly Cordes and Josh Wharton had just climbed the Azeem Ridge on Great Trango Tower in…
“It hurts so good”…Tom Petty must have been wearing these when he sang that line. Scarpa’s new Instinct VS brings…
We all need to be taken down a notch, as my mother would say, every once in a while. While…
The night was silent apart from our winded breaths and quiet footsteps; largely stifled by the dirt and pine needles…
Last month The Climbing Zine hosted “Climbers’ Beer Night” at Carver Brewing Company in Durango, Colorado and had a Haiku…
The Climbing Zine Volume 5, The Dirtbag Issue, is available in print and on Kindle. The all-color print version is…
Let’s be honest: while mixed climbing, when most of us get to the next gear placement, we really really want…
Love it or hate it the crags are filled with tunes these days. Portable speakers are blowing up, and we…
17.9 oz/ 508 g Suede upper, full rubber rand, Vibram sole Retail: $160.00 Back in the day there were running…
Publisher of The Climbing Zine, Luke Mehall, follows his dreams, no matter how absurd. Recently the Dirtbag Diaries podcast asked…
The first book from Benighted Publications, Climbing Out of Bed by Luke Mehall, will be on sale on Kindle until…
We arrived to Creek Pasture past midnight to a deafening stillness. Unable to locate our friend’s campsite, we perched our cars…
How can I describe the size of this place? How can I describe the dizzying gulfs of air below us…
I’ve spent a long time looking for good mid-temperature alpine and ice climbing glove. It needs to be warm enough…
Back in the day when I learned to tape my hands my climbing mentor taught me an elaborate process of…
“The best climber is the one having the most fun.” Alex Lowe This is a new column for The Climbing…
Cliff took out his trimming scissors and chopped several green buds off the stem of the marijuana plant. After he…
I was riding shotgun in an ‘86 Safari van, smoking a cigarette, and wondering where the hell we were headed.…
Last year we posted a review of the innovative Petzl NAO headlamp, and loved the Reactive technology, but noted it…
The Cumbia Cave is down a bumpy road in Nuevo León, Mexico. It is located in an area called Las…
“Do you do that?” is a question I’ve been asked throughout my climbing existence, with the emphasis on you and…
Early on after I co-founded The Climbing Zine and started attending the Outdoor Retailer trade show I realized it’s easy…
“Learning is not a spectator sport.” -unknown I cannot remember the last time I reviewed a book, save for a…
I’m sweating in the Colombian sun as I reach for a big flat hold on inverted sandstone. I clip a…
A year in the making, our latest zine, Volume 5 “The Dirtbag Issue” is finally available in print. This is…
As of today Benighted Publications’ first fiction collection is available on Kindle for $0.99. It is titled, “Buildering The Mormon…
The front edge of my helmet drags across the granite as I move my head from side to side. I…
An excerpt from Luke Mehall’s second book, The Great American Dirtbags. “The world has enough for man’s need, but not…
Last month I wrote an article on bromance, which as it turns out, has been my most popular article I’ve…
In climbing, maybe thanks in part to the Wide Boyz, off-width climbing is again popular. Now, so are off-width style…
Every day 500,000 outdoor enthusiasts* put on a pair of rock shoes for the first time. But with every new…
While I was on the road recently I met an artist whose favorite muse was the naked body. I was…
I blame my dirtbagging, vagabond ways on my education at Western State College of Colorado. As a child of the…
The older you get, the more you realize how precious life is, and the more you appreciate the little things.…
The way of the dirtbag is a simple life: maximizing recreation while minimizing responsibility. Life as free as the wind,…
The print version of Climbing Out of Bed, the first book from Luke Mehall, was released on April 13th and…
An excerpt from Luke Mehall’s piece, Hip-Hop and Climbing, which will appear in the next volume of The Climbing Zine:…
With spring just around the corner every rock climber is getting stoked. But how stoked are you? Is your stoke…
It seems like the era of the old-school dirtbag climber’s lifestyle is steadily evolving into a new era of dirtbag-dom.…
In the Black Canyon there are two kinds of free climbing routes: the casual shorter routes that offer a fun…
“Dude, those are skinny jeans,” Jonathan says. “They’re regular fit,” I insist. “See, look at the label.” “I don’t care…
Conditions in the winter were far from ideal for buildering in Gunnison; ice and snow made climbs more difficult and…
My introduction to the climbing world came as a chance to try something different with my brother-in law. I was a…
In the grand scheme of things, for my generation, climbing gear has always been rad. Cams have always been around,…
The Patagonia story: responsibly trying to reach sustainability by Luke Mehall “Most people under forty don’t watch the ads placed…
Samson is back at it again, with his top favorite 5 products from the Winter 2014 Outdoor Retailer Trade Show.…
How did two guys from Great Britain, a place that doesn’t really have off-widths, go over and climb the hardest…
I woke up freezing in Penitente Canyon. It was Easter Sunday. This was back when my philosophy toward camping equipment…
El Portrero Chico in Hidalgo, Mexico, is where we go to rock climb. It was New Year’s Eve, and we were…
My favorite thing about climbing is that if you try hard enough you can always be a champion. It doesn’t…
Reluctantly, this past summer, I returned to the world of washing dishes in Crested Butte, Colorado. I thought I’d retired…
The new Petzl NAO hints at the headlamp of the future, but the cost will have to go down before most…
So you wanna start climbing trad- awesome, here are five tips to help you out along the way. 1. Hexes– Don’t…
Last night I watched Magic Trip, a film documenting Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ trip across the United States in…
The clean smell of wet granite brings me to my senses like nothing else does. (Except maybe coffee…yeah, let’s all…
spray: 1. Climbing talk. 2. A climbing conversation in which the unconscious ego enters, steering the chatter towards graceless self-aggrandizement.…
I’ve interviewed a lot of climbing families over the last couple of years, and all of them have had one…
“Do you think there’s someday you’ll be content with just going for a hike?” Badger asks me in the midst…
In the modern world of rock climbing, we’ve invented lots of different ways to be competitive, but perhaps nothing is…
By Luke Mehall – Today is a monumental day in my life, my book, Climbing Out of Bed, has been published.…
The future of competitive climbing arrived last night, in the form the Psicobloc Master’s event, held up in Park City,…
A few weeks ago we posted Jugs on Jugs by Gaelen Engler, a very popular and shared story about her…
In an age when the power of the media has been given to the people, we are here to offer…
There’s a joke amongst locals that Indian Creek is the best rock climbing area in Durango. Located close to the…
Devils Tower is one of those destinations, one of those rocks in the world that makes you think something divine…
The first trip of the year to any beloved climbing area is exciting. It is a fresh start, a chance…
When a dream is achieved a new level of consciousness can be entered. During a recent recent road trip, full…
Some of you may be familiar with my quest for “Twelve 5.12′s in 2012″ this year. For those of you…
The Climbing Zine crew was up in Salt Lake City this past weekend for the Summer Outdoor Retailer (OR) show.…
When you have cool friends they get married in cool places. That is why I got to make a four…
The Winter Outdoor Retailer show is notoriously absent on new climbing gear, but these five products stood out from the…