Good Stuff

Toproping is so safe it’s virtually foolproof, right? Think again. Just a brief belay lapse can produce high loads, testing the holding power of your gear.

Where is trad climbing in World Cups? Where are the alpine and mountaineering aspects? Comp formats need to change, obviously.

By all accounts, climbers do a good job of watching out for each other in the backcountry. Online, however, it’s a different story. What is it about the digital platform that makes us all quick to jab at each other?

At the bottom of every climber’s heart lies a gnarled twist, like a knot on the root of a magnolia tree, where life without climbing ended, and another strange and vertically crazed path began.

An analysis of a tragic accident in Rifle Mountain Park. And a reminder to us all to tie a stopper knot at the end of your rope.

Check out Gear Guy's author page.

Thinking ahead and preemptively evaluating possible split-second calls is a critical skill that all climbers should spend more time fostering.

This competitive strategic route-finding game was single handedly designed and created by climber Kate Otte, and it mimics the decision-making process of multi-pitch climbing.

Check out Duane Raleigh's author page.

Seasoned climbing gym managers reveal ways out of the dreaded belay test.

Sasha DiGiulian spent most of 2020 convalescing as doctors reconstructed her hips, with the spectre of a recent tragedy in Mexico never far from her mind. Less than a year and a half after, she returned to the site of the tragedy with a rebuilt body and a new mindset.

Check out John Burgman's author page.