“I think there’s a line,” my partner—and new-routing guru—Mikey Schaefer said as we finished up another full day on the East Face of Liberty Bell, at Washington Pass in the North Cascades. Although Mikey and I were based in Oregon, we frequently spen

A saffron autumn sun sets over Yosemite as shade takes my hanging belay on the West Face of the Leaning Tower. My partner is hooking away with glee on pitch three while I wonder why I’m so unhappy. We’ve got a classic all to ourselves on this Novembe

Tucked cozy in bed, my girlfriend, Kim, and I peered over our billowy white covers and out the window of our third-floor Airbnb. Here in tiny Riglos (pop: 250) in Huesca province in Northern Spain, we were within a stone’s throw of the mighty conglom

Climbing gyms have sprouted up across the US—500-plus as of 2020. Yet even as the sport grows, many of the struggles, successes, and absurdities of the gym/climbing culture remain universal. Mya Lixian Gosling, 38, of Ann Arbor, MI, illustrates these

I grew up in a multiracial, multicultural city: Albuquerque, New Mexico, home to a mix of Latinx, Native American, Black, Asian, and Anglo people. The city’s Mexican and Spanish roots run deep, a fact that’s reflected in its populace, dining (some of

Rin Gentry, 24, knows most people look at them and assume they are a woman. Their style is spunky and colorful. They have bright-pink hair and a high ponytail with bangs. They dress in Spandex and cropped tank tops. They don’t deny they appear femini

Melissa Utomo’s first trip to Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming, in July 2019, was memorable. Sure, the limitless limestone and alpine wildflowers left an impression. But what stood out the most was an area called the Slavery Wall. Flipping through the guide

@YKBA234 is the winner of our Caption Contest, which we roll out each issue with hilarious cartoons from Jordan Peterson (@ jordankpeterson). For this winning caption, @ykba234 wins a Meteor helmet from Petzl. Stay tuned to our site and social channe

$139, madrock.com The updated Redline Strap is a radically downturned, asymmetrical beast (Mad Rock calls the shape a “spiral last”) made for gym climbing and steeps. These shoes are tight: I usually wear an 8.5 or 9 rock shoe, but here needed a 9.5.

Every year as August comes to a close, I notice my appetite increase and my drive for climbing, training, and physical exertion wane. The shift feels dramatic in contrast with the summer, when I have low appetite, a high motivation to get outside, an

Thrashing through nettles, sneaking through maple trees, and walking on carpets of moss, Travis Peckham and friends hiked behind the Fernwood Manor trailer park in Bolton, Vermont. Moving stealthily, Peckham traversed a lichen-covered ramp to access

It’s not the most popular route in the most popular area. It wasn’t put up by the most famous climbers of yesteryear. It’s not the hardest, the gnarliest, or the most splitter. But Spook Book at the Needles in the Kern River Valley of Southern Califo

As climbers have been getting back to the rock amidst the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing has remained paramount. The isolated Keyhole Canyon, 45 minutes south of Las Vegas, Nevada, makes for the perfect venue. Says Brooke Jackson, who shot t

Jimmy Webb started pushing his boundaries by pushing those of his parents. The Maryville, Tennessee, native—now __ and a professional boulderer based out of Sacramento, California—grew up running around creeks and broadleaf hollers in the Appalachian

Seven hundred feet of exposure nip at my heels, high on the flanks of Veliki Kuk in Paklenica, Croatia. I’m pumped stupid on the wildly steep crux pitch of Watersong (5.10c), 10 feet up and several feet right of my last bolt, overgripping a slippery

As a climber who doesn’t plan on breaking any records or even leading a 5.12 any time soon, I seek out the 5.10-and-under climbs at my local cliffs. I like climbs that don’t make me contemplate my mortality on every move, as I suspect most of us do a

Originally, this issue of Climbing (No. 373) was going to be the Olympics Issue. Our sport had been building up to this high note for years—anticipation, psyche, and energy were high. We were even sending our digital editor, Kevin Corrigan, to Tokyo

Despite the pressure of completing a PhD thesis in population health—or perhaps because of it—Salome Aubert, 31, started making art three years ago. “Because my brain needed some distraction from all the scientific reading, I felt the need to create

@ELIEGANZ is the winner of our Caption Contest, which we’re rolling out each issue with hilarious cartoons from Jordan Peterson (@jordankpeterson)—stay tuned to @climbingmagazine on Instagram for more. For his caption, Elie wins a 70m 9.6 Siurana rop

In the United States, which has the highest number of both COVID-19 cases and deaths to date, everyone has been affected by the novel coronavirus, including climbers. Beginning in March, gyms closed, access to climbing areas was restricted, and milli

Everyone has a moment when the coronavirus appeared on their radar. For me, this was the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s 2020 Pan-American Championship, held at Sender One in Los Angeles from February 27 through March 1. The competition

Acoyote ambles past Smith Rock’s Five Gallon Buckets, one of the most popular 5.8s in the West. A golden eagle floats in a clear sky, eyeing the ground for squirrels. A snake slithers past sagebrush to find a warm spot on a volcanic rock. It is a war

Once upon a time in the competition world, there was but one style of setting: steep, with small holds. You only needed one pair of shoes to compete—a soft, downturned shoe that was good for grabbing the footholds. In recent years, however, setters l

on’t leave anything undone, because it might not be there next year,” warns Todd Foster, a video editor from Halifax and one of the original developers of Dover Island, Nova Scotia’s granite playground 25 miles from the province’s capital. The uninha

North Cascades National Park, Washington IV 5.6; steep snow One mile Ed Cooper and Walt Sellers; July 1958 Climbing Washington State’s Torment-Forbidden Traverse (TFT) feels like riding the spine of a dragon. The ridge shifts and molts. Water vapor c