“For me, it was a way to stay connected, literally: tied to my free-range daughter by a length of 10-millimeter climbing rope, and connected to my own dream of being an adventurer,” says David Altschul. “And that was how I found myself, a few days later, on a ledge, high… Read More
“Picture walking through a parking lot with a ski mask rolled up on your head and a pistol in your pocket. You’re getting closer to the bank, your heart’s beating faster, adrenaline’s starting to rush through your head, and you can’t believe you’re about to do what you’re about to… Read More
When a bad breakup sent him spiraling into a deep depression, Tom Ireson fixated on an unconventional way to get his head straight. “I really needed something to focus my mind on to pull me out of that,” Tom says, “and about the biggest thing I could think of was to… Read More
Chad Kellogg. September 22, 1971 to February 14, 2014. Seattle climbing community legend. Dear friend to many. And the toughest guy around. “For Chad, not eating and shivering on ledges, that was like skiing powder for him. It was just that fun,” remembers Jens Holsten. Today, we take… Read More
Jim Herson and Anne Smith live in the Bay Area. They’re in their fifties. Jim has worked the same computer science job since he graduated college in 1982, and he and Anne have been together nearly that long. They have two kids, a 17-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old… Read More
Take a moment and imagine yourself in Yosemite. You are climbing up a steep rock face, above the trees, with Half Dome behind you, but you do not have the security of a rope that can pull you taut from above if you get tired or slip. Instead, you… Read More
I gotta dig down, I gotta go monk. Ever seen Zoolander? Of course you have. Me, too – about a hundred times. It’s a hilarious spoof on the world of male modeling, and there’s that classic scene of the “walk-off” challenge when, between rounds, Hansel digs deep and pulls out… Read More
Take a peek at the latest issue of Climbing magazine and you’ll find Patagonia climbing ambassador Pete Whittaker sporting the kind of face that only climbing offwidths can produce. The story that goes with this photo: “The World’s First 5.14 Offwidth.” Together with his partner Tom… Read More
I’ve long thought that the most wasted resource on earth is talent. Talent abounds, yet optimizing its potential requires devoted effort. Of course we also have to consider opportunity, and the whole talent-and-effort issue makes regular news. There’s the “10,000-Hour Rule” of practice, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell… Read More
Parents new and old will be especially touched by this episode of The Dirtbag Diaries. Show host Fitz Cahall sets the stage: No one skins uphill to put together a splitboard efficiently. They do it to shred down. Making a transition at a belay is part of the… Read More
Today, Tommy Caldwell writes about the conclusion of another season of trying to free-climb the Dawn Wall. And coming up empty – though that’s really not the right word. We’ve covered his efforts in multiple posts (click here, here, or here),… Read More