50 SPORT SKILLS

TRAIN
SMART,
CLIMB
HARD
FOCUS & BREATHING
ROOF TECHNIQUES
REST & NUTRITION
CONQUER STEEPS

TECH TIPS
INCREASE
YOUR REACH
CALM YOUR
NERVES
REFINE
REDPOINT
STRATEGIES

CLIMB A GRADE
HARDER IN 4 WEEKS

PHOTO
EXCLUSIVE!

YOSEMITES
WILD
GOLDEN
DAYS

KEB TROUSER | RUCKSACK NO. 21 LARGE | HANWAG ROTPUNKT APPROACH SHOE

Weve been trekking for 50 years, hopefully we never get there.

- ke Nordin, Fjllrven founder

www.fjallraven.us | www.fjallravencanada.com
@fjallravenusa

CONTENTS
6

FLASH

34

Training

36

Nutrition

THE APPROACH
17

Editors Note

18

Letters

Clip the chains on your

steep sport project with
this four-week program.
This chicken fried rice
recipe is the perfect
post-climb meal.

19
20

Re-Gram

Meet Fitz Caldwell, the

cutest climber baby.

39

Off the Wall

Climbing-themed beers
to celebrate your send.

GEAR

Fall Apparel Guide

We tested more than

100 products to bring
you the 18 warmest,
driest, coziest, most
durable duds for fall
sending season.

THE CLIMB
26

28

32

GUIDE
Advice

Reinhold Messner tells

us how to live a life of
adventure.
Epicenter

Alpine. Sport. Boulders.

Trad. Lander, Wyoming,
is a climbers paradise.
Instant Expert

45

Master steep sport with

techniques and tips
from Sasha DiGiulian.

CLINICS

Begin Here

Utilize pinch points for

super-quick anchors
on short, technical sections of alpine terrain.

46

In Session

48

Health

51

Break through your

performance barrier
with these tips from
top pros.
Improve your office ergonomics to maximize
rest days for faster
recovery.

VOICES

Ask Answer Man

Whats the best way to

nd a climbing partner?

52

The Wright Stuff

54

Semi-Rad

Pro climber Cedar

Wright does his part to
prevent climate change.
Climb more wangs
with Brendan Leonard.

88 THE
2 | SEPTEMBER 2014

FLOW

Cover photo by Glen Denny: Warren Harding and Bob Swift on Lost Arrow Chimney (5.10), Yosemite Valley, California.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GLEN DENNY; BECCA CALDWELL; COURTESY ADIDAS ARCHIVE; ANDREW BURR; SAMUEL CROSSLEY; BEN FULLERTON (2); BRETT AFFRUNTI; SUPERCORN; COURTESY

Archives

ISSUE 328
Sarah Moore makes a big reach to a deep
pocket on Turn Your Head and Cough
(5.10c) in Missouris Trappers Camp crag.

70 Island Time
Does your idea of a
tropical island vacation include nonstop
sport climbing?
Then look no further
than Cayman Brac.
Jeff Achey travels to
our new favorite Caribbean paradise to
clip bolts and dodge
sea spray.

81 Myanmar
Only a couple of
years ago, a trip into
this corrupt country
would have been off
limits. Molly Loomis
journeys into this
recently opened destination in Southeast Asia to climb
and measure what
may be the regions
highest peak.

ANDREW BURR

56 Missouri Loves
Company
You read that right.
Midwest-born
Jeremy Collins takes
a journey up the
rivers of the
Show-Me State to
introduce us to a
surprising amount
of quality rock in an
unlikely destination.

Issue 328. Climbing (USPS No. 0919-220, ISSN No. 0045-7159) is published ten times a year (February, March, April, May, July, August, September, October, November, December/January)
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LEADING SINCE 1970

EDITORIAL

Editor
SHANNON DAVIS
Senior Editor
JULIE ELLISON
Digital Media Specialist
KEVIN CORRIGAN
Editor at Large
DOUGALD MACDONALD
Senior Contributing
Photographer
ANDREW BURR
Senior Contributing Editor
JEFF ACHEY
Contributing Editors
BRENDAN LEONARD, DAVE SHELDON,
ANDREW TOWER, CEDAR WRIGHT
Contributing Illustrators
SKIP STERLING, SUPERCORN
Staff Photographer
BEN FULLERTON
Tablet Media Specialist
CRYSTAL SAGAN
Design Intern
GIOVANNI CORRADO LEONE
Edit Interns
LESLIE HITTMEIER, CAROLINE MELEEDY

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for the worlds

most dangerous

FLASH

Dave Diegelman
Separate Reality
(5.11d), 1979

REEL ROCKs much-anticipated feature-length

lm, Valley Uprising, brings us up close and
personal with the legendary climbing history of
Yosemite National Park, from the epic partying in
Camp 4 to ranger run-ins to unbelievably bold rst
ascents. The following sneak preview will give you
a glimpse into the evolution of the place and its
people, including pioneers like Royal Robbins and
Warren Harding, as well as present-day badasses
Alex Honnold and Dean Potter.
6 | SEPTEMBER 2014

This 50-foot crack climb just

off Highway 120 was rst put
up by the legendary Ron Kauk
in 1978, and it quickly became
world-famous thanks to the
wildly exposed and nearhorizontal roof that comprises
the second half of the route.
Originally given the grade of
5.12a, it was downgraded to
5.11d after several ascents.
Eight years after it was put
up, the bold and super-strong
German climber Wolfgang Gllich nabbed the rst free solo
after rehearsing it on a rope
several times that same day.
Other notable free soloists of
the route include Alex Honnold,
Dean Potter, and Heinz Zak,
who did it in 2005, 19 years
after photographing Gllichs
ropeless send. A quick hike
from the car and a short rappel
will get you down to the slabby
staging area, but the moves
over the lip put the climber out
over some serious exposure.
Here, Dave Diegelman uses
jams and pre-placed gear while
Bill Price belays.
GEORGE MEYERS

CLIMBING.COM

|7

FLASH

Royal Robbins
North America Wall
(A2 5.8), 1964

Perhaps the most recognizable feature of the granite

behemoth that is El Capitan is
the gigantic diorite streak running right up the middle of the
southeast face. Its shaped like
the North American continent
and is this routes namesake.
Although this birthmark is
visually striking, the brittle
black rock it contains and the
lack of a clear, natural line kept
climbers focused on the more
aesthetic and relatively easier
southwest face. It wasnt until
October 1963 that Royal
Robbins and Glen Denny began
hunting around on the wall
and eventually aided up to
about 600 feet. In fall 1964,
a foursome including Robbins,
Chuck Pratt, Yvon Chouinard,
and Tom Frost laid siege to the
wall. After 10 days of storms,
broken holds, tricky traverses,
dwindling food supplies, and
terrifying exposure, the team
claimed the rst ascent of this
2,400-foot, 28-pitch monster
route. Robbins summed it up in
describing one of the pitches
just below the Igloo, a cave
300 feet below the top: One
of the hardest leads of my
experience, it was just another
pitch on this wall.
GLEN DENNY

8 | SEPTEMBER 2014

John Bachar
Outer Limits
(5.10c)

California-climber poster boy

John Bachar heads up the
second pitch of Outer Limits,
a masterpiece rst climbed
in 1971 by Jim Bridwell and
Jim Orey. With a perfect
hand-sized crack and aky
holds on the edges, this route
is one of the most popular and
best-loved climbs in the Valley.
Belayed here by fellow Stonemaster Gib Lewis, Bachar later
soloed this route in the 1980s.
Around that same time, Bachar
posted what would become an
infamous note in Yosemite, offering $10,000 to any person
who could follow him climbing
for one full day. His reputation
for dangerous routes and bold
free solos preceded himno
one took the offer.
GEORGE MEYERS

CLIMBING.COM

|9

FLASH

10 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Alex Honnold
Chouinard-Herbert
(5.11c), 2011

As one of the only rock climbers to become a true household

name, Alex Honnold brought
Yosemite climbing into the national limelight a few years ago
with the premiere of the 2010
lm Alone on the Wall and
the following 60 Minutes
interview that had mothers
around the world shuddering.
This 15-pitch route climbs
1,400 feet up Sentinel Rock,
and although Honnold nabbed
the rst and only solo, it pales
in comparison to some of
his other feats in the Valley.
In June 2012, he soloed the
Yosemite Triple: 2,000 feet
on Mt. Watkins, 2,900 feet on
El Capitan, and 2,200 feet on
Half Dome. He did all of this in
a little less than 19 hours. Hes
also soloed technically difficult
routes like Heaven (5.12d) and
Cosmic Debris (5.13b), among
others.
PETER MORTIMER

CLIMBING.COM

| 11

FLASH

Werner Braun
Reeds Pinnacle Direct
(5.10a), late 1970s

About 25 years before the

iPod, Werner Braun rocks out
while soloing Reeds Pinnacle
Direct, a popular ropeless
ascent for the certied
Yosemite hardman. Braun is
known as being one of the
longest-standing members of
the esteemed Yosemite Search
and Rescue (YOSAR), having
served for more than 40 years.
Hes also known for unofficially
having more ascents than
anyone else of the popular and
difficult Astroman, a 1,000foot 5.11c on Washington
Column.
BOB GAINES

12 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Chuck Pratt
Vernal Falls, 1968

With a relatively recent surge

in slacklining, balance has become a common skill for climbers to practice on rest days,
but 40 years ago it wasnt on
anyones radar. Chuck Pratt
is credited as the rst Valley
climber to train for balance,
and here, he simultaneously
tests his coordination by juggling. Pratt was a Yosemite
legend, with dozens of notable
rst ascents on formations like
Fairview Dome in Tuolumne,
Washington Column, the
Salath and North America
Wall on El Capitan, the South
Face of Mt. Watkins, and Arch
Rock. Friend and partner Royal
Robbins described him in a trip
report about the rst ascent of
North America Wall: Chucks
fantastic native talents and
unassuming demeanor make
him the nest of climbing
companions, while his innite
patience and sense of humor
make him an excellent teacher
and guide.
GLEN DENNY

CLIMBING.COM

| 13

FLASH

Warren Harding
Dawn Wall, 1970

Warren Harding, nicknamed

Batso for his ability to spend
endless nights on the wall
until the route was completed,
as well as his boisterous
personality, nishes the last
pitch on the rst ascent of the
Dawn Wall on El Capitan after
28 days. Harding bagged rst
ascents all over the Valley,
including the Nose on El Cap,
the North Face of the Rostrum,
and the Direct Route of Lost
Arrow Spire.
GLEN DENNY

Werner Braun, Jim

Pettigrew, Ron Kauk,
and John Bachar
Four of Yosemites
notorious pranksters
goof off in the Valley.
PAUL SIBLEY

14 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Gary Colliver
and Chris Jones
1969

Before guidebooks and apps,

hand-drawn topos, like this
one used to plan an ascent of
the Salath Wall, were passed
from climber to climber until
they fell apart.
GLEN DENNY

Bill Westbay
Zodiac (A2 5.7), 1977

Bill Westbay enjoys the

comfort of a Navy surplus
cot, the use of which started
a trend of big wall climbers
sleeping on at, collapsible
beds. These were the inspiration behind the current big
wallers bed, the portaledge.
GEORGE MEYERS
CLIMBING.COM

| 15

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THE

APPROACH
CONTRIBUTORS

JEFF ACHEY
Colorado climbing legend Jeff
Achey has held more staff positions at Climbing mag than
anyone. From his current post
as senior contributing editor,
he les a misadventurous dispatch from tropical climbing
paradise Cayman Brac (p. 70).
Most would nd it hard to get
into as much trouble as I did.

JEREMY COLLINS
When Collins, a self-proclaimed
lover of good company, loose
rock, and oodplain sunsets,
called our office, stoked to tell
us about an amazing climbing
area wed never written about,
he had our attention. When
he said, Missouri! we almost
choked on our King Cobras.
But were glad we heard him
out. His story (Missouri Loves
Company, p. 56)and the accompanying photos by Andrew
Burrwill have you thinking
differently about climbing in
Middle America.

EDITORS NOTE

The Answer
You dont have control over where or when you were born
or what genetic dispositions you were born with, or much
of the stuff that comes after. Doesnt matter, just climb.
Maybe you scored and grew up in one of the climber towns on pages 28 and 88, climbed your age in V-grades, and learned to build an
anchor before you knew the multiplication tables. Maybe notno big
deal. Theres more rock out there than you can imagine (and fantastic
gyms everywhere); Answer Man has advice on nding a good partner; and
Robyn Erbeseld-Raboutou, one of the countrys best climbing trainers, designed a four-week strength and endurance program for you.
Maybe you just sent your summer project and are seeking a new challenge for the fall. Maybe not, but youve trained your ass off and feel like
youve hit a wallwell, no big deal. We talked to six elite climbers who felt
the same way, and theyve got some ideas for you.
Maybe youre the most psyched guy on the planet, offering belays and
beta with a genuinely hopeful smile and providing bits of historical climbing
knowledge. Maybe not, and you need that occasional psych boostno big
deal. In a partnership with REEL ROCK, the coolest climbing lm tour on
Earth, weve created the antidote to any mental slumpa gallery of some of
the most inspiring shots from Yosemites golden days.
Life has speed bumps here and there. Just keep climbing, and the rest
will fall into place.

Getting thirsty

HIGHLIGHTS
FROM THE
JOURNEY

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANDREW BURR; COURTESY; ANDREW BURR; COURTESY; ANDREW BURR; COURTESY

BY SHANNON DAVIS

Mmmmm, beer. We rounded up the best climbinginspired beers to quaff after

your next send (p. 20).

MOLLY LOOMIS
As a mountain guide and park
ranger, Molly has put her Colorado College degree to good use
working in the mountains and
writing about them. Her work
has appeared in more than 50
publications, including The
Wall Street Journal, Discover,
Backpacker, The Boston Globe,
and even O! The Oprah Magazine. A fan of long rambles
and uncertain outcomes, she
writes of her rst ascent in
Myanmar for this issue (p. 81).

Thinking seriously about the climate

Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth presented
some ugly news in 2006. What did we
do between then and now? And what
can climbers do going forward? As Cedar
Wright says on page 52, brushing aside
your own green guilt and initiating a conversation is step #1. Also, showering less.

Learning about this place

Recovering right

Its sorta like the Verdon!

Take on our four-week training

program for steep sport routes (and
dial in technique with help from
Sasha DiGiulian), and youll be a tired
cowboy. Until you slam our perfect
recovery meal (p. 36) and learn how
to get better restat work! (p. 48)

CLIMBING.COM

| 17

THE APPROACH
UNSOLICITED BETA

DIRTBAG DAYS

CRITIC MAN

Charming story, Cedar (Dirtbagging is

Dead, July 2014). I miss star-lled nights
sneaking up to the boulders to dig out our
bedding stash, unbeknownst to the rangers, or camping for weeks on end in the Cochise Stronghold, living in the back of dustcovered Toyotas. None of it would have
been possible if not for the close camaraderie of the Monkeys. I was very fortunate to
be a part of one of the last crews to dirtbag
in Camp 4. Its a pleasure to reminisce.
Donna McKusick, via Climbing.com

Its been two issues since Answer Man

started, and Im already fatigued by the
sarcasm. Id much rather see another
awesome photo or read legitimate answers to peoples questions.
Chris Miller-McLemore, via email

Ammon McNeely is an inspiration to

me! Last week I had my left foot reconstructed. This is the fourth reconstruction between both of my feet. I am grateful and proud to recover with the wisdom
shared by Ammon (An Unbreakable
Spirit, May 2014). Thank you.
Robbie Smith, Prescott, Arizona

MENTOR APPRECIATION
Words cannot express how excited
I was to see Aleksey Shuruyev in The
Mentorship Gap (May 2014). He was
my brothers and my rst climbing coach.
Training with Aleksey at the gym opened
up a world of opportunities and experiences for us. It made climbing a xture in
our lives instead of just a weekend event,
inspiring our lifelong obsession.
Meg Georgevits, via email

THE WRIGHT BELAY

Am I crazy or is Cedar holding the
wrong strand while taking this sele
(The Wright Stuff, May 2014)? Perhaps
normal rules dont apply when belaying
Alex Honnold?
Jason, via Climbing.com
Cedar Wright responds: Yes, you are
crazy. And yes, it would appear I am
holding the wrong end of the rope. I
am trying to give Alex the heightened
sense of awareness that a soloist of his
caliber needs! Actually, Im holding
the other side of the rope with my sele
hand. Ha!

KEEP IN TOUCH

letters@climbing.com

ARCHIVES
On The Cover
An unknown climber ascends the North Ridge of White Twin Spire
(5.7 R) in Garden of the Gods, Colorado. This stark, monotone
style would front the magazine until it was taken over by Bil Dunaway in January 1972, when full-color photos were introduced.

Mission Statement
In our rst, 24-page issue, Climbing began by declaring its reason
for being in what was considered at the time a crowded market:

Yes, we are, if you will, another mountaineering journal. We

undertake this aim only because we believe it is not being done
adequately by anyone else and we believe the sport could be
enriched by improved communication and dispersion of ideas.
CLIMBING wants to become the kind of periodical which climbers
need and should have.

The Good Old Days

Today, Yosemite climbers gripe about the Valleys meager twoweek camping limit. In 1970, Climbing lamented the fact that
Camp 4 was to become a developed campground at all.
/climbingmagazine

@climbingmag

@climbingmagazine

OVERHEARD
If [truckers] lose concentration for a few seconds and veer off the highway at 80 miles an hour, they will
die, but do people consider that extremely risky? No. Because the risk is quite small.
Alex Honnold equates his big wall free-solos to driving an 18-wheeler for ABC News correspondent
Neal Karlinsky on Nightline. Karlinsky did not appear convinced.
Isnt nature peaceful?
Nature is f***ing METAL, dude!
Group of climbers blasting music at a beautiful and serene alpine bouldereld.
No money. No car. No home. Id free solo El Cap, but Im too afraid of fallingand surviving.
Professional dirtbag James Lucas after the sudden, unexpected demise
of his car and home, a Saturn station wagon.

18 | SEPTEMBER 2014

MAY 1970

PIRATE POWER

Answer Man responds: Climbing magazine has about as many words in each
issue as Ulysses, and nearly every one
of them is helpful, informative, and
positive. I provide a tongue-in-cheek
respite and at least a tiny bit of actual
good information in each answer. Our
non-curmudgeon friends might even
refer to it as humorous. Stop drinking
Haterade and have some fun.

Rumors are that [Camp 4] will re-open this spring with the addition of numbered campsites and parking places. Apparently the
old Camp 4, open to anyone who could nd the space to roll out
his sleeping bag, is to become a thing of the past.

Terra Incognita
In this issue, we highlight an unlikely destination: Missouri (p. 56).
In 1970, Climbing documented another unknown destination:
Hetch Hetchy, adjacent to Yosemite, which even today sees little
traffic and has no guidebook.

As I looked across at the steep

cliffs, I thought that this could
just as easily be Yosemite.
Upon looking down, I realized
how different things were. I saw
*Offer no longer valid.
no roads, buildings, or campre
smoke. I heard no motors,
shouts, or horns honking. I only gazed at a large dark pool of water,
rippling quietly in the respective location where thousands swarm
in Yosemite.

VERTICAL LINES

VIRTUAL DISCUSSION

If you could live in any climbing town in the U.S., where would it be?*
Most popular
write-ins:
Asheville, NC
Salt Lake
City, UT
Bozeman, MT

Boulder, CO
Other
Bishop, CA
Moab, UT
Leavenworth, WA
Chattanooga, TN
Lander, WY
North Conway, NH
New Paltz, NY
Fayetteville, WV

Other write-ins
that are not
towns:
In a van
in Yosemite
On El Capitan

Not sure?
Take our test on page 88 to
nd out where you belong!

GREAT VIEW.
TERRIBLE
COMMUTE.

35
*Source:
Climbing reader survey. Join at climbing.com/readerpanel.

RE-GRAM

Fitz Caldwell: The Cutest Climber Baby

on Instagram (@beccajcaldwell)
Maybe its his incredible strength-to-weight ratio, or maybe its his superior genes. Whatever the explanation, theres no denying that
baby Fitz Caldwell, son of Tommy Caldwell, is crushing it on Instagram. Thats why were awarding him the title of Cutest Climber
Baby, and by default, the most adorable climber of any age. Photos and captions by his mom, Rebecca Caldwell.

In our May 2014 issue,

advice columnist Answer
Man (p. 51) derided the
use of zip-off pants.
The opinion struck a nerve
with our readers. (See the
original story at climbing.
com/zipoff)

Comments
Zip-off pants are great for
the North Cascades where
it shifts from clear skies to
apocalyptic in a single day.
Index Dirtbag 06/17/2014
2:13:54
I deeply resent the implication that zip-off pants are
anywhere near fanny packs
or LARPing on the dork
scale.
Jacob - 06/172014
3:53:49
Zip-off pants are amazing.
People who think they arent
should STFU and go back to
getting pumped on 5.6 slab.
Seasoned Chicken
Kebobs - 06/17/2014
4:30:59
Somebody better let
Mountain Hardwear know
that zip-off pants arent in
style. Also, The North Face.
Also, every other outdoor
company.
JD - 06/19/2014
2:24:40

Fitz loved to jump at this age, so Tommy rigged up the Merry

Muscle jumper at the base of Meltdown in Yosemite Valley.

This photo features two of

Tommys favorite things: Fitz
and El Cap!

Fitz learns to stand on his own.

Like many others, Solutions
solved his balance problem.

Tommy came up with this brilliant idea so we wouldnt have to

bring an extra pack. Fitz was psyched for a bit...

Fitz with Uncle Alex at La

Chocolateria in El Chalten,
Argentina.

14-month-old Fitz sends his

rst slab climb barefoot outside of Chamonix, France.

My partner and I invented

the ideal all-conditions
setup, which is shorts over
long johns. Looks cool. Total
comfort all the time. Climb
grades harder. You could
try zip-off pants over long
johns, but that would be for
really extreme conditions
where looks dont matter.
Roadkill Phil 06/19/2014
6:05:52
Zip-off pants are only dorky
when you wear the top half
climbing for a week until
they are dirt brown, then zip
on the clean bottoms and
head back to civilization.
Mark Droy 06/23/2014
7:20:05

CLIMBING.COM

| 19

THE APPROACH
OFF THE WALL

Climber Beers
7 perfect brews for post-send celebrations
BY KEVIN CORRIGAN
Mammoth Brewing Company

Offwidth

Where Lizards Dare

Snake Pro

Half Dome

Figure Eight
Brewing

Figure Eight
Brewing

Figure Eight
Brewing

Tioga-Sequoia
Brewing Company

The Perks of
Being a Brewer
We spoke with brewer and climber Adam Floyd
(right) of Mammoth Brewing Company, which
prides itself on embracing the outdoor lifestyle,
about what its like to make beer professionally in
the paradise of Mammoth Lakes, California.
Describe your job.
I make the beer. I lter the beer, and I take care of
it as it ferments.
How does one become a brewer?
I started as a home brewer. I was just making
beer for myself. And I was also a welder for a long
time. The head brewer wanted people that knew
brewing but also had other skills. Stuff is always
breaking down. Taking care of the machinery is
part of the job. An odd path perhaps, but it worked
out for me.

20 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Midnight
Lightning
Tioga-Sequoia
Brewing Company

Pirates Pils
(Yup, thats Ammon
McNeely)
Figure Eight Brewing

Is this a typical 9 to 5 job?

No. Thats the thing I like about it most. The
schedule is pretty amazing. I get to work four days
a week from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight. It leaves
all my days free.
And how far is your office from the nearest cliff?
You could run to Warming Wall in probably 10
minutes, and Owens River Gorge near Bishop is
only 30 minutes away.
Do you get unlimited free beer?
I do get free beer, but not an unlimited supply.
The amount is more than I could personally drink,
but its not more than my friends and I can drink
together.
Does climbing inuence your brewing in any way?
Not really. But to me, climbing and beer go together in a certain sense. Thats when I enjoy drinking
beer the most, after a hard day of climbing.

REBECCA GARRETT (TOP); COURTESY (7)

Fire and Eisbock

Its no secret that climbing and beer (in that order) are the perfect recipe for a good day. And while
beer has fully integrated itself into the climbing world, its rare for climbing to show its face in the beer
world. So we tracked down three breweries either owned or staffed with climbers to nd this selection of climbing-inspired beers and bottle labels: Californias Mammoth and Tioga-Sequoia breweries
each employ climbers in their brew rooms, and strangely enough, Indianas Figure Eight Brewing is
entirely climbing-themed.

DITCH THE
GUIDEBOOK

EXPLORE WITH A LOCAL

Are you missing out on the best part of your trip? Local,
professional guides can lead you to secret, sought-after
spots and design an adventure to match your skill level.
Hire a climbing guide and head straight to the goods.

Backcountry.com Athlete: Steph Davis

Browse guided adventures at detour.backcountry.com

THE APPROACH
UNBELAY VABLE!

Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you

I had someone set up a toprope
anchor for me, to save me a walk
up the cliff. They set it back from
the edge, so I couldnt visually
inspect it, but I assumed it was
ne. Our rst climber fell several times before lowering from
the top. I went second and (fortunately) didnt fall. As I said
take! at the top, I noticed a
burning smell. Before weighting
the rope, I looked over the lip.
My rope was threaded directly
through a 25mm nylon sling,
only it wasnt 25mm anymore. It
had melted down to 2mm. If Id
weighted the rope I wouldve taken a 25m backward ground fall.
Stretch, via Climbing.com

LESSON: This is what can happen when

you trust a random person to build your
anchor. Its worth the peace of mind to

do it yourself or send someone you know

up there so you can be sure your anchor
is safe. And if the rogue anchor builder
is reading this: Nylon should never rub
against nylon. While nylon has an incredibly high tensile strength, it will melt
at about 470F, a temperature easily
reached from rope friction alone. Throw
two locking carabiners between the
rope and the webbing and youre good
to go (assuming the anchor is otherwise
bomber).

I was at the top of a route, waiting for a woman to set up a rappel.

She pulled up the rope, put the
middle in her belay device, and
tossed the ends. She was about
to unclip from the anchor when
I stopped her. Shed forgotten to
put the rope through the anchor!
Zach Coburn, via Facebook

LESSON: Catastrophic mistakes like

these can be avoided by simply testing
your system while youre still in direct.
Every time you rappel, start by pulling
yourself up tight on the rope and weighting it before you unclip yourself from the
anchor.

We passed a guy on the second

pitch of his route lead belaying
himself with a tube-style belay
device. He was free climbing from
an anchor hed built and was placing quite a bit of gear. He told
us that he just had to grab the
brake strand really quick if he
fell. He proudly proclaimed that
hed caught himself this way before (and tore up his hands in the
process). At the base, his friend,
who was wearing a tree-climbing
harness, explained that he would

be belaying, but his shoulder was

bothering him.
Jason, via Climbing.com

LESSON: This is so crazy that were

astonished he even caught one fall. Safe
rope-soloing requires specic gear and
condence with fairly complicated systems. Seek proper instruction. Counting
on yourself to catch the brake strand
in mid-air during a fall is like waiting to
put on your helmet until you see falling
rock. Idiotic. Either the tree-climbing
friend should suck it up and give him a
belay, or he shouldnt climb at all. For a
primer on solo toproping systems, check
out climbing.com/topropesolo, but we
still recommend that you go out with an
experienced buddy or guide before going
to solo by yourself.
See something unbelayvable?
Email unbelayvable@climbing.com.

Details That Matter

What does a hiking boot company like LOWA know about climbing shoes? We dont have any rock stars,
we dont have any rst ascents, we havent given away tons of product, but heres what we do have:
90 years of performance boot-making experience that has taken climbers to the summit of every 8000
meter peak in the world. Our new RED EAGLE LACE carries our legacy forward: its a high performance,
low volume rock shoe that excels on anything vertical or overhanging.
Top quality materials, branded components like VIBRAM XS-grip rubber, an extra-stiff midsole, a good
solid heel pocket and 6th toe area, and an anti-microbial lining its details like these that have earned
LOWAs reputation for building the worlds nest outdoor performance footwear now including rock shoes.

HANDCRAFTED IN EUROPE
To see LOWAs new line of rock shoes, visit www.lowaboots.com
NEW Red Eagle - Lace
2014 LOWA Boots, LLC. VIBRAM, the Octagon Logo, and the Yellow Octagon Logo and the color Canary Yellow are registered trademarks of Vibram S.p.A.

Mayan Smith-Gobat and Ben Rueck explore the shoreline of Brazil.

Photo Frank Kretschmann

Leaner. Meaner. More Versatile.

The New Nano IX.

When pushing your limits, the last thing you want to think about is your
equipment. Thats our job. At Sterling Rope, we devote ourselves to developing
technical life-safety innovations that help protect you wherever the route leads.
Our new Nano IX (nine) is the latest example of that commitment. Designed
to perform flawlessly on sport routes, ice, or mixed conditions, this 9.0mm triple
threat is certified as a single, half, and twin rope. Its thermobalanced sheath and
new core makes it lean and mean - ensuring durable, consistent handling in all
conditions. Constructed using DryCore DryCoat and Better Braid Technology,
the Nano IX confidently surpasses expectations and leaves you with one less thing
to think about. Now, about this next pitch

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26

GUIDE // 39 GEAR // 45 CLINICS // 51 VOICES

24 | SEPTEMBER 2014

THE

Red River Gorge, Kentucky. Oliana, Spain. Kalymnos, Greece. Rie, Colorado. Geyikbayiri, Turkey. What do all these
world-class destinations have in common? The vein-bursting, forearm-bulging, and aggressively angled steep walls
that our tribe seeks as climbing challenges. Found in backcountry caves and on undercut canyon walls, this is the land
of the big send and the even bigger whipper. Here, Jorg Verhoeven nabs the rst ascent of Nordic Flower (5.14c/d)
in Flatanger, Norway, a proving ground for lovers of the steep. You cant muscle, tech, or fake your way through these
demanding overhangs, so weve compiled some of the best techniques, tips from the pros, and a four-week training
program that will have you clipping the chains on your fall sport climbing project before the leaves even start to
change. Follow it up with our perfect recovery meal, and youll be crushing even harder the very next day.

LIMB
PHOTO BY REINHARD FICHTINGER

CLIMBING.COM

| 25

THE

CLIMB

GUIDE
Were all children of our time, says
Reinhold Messner. I did what I could do
in my time, but Im far away from what
is done today. Pictured here on Everest,
Messner has many impressive and wellknown ascents that were well ahead
of his own time, including climbing
more than a dozen 8,000-meter peaks
without supplemental oxygen.

ADVICE

Old Ways, New Days

Reinhold Messner, who turns 70 this month, likes what he sees in todays new alpinism
For a man whos been called the greatest
mountaineer of all time, Reinhold Messner is
surprisingly reserved and humble as he looks
back on his 70 years on the planet.
Hes explored and survived some of the most challenging and unforgiving terrain on Earth. Most famously, he completed the rst solo
ascent of Mount Everest as well as summiting all 14 8,000-meter peaks
without supplemental oxygen, often choosing routes that were more
challenging. Hes crossed deserts, including the Gobi, and traversed the
Arctic and Antarctica. His exploits are legendary and well-known.
Messner followed his climbing career with ve years (1999 to 2004)
in politics, serving as an MEP (Member of the European Parliament)
for the Italian Green Party, while also working on the Messner Mountain Museum project (www.messner-mountain-museum.it), a series of
museums in various mountain locations, including the Dolomites. The
sixth museum, Corones, will open this year in Kronplatz, Italy, on his
birthday, September 17th.
But Messner is more likely to talk up the achievements of contemporary climbers than his own. He especially admires Ueli Stecks solo
ascent of Annapurnas South Face and British couple Sandy and Rick Al-

BY GRAEME GREEN

lens Mazeno Ridge traverse of Nanga Parbat. People who, like Messner,
didnt choose the easy route.
I would never have been able to climb Cerro Torre in Patagonia free,
without using bolts, like David Lama did, Messner says. I am very impressed and interested in seeing whats happening today because mountaineering is in a period of great change. Ninety percent of the people
going to the mountains today are tourists or sporty people. They climb
in the gym, and they do some very difficult climbing, but this is not what
Id call alpinism. Traditional adventure alpinism is a very limited activity
in these times. I have the greatest respect for these young climbers who
go back to tradition and true alpinism.
Like any septuagenarian, Messner thinks often about death and loss.
He feels fortunate to have made it this far. Messner lost his brother,
Gnther, and many friends on early expeditions. There are thousands
and thousands of people whove died in the mountains, Messner says,
solemnly. I cant defend an idea that has had so many deaths as a consequence. We cannot defend it, but we still go to the mountains. We
must be aware that danger is everywhere and in every second. Going
to the mountains is not conquering something. Its so we can feel like
were being reborn when were back in civilization.

Secrets to an Adventurous Life

1
COURTESY ADIDAS ARCHIVE; BEN FULLERTON (INSET)

PREPARATION
I always made a testament
before I went on an expedition: I knew I could die, but I
would ght like a lion to not
die. If I were to stay at home
forever because its dangerous to go to the mountains,
I would not be who I am
anymore. I need this activity.
And if the fears are too bleak
before going because Im not
perfectly prepared or my
equipment isnt just right, I
adjust it. I only go if I feel like
Im fully prepared.

2
BOOKING A ROUNDTRIP TICKET
When I was a young climber,
I looked for the most difcult routes, especially rock
climbing in the Dolomites
and the Alps. Later on,
when I climbed the highest
peaks, I tried to do it with
minimum equipment. That
ethic was more important
than the actual summit or
the route. Before and during
the activity, I strive to be
awake and aware of dangers.
The real art of climbing is to
come home safely.

As told to Graeme Green of curiousanimal.com

PUSHING LIMITS

GOING SOLO

EMBRACING DANGER

Testing your own limits is

only a synonym for knowing about human nature.
If we expose ourselves to
the maximumcold, lack
of oxygen, exposure, being
high up on the mountain, far
away from securitythen
we know about our fear and
limitations. Going for that
limit means, oddly, that we
acknowledge our limitations.
But I would not accept being
limited in my possibilities and
capabilities.

I did solo trips because I

needed to know if I was capable of making it alone. To
be alone means not only to
have responsibility, but also
to be removed from the
world. Now if I have a personal or work problem, I go
into the wilderness alone.
Its also a way of meditating. I listen to myself. In this
special moment, having my
ears and all my senses open
to nature, I understand what
I have to do and what my
path ahead is.

Most European alpine clubs

behave in a way that they
would like to make the
mountains more secure.
They build roads or rails so
you cant fall down anymore.
They build metal structures
to avoid avalanches. This is
not a mountain anymore;
a mountain is danger. You
could die there. Because of
this, mountaineering is a very
interesting activity. Its not a
sport. Its serious interaction
with nature. The danger is an
essential part of it.

CLIMBING.COM

| 27

GG UU II DD EE

CRAGS

Epicenter: Lander, WY
Teaming up with our friends at mountainproject.com, were creating the ultimate primers to our ountrys premier climbing
towns. In this issue, we spotlight one of the Wests most alluring and uncrowded areas. BY LESLIE HITTMEIER

26
189

FIRE PIT BOULDER

20

2 problems

RODEO WALL

TITCOMB BASIN
AREA

LITTLE SENECA
LAKE

12 routes

10 routes

2 routes
26
26

MOOSEHEAD BAY
11 routes

KAGEVAH PEAK
1 route

189

PINEDALE
5 problems

CLIFF JUMPING
AREA

SINKS CANYON
321 routes

STADIUM
BOULDERS

2 problems

789

18 problems

89

SUICIDE POINT

BOULDER LAKE
DAM

5 routes

GRADE II WALL
3 routes

1 problem

Lander

STONEHENGE
4 problems
189

789

EAST FORK
VALLEY

CIRQUE OF
THE MOON

14 routes

WILD IRIS

5 routes

191

CIRQUE OF
THE TOWERS

WIND RIVER RANGE

31 routes

99 routes

185 routes

OK CORRAL
62 routes

GUN STREET
16 routes

THE MAIN WALL

78 routes

TRAD

TOPROPE

SPORT

BOULDERING

THE SCENE

With a warmer-than-youd-think climate and three world-class

areas within a couple hours drive, you might spend time looking
for a place to rent while on a short climbing trip. Located within
a sea of ranches in central Wyoming, the remote town of about
8,000 residents has a fresh and progressive climbing scene that
includes a current boom in rst ascents. Local badasses like Tom
Rangitsch, B.J. Tilden, and Sam Lightner are bolting and re-bolting
routes so fast that guidebooks and even online resources can
barely keep up. The town has also hosted the International
Climbers Festival every July for the last 20 years. At this years
fest, you could casually chat with Conrad Anker, participate in a
good ol fashioned pull-up competition, and see presentations by
top climbers like Sasha DiGiulian, Lynn Hill, and Alex Honnold.
The areas rock is mainly limestone and granite with some
dolomite and sandstone on the side. Nestled in the Rocky
Mountains at 6,500 feet, Sinks Canyon offers more than 320

trad and sport routes that can be climbed year-round. Most

of them can be reached within minutes of getting your caffeine fix at Old Town Coffee in the middle of downtown.
Wild Iris, perhaps the most famous of Landers crags, is about
30 minutes away and offers sport climbing on classically
pocketed limestone cliffs that rise above a blanket of white
aspens. This favorite spot was discovered and developed in
the early 1990s by Todd and Amy Skinner. And dont forget
the nearby Wind River Range, where climbable peaks, bountiful alpine trad, and perfect granite boulders never cease to
disappoint. Locals say the unsung area gem is Sweetwater
Rocks, comprised of granite domes just west of town, where
an estimated 1,000 routes await. Theres everything from
eight-pitch 5.7 to single-pitch 5.14, local climber and author
Steve Bechtel says. Plus, the globally renowned Tetons and
Vedauwoo are each only a three-hour drive away.
POWERED BY

28 | SEPTEMBER 2014

DAVIN BAGDONAS

Rock Climbing Nirvana

GUIDE

CRAGS
LOCALS KNOW

Where climbers:
[stay]
Camp free for up to three days in
Lander City Park at 4th and Fremont
streets on the banks of the Popo Agie
River. The park has 28 tent sites and
seven RV sites (rst come, rst served).
Tip: Bring a bike for runs into close-by
downtown for groceries or beer. There
are also two state park campgrounds as
you drive up Sinks Canyon ($15/night,
(sinkscanyonstatepark.org, 307-3323077). The Popo Agie Campground in
the canyon also has three 16-foot yurts
for $40/night; each has a twin and a
queen bed. Or, keep driving about 20
miles up the canyon on Loop Road and
youll hit the national forest boundary
where camping is free.

Sophia Kim works through

the ngery crux of the technical testpiece Moe (5.12b),
Main Wall, Sinks Canyon.

[eat/drink]
The Lander Bar (landerbar.com, 307332-7009) is a mandatory stop for any
climber. Its owned and operated by
local climbers, and every cold beer is
served with a side of good beta. Almost every grill cook is a climber. Our
head bartender has been climbing in
the area for 20 years, and both managers climb and were born and raised in
Wyoming, says owner Jill Hunter. And
theres always someone interesting
hanging around. Sasha DiGiulian was
here recently watching the World Cup.
Grab a Jack Norman Pale Ale brewed
right next door, order a Muy Bueno
burger, and eavesdrop on stories about

back in the day when Todd Skinner was

putting up 5.13 rst ascents at Wild Iris.
[gear up]
Local legends Todd and Amy Skinner established Wild Iris Mountain
Sports in 1990 to pay for their dirtbag
lifestyle and provide employment
for other climbers, and its still the
go-to place for all things climbing.
(wildirisclimbing.com, 307-332-4541)
[learn the ropes]
Both Exum Mountain Guides and
Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, each
headquartered in nearby Jackson, Wyoming, offer instruction and guiding at
Lander crags and in the Wind Rivers.
(exumguides.com, 307-733-2297;
jhmg.com, 307-733-4979)
[spend a rest day]
Sling ies (and catch dinner) on the
three different forks of the Popo Agie
River. The Sweetwater River is also
a hot spot for brown and rainbow
trout in surprisingly large size and
number. Pick up a shing license at
Wind River Outdoor Company or One
Stop Market in town ($14/day for nonresidents). More terrestrially inclined?
Mountain bike in Sinks Canyon or at
Johnny Behind the Rocks, a recently
developed area with terrain for all skill
levels about 15 miles south of Lander
(mtbproject.com).

METRICS
STYLE
Sport crags and alpine trad reign

QUALITY

DIFFICULTY

Nearly 2,000 routes at 3 stars or higher

The harder you climb, the more you can climb

800

3
5.1

2
5.1

5.1
1

1,200

5.1

800

5.9

400

200

KYLE DUBA

5.6

TR
4%

400

5.8

2 stars

Sport
57%

5.7

3 stars

600

le
ss

Trad
39%

or

4 stars

30 | SEPTEMBER 2014

LIFES TOO SHORT

TO STAY INDOORS

ROUTES

Lander Classics
The 10 best 4-star routes as ranked by Mountain
Project users
East Ridge of Wolfs Head (5.6)
Wind River Range, 10 pitches
Unreal! One of the most interesting
alpine routes I have done, especially
at 5.6. Big exposure. Although if you
are a 5.6 leader, some of the exposed
traversing moves may feel a lot harder
than 5.6.
La Vaca Peligrosa (5.8)
Wild Iris, 1 pitch
A very fun pocket climbthis is what
super-fun limestone rock climbing is
all about.
More Funky Than Gunky (5.9)
Sinks Canyon, 1 pitch
The roof on this one feels great. Its
well-protected but still big enough
to make you feel like a rock star. Get
your feet over the lip; exibility is one
of your best assets here.

BEN HERNDON

Take Your Hat Off (5.10b)

Wild Iris, 1 pitch
Amazing route. A technical start leads
to ridiculously fun and huge juggy
pockets on vertical to slightly overhanging stone. The rock is completely
bulletproof white limestone, and the
beautiful scenery of wild owers in
the valley below is as good as you
could hope for.
Sandman (5.10b/c)
Sinks Canyon, 1 pitch
Best 5.10 sport route in the universe.
Great variety of climbing: a tricky
layback ake down low to pockets on
the upper section. Cruxy move up top
felt hard for the grade. Climb in spring
or early summer to avoid wasps.

The Devil Wears Spurs (5.10d)

Wild Iris, 1 pitch
The best 10d or even the best 10
period at Irisperfect pocket pulling.
This is as good as it gets for a moderate. Very big moves if you dont get
your feet in the right spots.

Alexander Barber
Professional mountain guide.
Passionate climber. Seeks
out pure ascents of the
worlds highest mountains,
climbing solo, without
bottled oxygen or Sherpa
support. Uses, among
others, the Soulo.

Wine and Roses (5.11a)

Fremont Canyon, 1 pitch
This is one of the single best pitches
Ive ever done, any time, any place.
Mountain Project needs to add a fth
star just for this one.
Tribal War (5.11b)
Wild Iris, 1 pitch
One of the greatest routes at the Iris
of any grade and the best 11b hands
down. Love the two styles of climbing
to be had on it, a technical crux and
a pumpy nish. The highest quality!
Get on it!
Wind and Rattlesnakes (5.12a)
Wild Iris, 1 pitch
I loved this route. Its surprisingly
pumpy pulling through the last pockets on the nal headwall. Recently
re-bolted with glue-ins, too.
Killer (5.12c)
Sinks Canyon, 1 pitch
Big, fun pocket moves. Start by
aiding to the rst bolt. Launch into
the crux via technical and powerful enduro-pulls on the left-angling
seam followed by edges and pockets.
Crank the roof and hold on for a wild
ride through the killer pump to the
anchors. Classic hard moves on the
biggest holds youll ever fall off.

POWERED BY

Alex crossing the northwest glacier

at 5900 m on Shishapangma (8013 m)

THE SOULO has been my go to shelter on my recent Himalayan projects.

Its light enough to carry on challenging ascents, its remarkably roomy,
and Ive found it to be a veritable Bastille. It has
the same well thought-out design Hilleberg
is known for strength and functionality,
easy set-up, and a light pack weight. On
solo multi-day ascents this is the tent I
carry. It increases my margin of safety
and doesnt weigh me down!

Order a FREE catalog online at

HILLEBERG.COM
or call toll free 1-866-848-8368

*Stats are for the immediate Lander area. Get route beta, photos, and
topos for the whole state at mountainproject.com/wyoming.

follow us on facebook.com/HillebergTheTentmaker

GUIDE

INSTANT EXPERT

Secrets of the Steep

Fight the pump and move uidly through overhanging sections
BY JULIE ELLISON
AS YOURE EYEING THE NEXT CLIP ONLY A FEW FEET AWAY, your swollen forearms throb
even harder at the thought of just one more move. You take a deep breath, dig your toe in a
little deeper, drive your body up, and grab the next hold with a feeling of pure elationonly
to experience a moment of stillness, a feeling of defeat, and the rush of air as the wall rapidly
fades into the distance. Welcome to steep sport climbing. When the wall kicks back past
vertical, the pump clock starts ticking and its all about getting to the chains before that alarm
goes off. Steeps and overhangs require determination, focus, technique, and creative thinking.
Below, weve dissected the most important skills to develop. Then turn the page for a killer
four-week training program designed especially for steep rock climbing.

1-2-3. Think about moving

through roofs in a 1-2-3 pattern: 1. Grab the holds with
arms straight (dont over-grip)
and upper body centered
underneath. 2. Reposition your
feet so theyre in the optimal
spot to drive you to the next
hold. 3. Move with condence
to the next hold. Repeat over
and over until youre clipping
the chains.

Utilize clipping stances. This might involve

climbing into a certain position, clipping, then
downclimbing to a good rest so you can breathe
easier and focus on the upcoming sequence. Or,
you might need to include a few extra moves in
a sequence to clip from a larger hold, avoiding
clipping off a smaller hold that would get you
more pumped.

32 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Height
I nd my small stature can be better on steep
climbs because my torso and limbs arent as
long, which can require more strength to keep
under control. Regardless, being dynamic is
important, so train for power and big moves.
Falling and Fear
Taking whippers in caves is fun! Youre falling
into air, with no threat of hitting ledges below
or cheese-grating down a slab. Embrace it!

Weird is good. Drop-knees,

heel hooks, toe hooks, heeltoe cams, kneebars (pictured),
and bicycles are your best
friends because they take
weight off your arms. Find
and use them as often as
possible. See climbing.com/
skill/climbing-dictionary for
explanations of each.

Move your feet, not your arms. Keep your arms

as straight and still as possible while your feet
uidly and precisely contact every foothold
necessary to get your body in a position that
makes the next move efcient. This means using
the power from your legs, not your arms. Also,
consider moving your feet around to get into a
position that makes the handholds better (e.g.,
changing a sidepull into an undercling).

Pushing Through
When Im pumped and need to force myself
to keep going, I focus on breathing. A slow
and even breath will lower your heart rate and
distract you. I convince myself that Im not
tired and that the next good hold or next clip
is the anchor. Push for that one extra move,
and youll improve quickly because youll be
constantly maximizing your engine.
Hanging Upside Down
Reading routes and staying calm can be difcult. Look at the climb beforehand and make a
plan for each section. Find the good rests and
climb from rest to rest. Get to a rest and look
up at the next section. While resting, keep
arms straight, shoulders relaxed, and heels
down to toe in. Just breathe.
Technique
Apply a lot of pressure to every foothold,
especially bad ones. Use the tip of your shoe,
with the hold under your powerful big toe.
Heel hooks, toe hooks, and bicycling are crucial. For your hands, center your upper body
directly beneath the hold. Upper body and
legs should be in line with your hips; shift left
and right by driving with your hips. Squeeze
your abs and engage your core to stay tight.

ANDREW BURR (LEFT); SKIP STERLING

Rest > Strength. Learning to rest is the key to

sending. Good roof climbers have strength and
endurance, yes, but what theyre best at is managing and ghting off pump. They know how to
reach a rest and then use it to recover strength
and restart the pump clock. Practice resting as
much as you practice climbing.

Your core is your best asset. Think about

squeezing your abs and pushing your hips into
the wall (a mental mantra helps: stay tight, stay
tight, stay tight) to keep your butt from sagging,
which will put more weight on your arms. Having
hips close to the wall means more toeing-in
power and more driving force from the large
muscle groups in the legs.

OVERCOMING
OVERHANGS
with Sasha DiGiulian

scarpa.com/vitamin

You only get 26,320 days, more or less. How will you spend them?

GUIDE

TRAINING

GUIDELINES

Get Strong for

Steep Sport

This four-week program is

BY JULIE ELLISON

Follow this 4-week plan to oat the most wicked overhangs

AS WE MOVE from summer alpine season to the crisp days of Sendtember and Rocktober, its
time to trade cams for draws and focus on fall sport climbing season. While most people might
jump right on the wall and crank out lap after lap at a comfortable grade, that type of training
by itself wont really help you tick harder grades or improve at steep sport climbing. Ten laps on
a 5.10 will help build endurance at that grade, but when it comes time to work that 5.12 project,
youll be left wanting. We collaborated with expert trainer, world-champion climber, and famed climbing coach
Robyn Erbeseld-Raboutou to create a simple, effective four-week training program thats designed to have
you ready for the fall season in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, a destination known for its killer caves and steep
walls. The plan will focus on technique, endurance, core strength, power-endurance, and perhaps the most
underestimated but important part of climbing overhangsresting.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Climb: Powerendurance
Focus: Core

Climb:
Endurance
Focus:
Technique

Climb: Rest
Focus: Core

Climb: Powerendurance
Focus: Resting

Climb:
Endurance
Focus:
Technique

Climb: Rest
Focus: Core

Climb: Powerendurance
Focus: Resting

RESTING
1. Pick out a steep route thats slightly easier than your redpoint max. Climb it once, and gure out where you can get at least
two rests. This will help you identify what a good rest is and how to maximize it, as well as how to pace your climbing in between rests. Now re-climb the route, and you must use those two rests for at least 20 seconds each. Arms should be straight,
shoulders relaxed, and feet in the best position to take weight off your arms; heel hooks and the like are especially helpful.
Focus on using minimal energy, getting your heart rate down, shaking out, alternating hands, and relaxing. Be mentally present
when resting: How pumped are you? How does shaking out feel? If you move your foot slightly up or down can you nd a better position? Do this with two to three routes; if you fall off at any point, just get back on and complete the route.
2. Create a 20-move boulder problem loop on the steepest part of the bouldering wall. Have it start and end on the same big
holds with good feet. Do the problem, and when you get back to the start, rest there without coming off the wall for a set
amount of time; three minutes of resting is a good start. Focus on staying relaxed, breathing evenly, shaking out, keeping open
hands, not over-gripping, etc. Try to complete the loop at least three times. The next week, create a new problem with a start/
end position that has good hands but slightly worse feet. The set resting time might feel too long, but this will get your brain
in tune with your body and help you gure out not only how to use rests, but how long you should rest. Create two to three
separate problems/loops for each session, aiming to complete each loop three times.
3. Choose an overhanging route at your absolute limit. Climb the route until you feel the pump start to creep in. Keep moving,
and right before you feel like youre going to peel off, nd a massive jugeven if its not on your routeand milk that rest like
theres no tomorrow. Get into the best resting position you can, using whatever holds are available, whether theyre on your
chosen route or not. The idea is to push yourself to your physical limit and then get a break while not dropping off or coming
down. Stay there as long as needed, and see how much strength you can get back. Its ne if you fall two moves later; thats
two more moves than you would have done otherwise. This will build mental fortitude when resting, create condence, and
help you develop a positive attitude about the fact that resting does actually work. Try this with four routes, making sure to
rest about 10 minutes between each.

34 | SEPTEMBER 2014

ideal if youve been climbing

regularly and are in good
shape. If not, start with four
weeks of general climbing
training to get back in shape.
Aim to climb at least three
times a week, bouldering,
sport climbing, or a combination, either inside or out.
Once you have this baseline
tness, begin the specic
training outlined here.
Shoot for climbing-specic
training four days a week, in
a two days on, one day off
pattern, but if youre feeling
really tired, you must take
more days off. Rest is just as
important as training when
youre going hard. Listen to
your body.
Since this is a shortened,
discipline-specic plan, you
should be going hard in every
session. You should be working at 85 to 100% of your max
everyday. Raboutou says,
Why go light? If youre really
tired after one rest day, thats
why you take two.
Dont sacrice a day at the
crag for training inside. Go
outside as much as you can,
but make it count by mimicking the climbing workout and
focus of that particular day.
Clean up your diet. Dont
count calories, but focus on
foods like fruits, vegetables,
and lean meats, which are
best for intense training
periods. Cut out excess sugar,
fat, and processed foods.
Eat carbohydrates about 30
minutes before training, and
then another small serving 15
to 30 minutes right after. See
page 36 for ideas on what to
eat and when.
If youre already an
enduro-end, focus more on
power-endurance and consider adding a campus board
workout one day a week on
an endurance-focused day.
Each day has a climbing
workout (power-endurance
or endurance), followed by
a specic focus for the day
(technique, core, or resting).
Pick one workout for both
climbing and focus.
Warm up everyday with 20
minutes of easy climbing.

ENDURANCE
1. Laps are a great way to gain endurance quickly, but with a limited number of routes in a typical gym, they can get boring
really fast. Use this exercise sparingly so you dont burn out too quickly. Theyre just what they sound like: Pick a route a full
number grade below your max redpoint and climb it. Lower, pull the rope, and get back on the wall as fast as you can. You
dont have to climb it fast, and you can (and should) rest on the route, but dont dilly dally about getting back on. Try to gain
energy back while on the wall. Run three to ve laps on a few climbs, doing a minimum total of 12 pitches.
2. Downclimbing is an underrated training exercise. Not only does it help with footwork and technique, but it also works
your main climbing muscles in the opposite direction, like doing negatives in weightlifting, where you focus on the lowering
portion more than the upward motion. Pick a route thats a full number grade lower than your redpoint max and climb up.
Immediately downclimb the whole thing, and without coming off the wall, start climbing back up. (Using an auto-belay is great
for this.) When you get to the top the second time, just lower to the ground. Do this with at least four routes.
3. Pick an overhanging route thats at least a full number grade below your redpoint max, the juggier, the better. Every time you
want to reposition your feet, you must purposely cut both of them, swing them out, and bring them back to the wall in the
position thats necessary to move upward. It should be something like this: Move right hand, move left hand, cut feet, swing
them backward, and as you bring your feet back to the wall, place them where they need to go to make the next set of hand
movements. Do this on at least six routes, more if youre an advanced climber.

CORE
1. Do all exercises in a row, then repeat

2. Do all exercises in a row, then repeat

each set three to ve times, with a 2
min. rest between each set.

3. Do all exercises in a row, then repeat

each set three to ve times, with a 2

min. rest between each set.
1 min. forearm plank
30 sec. side plank (each side)
1 min. mountain climbers
2 min. hip bridge
10 leg raises on pull-up bar

1 min. bent-leg boat pose

1 min. bicycle crunches
10 full sit-ups
1 min. utter kicks
20 airplanes (alternate sides)

1 min. straight-arm plank

1 min. Russian twist with medicine ball
15 back extensions/Supermans
1 min. leg climbers (alternate sides)
30 crunches

each set three to ve times, with a 2

min. rest between each set.

BEN FULLERTON (7); SKIP STERLING

POWER-ENDURANCE
1. The classic workout to gain power-endurance is a 4x4. On
a bouldering wall, nd four problems that are about three
grades below your redpoint max. Climb the rst problem four
times without resting, then rest two minutes and climb the
second problem four times. Continue until youve completed
one set. Rest at least ve minutes and repeat the 4x4 with
four new problems. Rest again and repeat with new problems
for three total sets.
2. The treadwall is one of the best climbing inventions since
sticky rubber. Kick the angle back so that you can still do four
rounds in a row without coming off; 20 is a good starting

point. Choose problems that are at least three grades below

your max, and then time yourself doing four rounds (same
problem repeated or different problems, it doesnt matter).
After the four rounds, rest 1.5 times the length of time it took
you; so if it takes you four minutes to do four rounds, rest
six minutes. Do at least four sets of this. As you get stronger
week by week, try to make the wall a little steeper.
3. Choose 15 boulder problems in the gym that are about
three grades below your max, and climb them all in 30 minutes or lessyou should have to hustle. Rest 15 minutes, and
then climb them all again within 30 minutes.

ROBYN
ERBESFIELDRABOUTOU
As one of the leading
authorities on coaching
climbing for kids, Robyn
Erbeseld-Raboutou has
trained dozens of youngsters who have sent 5.14 and
climbed on the international
level. She is a ve-time U.S.
National Champion and
was the third woman in the
world to climb 5.14a. Shes
also the founder, owner, and
director of ABC Climbing in
Boulder, Colorado (abckidsboulder.com).

TECHNIQUE
1. Bouldering is one of the
best ways to gain good
technique quickly. Since the
problems are short, you can
focus on each move and the
subtle nuances of footwork,
body position, and how to
grip slopey or small holds.
Youll also be simultaneously
building power, which is often
overlooked in sport climbing
training, but just as necessary
to be successful on challenging routes. Spend 30 minutes
projecting hard boulders at
your limit.
2. Work with a partner on the
systems board. Create problems (usually ve to seven
moves) that incorporate all
different types of movement,
holds, and body positions.
Focus on your weaknesses,
whether its a certain type
of hold or movement. Since
a systems board is mirrored
with the same holds in the
same spots on each side,
make sure to do every problem twice, once on each side.
Spend 30 minutes creating
problems for each other on
the systems board.

CLIMBING.COM

| 35

GUIDE

NUTRITION

Recovery Rice
Cook this takeout classic at home for the perfect post-climb meal
BY LESLIE HITTMEIER
After a long gym session, youre tired, sore, and just want to chow down on somethinganythingas soon as possible. Its easy to reach for your stack of takeout
menus, but that General Tsos packs a surprising wallop of fat and sodium without
much redeeming nutritional value. Sure, youll be full, but your body wont get the
proper fuel it needs to bounce back from the toll of climbing hard. No worries.
We have a chicken fried rice recipe that you can throw together three times faster
than it takes the delivery guy to get to your door. The cook time is less than 15
minutes, and its so easy to make youll have it memorized after one go. It also has
a healthy dose of carbs, protein, and sodium, with a half serving of vegetables.
Rice has carbs that are good for fueling recovery. Its high on the glycemic index,
which means it will digest quickly and give your muscles the immediate energy
they need to start the repair and recovery process (see opposite page for more
info on the glycemic index). Protein from the chicken rebuilds muscles, tendons,
and ligaments, and the ample sodium will help your body absorb much-needed
water to stave off dehydration and accelerate recovery. Dr. Allen Lim, founder of
Skratch Labs, says, The benets of this meal are rather simple: It tastes great, its
easy to make, keeps well, reheats easily, and its got a great ratio of carbs, protein,
and fat. Mostly though, its just super-delicious real food.
Ingredients
Top with:

2 cups rice, cooked

3 eggs

Sriracha

Sesame oil

FILL UP!
2 to 3 green onions,
thinly sliced

1 cup boneless chicken

thighs, cooked (2 to 3 pieces)

1 cup frozen peas and corn

Nutrition Facts
per serving (half total amount)
Energy 605 cal
Fat 17g
Sodium 727mg

36 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Carbs 68g
Fiber 4g
Protein 39g

1 tablespoon minced garlic

(about 2 cloves)

2 tablespoons low-sodium
soy sauce

*Republished
with permission
of VeloPress from
the The Feed Zone
Cookbook ($25,
skratchlabs.com).
Try more recipes
at feedzonecookbook.com.

BEN FULLERTON (10)

Directions
Cook rice according to package instructions.
Bring lightly oiled saut pan to medium-high heat. Add garlic
and green onions and saut for about one minute.
In a small bowl, beat eggs and soy sauce together and then
pour them into the hot pan. The pan should be hot enough to
cause the eggs to uff. Stir quickly to cook.
Add cooked rice and cooked chicken thighs, then fry mixture
for ve to six minutes.
Add peas and corn and cook until vegetables heat through
and are vibrant in color.
Season to taste with Sriracha, soy sauce, or sesame oil.

Glycemic Index Explained

What the heck do those numbers mean anyway?
The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that rates carbohydrate-carrying foods from
0 to 100 based on their direct effect on blood-sugar levels. Foods that are
high on the GI scale are digested quickly and spike sugar levels in the blood;
low-GI foods take longer to digest and allow sugar to leak slowly into the
bloodstream, providing a more constant and even source of energy. Most
veggies, fruits, nuts, legumes, and healthy grains are low to medium on the
scale, while white bread, white rice, and sweetened foods (like candy or soda)
are much higher. Typically, high-GI foods are given a bad rap because of the
energy ups and downs, but for an athlete, there are times when you need
that rush. They can be lifesavers for endurance athletes, including climbers. The rule of thumb is to eat foods with low to medium numbers before
exercise, and then medium to high foods during exercise, varying from a

broccoli (10)

cherries (22)

lentils (29)

apple/orange
(39/40)

chocolate chip cookie to a low-sugar sports drink. The most important rule
is to eat something high on the scale 15 to 30 minutes after your workout because this is when the enzymes that help the body replenish muscle glycogen
are most active, and the longer you wait, the longer it will take those muscles
to recover. Keep a bagel and almond butter (or some leftover chicken fried
rice) on hand so you can give your body what it needs on the drive home
from the crag or the gym. Keep in mind that its ill-advised, if not impossible,
to base your entire diet on GI numbers. For example, eating a steady stream
of foods like pizza, beer, and ice cream every day, while fun and a good mix
on the GI, wont likely help your performanceor harness size. Use these
numbers as guidelines, especially when you know youll be needing an extra
boost during a long day in the mountains or after a hard workout.

brown
rice (50)

25

whole wheat
bread (68)

50

bagel (72)

75

potato (85)

cornakes (93)

100

P R O M OT I O N

TH E B E TA

411 from our climbing partners

STERLING ROPE
Our new Nano IX (nine) is designed to
perform awlessly on sport routes, ice, or
mixed conditions, this 9.0mm triple threat is
certied as a single, half, and twin rope. Its
thermobalanced sheath and new core ensure
durable, consistent handling in all conditions.
www.sterlingrope.com

REEL ROCK
In its 9th year, REEL ROCK features a special
presentation of Valley Uprising: the riveting,
unforgettable tale of Yosemite climbing,
spanning half a century of struggle against the
laws of gravity and the laws of the land.
www.reelrocktour.com

Follow us on Facebook for your daily dose

of the Climbing life: News, Skills,
Funny Stuff, and Inspiration.
facebook.com/climbingmagazine

OFFICIAL

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THE

Fall
Apparel
Guide

BEN FULLERTON

Our team wear-tested

more than 100 items to
nd the best of the best
in cold-weather climbing
duds to bring you the
18 winners on the following pages. Here are the
qualities we look for in:
Baselayers: Feels good
against the skin, wicks
sweat, dries quickly, provides a touch of warmth,
doesnt stink.
Midlayer: Warm, breathable enough to allow
baselayers to dry, provides an element of wind
resistance, responds
well to temperature and
exertion uctuations.
Puffy: Provides instant
warmth in extreme
conditions, packs fairly
small, is durable enough
to handle the elements,
ts over multiple layers,
adjusts easily.
Shell: Gives peace of
mind against wind and
rain, breathable enough
to wear on the move,
quickly adjusts over
layers, enough but not
too many pockets and
doodads.
Pants: For every day
light, weather resistant,
durable, exible and/or
stretchy for wide range
of motion, athletic t
with few pockets. For
protectionwaterproof/
breathable, resists wear
and scuffing, packs
small. For botht!

CLIMB

GEAR

APPAREL
GUIDE

Dress to Send
The best 18 products to stay warm and dry until next summer
BY JULIE ELLISON
PACK IT DOWN, WARM IT UP MIDLAYER

Brooks-Range
Azara Hoody
Although theyve only been making apparel for a few years, Brooks-Range hit it
out of the park with their rst attempt at
womens clothing in the Azara Hoody. Its
warm, packable, comfortable, and I had zero
t issuespretty much unheard of for a rst
run of womens clothes! one tester said who
rocked it while bouldering in Rocky Mountain
National Park in Colorado and on long mixed
climbs in the French Alps. The 20-denier
Pertex Quantum shell with DWR nish staved
off a consistent 30-minute drizzle, but after
the water eventually soaked through, our

tester was still warm and toasty, even when

just hanging out in between bouldering burns.
A cozy micro-eece on the chin and around
the face keeps it comfy next to skin, a helmetcompatible hood ts snugly over a brain
bucket, and zippered pockets (two hand, one
chest) keep small sundries safe and accessible.
Available in a non-hooded jacket for $50 less.
$250; brooks-range.com

BREATHABLE INSULATION

Patagonia
Nano Air
Imagine the cozy, contented
warmth you feel when you throw on
your favorite sweatshirt to cut the
chill of a late fall day. Thats how the
Nano Air felt through several days
of alpine climbing above Chamonix,
France, says our tester. Through a
dozen pitches of mixed terrain and
snow, I found this stretchy insulator warm enough for belaying and
breathable enough to dry sweat
while climbing. The result is a rare
experience: much less adjusting
layers and hence little removing and
digging in your pack. In other words,
increased efciency. The secrets: 60g
of synthetic insulation that Patagonia
dubs FullRange, sandwiched between
four-way stretch nylon thats more
permeable than any of Patagonias
softshells. The added stretch allows
the jacket to move with me. Bonus:
A DWR coating sheds precip (or a
cup of coffeeoops), and lowprole handwarmer pockets are positioned for access with a harness on.
$299 (hood), $249 (no hood);
patagonia.com

40 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

OLD SCHOOL
NEW
SCHOOL HYBRID

Mammut
Go-Far Jacket

Fjllrven
Keb
Pants

If youre looking for big warmth in a small package, look no further than the Go-Far Jacket. With
Polartec Thermal Pro throughout, this full-zip
midlayer packs a serious insulating punch, which
our testers compared to that of a midweight
down puffy, and it only takes up the size of a
small grapefruit in your pack, weighing in at just
under 11 ounces for the mens medium. Thumb
loops kept the sleeves in place whether wearing
it as a midlayer or an outer layer, and a very trim,
athletic t was excellent for wearing under a harness. The womens version, the Get-Away Jacket,
has an offset zipper that is positioned to the side
of your chin when zipped all the way up. Note:
Testers felt breathability was limited, making it
best for the chilliest days. $119; mammut.ch

Combine the durability of canvas with

the wearabiltity of your favorite softshell
pants and you get the Keb. Its like really
comfortable armor, said one tester. Large
swaths of G-1000, an organic cotton and
recycled polyester hybrid, fortify high-wear
zones on the thigh, lower leg, and seat. The
rest is a stretchy, breathable nylon softshell.
After four months of steady use, they barely
show signs of wear. If youre bushwhacking to
routes, developing new lines, or just looking
for a pair of pants that wont fall apart after
heavy abuse, these are the pants for you.
Downside? Heavy (17 oz.), and cold season
only. Despite four vents, they can feel clammy in temps above 60F. $200; fjallraven.us

WORLD-CLASS WARMTH-TOWEIGHT RATIO

DEEP-FREEZE MOUNTAINEERING

Marmot Misto Jacket

Seeking new summits
(and possible descents) in
the highest, harshest alpine
you can get to? Check
out the Misto, a shell that
combines two of Polartecs
most innovative materials: Alpha, a lightweight
and breathable synthetic
insulator, and NeoShell, a

waterproof membrane that

has proven to be among
the most breathable on the
market in our past tests. The
result? Rarely a moment of
discomfort while splitboarding to and from a remote ice
climbing objective in belowzero temps, says our tester.
While climbing, dripping

water caused no concern,

and our tester found he
could layer less underneath,
thanks to the added insulation. What you get in added
performance you pay for in
weightits a hefty 1 lb., 11
oz. and doesnt pack small.
But youll likely never take it
off. $375; marmot.com

ULTIMATE ICE CLIMBING ARMOR

A CLIMBER ESSENTIAL

BETTER THAN A SECOND SKIN

Arcteryx Alpha
Comp Hoody

Black Diamond
Deployment Hoody

Rab MeCo 140 Long

Sleeve Zip Tee

After a season of ice climbing in Colorados

Front Range and Rocky Mountain National
Park, as well as the Alps in France, our tester
declared the Alpha Comp the only jacket
youll ever need for ice or mixed climbing in all but the most severe cold. A fully
waterproof-breathable jacket can cause you
to overheat while battling the pump on a
long pitch of ice, which becomes quite a
bummer (if not a dangerous hypothermia
risk) when youre drenched and its your
turn to belay. Arcteryx married three-layer
Gore-Tex and a stretchy, breathable nylonelastane blend in a composite construction
that protects shoulders, arms, and waist
from exterior moisture while allowing your
chest, underarms, and back to breath. This
softshell-type zone also provides some
wind protection. A helmet-compatible
hood, single pocket, and hem and cuff
adjustments round out the simple, effective
package. Bonus: The Alpha Comp Pants are
the best-fitting ice climbingoriented pants
Ive ever worn, says our tall and thin tester.
$375; arcteryx.com

Its easy to obsess about performance characteristics and the merits and metrics of various materials and membranes when building
your climbing-apparel arsenal. Cold-weather
or high-altitude climbing demands scrutinizing functionality. But for everyday
cragging, what our editors and testers find
themselves wearing the most are the simple
pieces that just plain feel good, the ones
that cross over from the gym or crag to
the office and town, like this merino/nylon
hybrid. Its a classic zip-up hoody thats
been made crag-worthy with a super-durable nylon-weave exterior and warm merino
inside, said one tester, after days of chilly
rock climbing in Boulder Canyon, Colorado.
But dont go thinking the Deployment is just
another sweatshirt. Its a technical piece
hiding inside a casual jacket that I can wear
out to dinner or even to work and still look
good. The dense nylon exterior cut wind,
while the hood zipped up to near scuba
tightness to protect testers heads from the
chill. Gripes: a bit pricey and heavy (1 lb., 6
oz.). $199; blackdiamondequipment.com

Baselayers have a simple job to do (wick

sweat, dry quickly, lightly insulate), but nding
a great one is unfortunately somewhat difcult. The MeCo 140 steps up to the plate
with its eld-friendly combination of 65
percent merino and 35 percent polyester.
They really hit the mark with this one, said
a Colorado tester who took it from California to Utah to Chamonix. It feels light on
my skin, wicks sweat, and dries fast, with the
durability of polyester and the cozy feel and
anti-stink properties of merino. Although it
is designed as a baselayer to be worn next
to skin, our testers really loved it over a tank
top or T-shirt in semi-chilled fall weather,
functioning as a super-light midlayer. One
thing that really stood out on this piece
were the offset seams that are positioned so
they wouldnt be directly under a backpacks
shoulder straps. Plus, the atlock sewing
method means you wont feel irritation
even where your body does contact the
seams (e.g., sides of torso under harness). A
quarter-zip on the mens offers venting options, too. $100; rabusa.com

CLIMBING.COM

| 41

GEAR

APPAREL
GUIDE

NOT YOUR GRANDPAS LYCRA

Athleta Chaturanga Tight

One formerly resistant tester
became a full-on convert after a fourday trip to Joes Valley, Utah, with the
Chaturanga leggings. Theyre warm,
easy to wear all day, unbelievably
exible, and more than attering, she
said. Im completely sold. Plus, I slept
in them, wore them as a baselayer under other pants on another winter trip,

and basically never took them off!

From dozens of gym days to desert
sandstone to the granite of Bishop,
California, shes put these tights
through their paces. You dont have
to baby these, as Ive dragged my butt
down tons of boulders and theres
not a single pill or pull. Plus, you can
wash and dry them with everything

THE ONLY ROCK SHIRT

YOULL EVER NEED

REDESIGN INCREASES PERFORMANCE AND

VERSATILITY

Icebreaker
Departure Short
Sleeve Shirt

Outdoor Research
Lodestar

From crushing single-pitch trad climbs in

Boulder Canyon to the downtown bars, this
shirt didnt miss a beat. It provided just the right
amount of ventilation, keeping one tester cool on
an 80F day. When he did sweat during an even
hotter session, the 100 percent merino shirt pulled
sweat off him and wicked quickly, preventing
that swampy, gotta change my shirt real quick
situation. Ive worn it a half-dozen times without
washing it, with no plans to get it in the laundry
for at least another two weeks, one tester said.
A small chest pocket is great for lip balm and keys
on long routes, and the trim overall t means
it sits well under a harness but looks stylish for
work. The price is a little high, but our testers
agreed that this one shirt is all you need for a
full fall season of all-day climbs as well as all-day
meetings. $135; icebreaker.com

42 | SEPTEMBER 2014

The warmest softshell Ive ever hadand it

doesnt sacrice breathability during intense activity, one tester said after taking it on ice climbs
in Quebec and cold winter climbing days at the
Gunks in New York. Polartec Power Shield High Loft
combines a breathable nylon softshell outer with
deep-pile eece inside. The eece has a grid pattern
to facilitate ventilation throughout these areas in
the torso. Areas that need less insulation (arms and
shoulders) are lined with a thinner micro-eece that
provides warmth and even more breathability, while
pit zips give you the option for full ventilation in a
high-heat zone. Testers loved the high collar that
zipped up to the nose and kept out sideways wind
and snow, and another favorite weather-armor
feature was the bendable wire brim on the helmetcompatible hood. Ding: Although the shoulders and
arms had a DWR coating, testers found it wasnt
very water resistant and wetted out quickly in other
areas. $475; outdoorresearch.com

else, she said of the proprietary Pilayo

fabric that maintains durability with
nylon and stretch with Lycra. They
were warm enough for high 40s but
breathed enough for 65F and sunny.
And the body-hugging t through the
ankle means you dont have to roll
your pants or worry about tripping on
excess material. $64; athleta.com

UPDATED CLASSIC

Patagonia Fitz Roy

Down Parka
This 800-ll heat machine might look familiar.
Its closely modeled after Patagonias Encapsil
Down Jacket, a limited edition (only 1,000 were
made) 1,000-ll power, expedition-ready concept
jacket we reviewed in our 2013 Gear Guide. Now
some of that design and technology trickles down
into a parka for the masseswhether youre
belaying the next ice pitch or climbing Mount
Rainier. For the weight, its easily one of the
warmest and best-tting heavy-duty pufes Ive
ever worn, says our mountain guide tester of this
19-ounce parka. A DWR-coated nylon shell material (essentially impermeable on the shoulders,
hood, and arms) blocks wind and light moisture
while a fully bafed construction wraps your
torso in an incredibly lofty down. Smart features:
An extra-beefy bafe contours around your neck
to prevent drafts and spindrift when your hood is
down, and internally elasticized cuffs are easy to
slide over gloves or up and out of the way. $449;
patagonia.com

BOMBER SHELL THAT WILL

LAST A LIFETIME

BEST IN CLASS GETS ANOTHER UPGRADE

PERFECT-FIT WOMENS PANT

Rab Strata Flex

Stio Dulcet Pant

Last year the Rab Strata was one of our favorite

and best-performing midweight synthetic pufes,
thanks to the never-take-it-off versatility and
breathability of Polartecs Alpha insulation. This
year, its even better, thanks to the addition of
Polartec Power Stretch panels for even more ventilation and exibility. Its great for anyone who
runs hot when they work hard, one tester said.
That increased airow on the sides and underneath the arms is crucial to staying comfortable.
Testers loved the thumb loops, which kept sleeves
in place whether they were pulling it on over a
eece midlayer or pulling a hard shell over top. A
few shoulder-season trips to Vedauwoo and its infamous shredder Sherman granite were no match
thanks to the surprisingly burly 20-denier Pertex
Microlight. High hand pockets help you access the
goods inside. $180; rabusa.com

You wont nd another ladies pant that has the

versatility, ideal climbing t, and durability of the
Dulcet, one obsessed tester proclaimed. In fact,
Ill bet you $100! Credit a body-hugging design, low
rise, and taper in the leg. They feel like everyday
pants, but theyre stretchy and durable. The woven
softshell is 90 percent nylon and 10 percent Spandex with a DWR coating and four-way stretch, and
testers found they were exible enough for the
gymnastic moves of bouldering and crack climbing
alike. After six months of testing, they withstood
more than a dozen pitches of sandstone and granite
offwidths and chimneys, as well as more than a few
crampon kicks. Genius addition: The narrow leg
gives them a skinny jeans look (and you wont need
to cuff them), but a long vertical zipper at the hem
expands for big mountain boots or even ski boots.
$150; stio.com

Ill never need another fully waterproof shell,

said one tester after thriving in this burly jacket
for a full six-month season of ice climbing in
Rocky Mountain National Park. It stood up to
miles of snaggy-tree approaches and dozens
of ice pitches with countless dings and run-ins
with ice tool picks and ice screw tips. I couldnt
puncture this thing if I tried, which I did! The
slim design and lengthened sleeves and torso are
ideal for wearing under a harness while climbing
because they never once pulled up and out. A
steep price might make you skip past the Timber,
but considering you could easily get ve years
(or more) out of this beefy, well-built shell, we
think its more than worth a second look. $675;
canada-goose.com

STYLISH, SIMPLE SUN PROTECTION

SUPER-SMART BELAY PUFFY

WIND-STOPPING, PILL-FREE MIDLAYER

Canada Goose
Timber Shell

Howler Brothers
Adidas Terrex
Loggerhead Longsleeve Climaheat Ice Jacket

Millet Technostretch
Jacket

The laid-back, sun-resisting Loggerhead shirt is

the perfect sending top for crisp fall days (think
Indian Creek in November). It was light enough
to wear as a sun-protection layer [it has a UPF 45
rating], but also ideal on cooler days as a longsleeve top that kept the chill off. Well-designed
details round out the package, with thumb loops,
a stash pocket on the lower back with microber for cleaning shades, and a collar that was
close to the neck to prevent awkward sunburn
on the upper chest. $65; howlerbros.com

It holds up well to the abuses of climbing, ts

well under a harness, moves with me, blocks wind,
and retains heat without making me sweat, said
one tester after climbing in the Sierra of California
and the desert of Utah. Plus, it covers my wrists
when Im climbing, despite a +2 ape index. Testers
also loved the fabric, saying it blocked wind better than most others in our test and withstood
arm-barring and offwidthing in the Needles of
California without a single pill. Tip: Size up. $200;
milletusa.com

Love at rst wear is how both our testers described this ultra-puffy jacket that blends waterresistant down and synthetic insulation. A stretch
panel in the upper back increases exibility
tenfold, and a moisture managing lining prevents
clammy-ness. The lengthened torso warms your
booty, and offset interior bafing creates additional air channels against your body to trap
more heat. Fave feature: Stretchy interior sleeves
kept heat from escaping. This is the new gold
standard for belay pufes. $350; adidas.com

CLIMBING.COM

| 43

www.metoliusclimbing.com

Bill Morse suits up for a larger than life burn on California 5.12, a steep and thuggy 12c at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada Photo: Ben Moon

THE

BEGIN HERE

CLIMB

CLINICS

PINCH POINTS
By Julie Ellison

g. 2
360 of access to thread or tie a sling,
as an anchor to save time and keep
everyone safe and happy.

ONE

SUPERCORN (TOP); BEN FULLERTON

LEARN THIS SUPER-QUICK

ANCHOR SETUP FOR BELAYING SHORT SECTIONS ON
ALPINE ROUTES
Youre cruising a broken and blocky
ridgeline that leads to the summit when all of a sudden a 20-foot
technical section stops you in your
tracks. Your partner doesnt skip a
beat and starts to head up, but youre
intimidated by those six or seven
moves because theyre surrounded
by a 1,000-foot drop on either side.
Though youve got gear and a harness
in your pack, time is of the essence.
Thankfully, theres a fast and efficient
way for the leader to use the broken
nature of the rock to build a simple
anchor and belay a followerwith
minimal gear and no harness. Use a
pinch point, the area of contact between two large rocks that provides

When you come upon the technical section, stop and take out your
rope. You wont need the entire
length; just uncoil enough for each
person (this works for parties of
two or more) to tie in (about six feet
per person should be plenty), plus
enough distance for the leader to
climb the section and get to a good
spot for an anchor. Keep the rest in
a mountaineers coil that the last follower will carry as he climbs.

TWO
The leader should fold the rope
where hes tying in so it creates a
bight thats about three feet long,
and tie an overhand knot here.
Place that knot in front of your
belly button, and wrap the rest of
the bight around your midsection.
Run the end of the loop through the
existing overhand, and use the tail
to tie another overhand around the
other strands, snugging this knot
up to the rst one (g. 1). It should

be snug but not restricting. Keep

in mind that the leader will have to
climb this section unprotected. If he
is unsure or sketched out in any way,
take the time to put on harnesses.
The leader can then carry gear and
be belayed normally with a device.

the biner. Your follower is now on

belay (g. 2)! Once he reaches you,
set other followers up the same. For
another quick belay method check
out climbing.com/skill/how-tohip-belay.

THREE

Note: This method should only be

used for short, low-angled, and
relatively easy sections (read: 20 to
25 feet max) where a fall is unlikely,
but one climber prefers to be belayed.
Its also an excellent option for protecting a short technical section on
the downclimb.

Once the leader passes the most

difficult section, he should locate
a solid pinch point. A good pinch
point means the rocks are fully
contacting each other, so theres no
chance that the sling or webbing
could slip through. Plus, none of the
rocks should shift or move from the
force of a fall. At this point, the follower, who is standing down below,
can tie into the rope using the same
method of two overhands on a bight.

g. 1

FOUR
Girth-hitch a wide sling around the
pinch point, or use thicker webbing
and tie a water knot (climbing.com/
video/how-to-water-knot). Clip a
locking biner onto the webbing, pull
up all the slack in the rope (there
should only be a small amount), and
tie a Munter onto the biner. Lock

CLIMBING.COM

| 45

CLINICS

IN SESSION

NEVER PLATEAU AGAIN

By Neely Quinn

BREAK THROUGH PERFORMANCE BARRIERS WITH TIPS FROM THE PROS

Climbing is addictive. One reason is that you can see massive strength gains and technique improvement from day one of your climbing career. But after a few monthsor for the extremely lucky, a few yearsa plateau can sneak up on you, slow your progress, and
frustrate you beyond belief. During my own personal three-year-long plateau, I heard every kind of advice from doing more pull-ups
to climbing every day despite the pain to even going vegetarian (not gonna happen). On a quest to nd the one true way, I started to
interview top climbers to see how they handled these annoying performance atlinesboth mentally and physicallyand the answers
I found were as diverse and interesting as the climbers themselves.

FOCUS ON:
NUTRITION AND
HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT
Weight has always been a tricky topic for climbers. There was a time when
starving yourself seemed the norm, and strong climbers sacriced much-needed muscle mass to be as light as possible. Today, its common knowledge that
eating too little is not only counterproductive to becoming a better climber, but
its also detrimental to your overall health. To gure out if youre at a healthy
weight, or over or underweight, gure out your body mass index (BMI) with
bmi-calculator.net. This can give you a good idea of how much fat you can
stand to loseif any. Remember that the BMI system does have its aws;
sometimes the super-t and muscular folks can score overweight. The ultimate
judge of your weight and food intake lies in your climbing performance and
how you feel on a daily basis.
The next step is to gure out how much you should be eating. Try mytnesspal.com, a free online diet tracking tool that uses your weight, height,
gender, and activity level. Using those estimated calorie needs as a guideline,
track your diet on the site to see
how much you should eat every day.
Just a few days of tracking can give
great insight into how much food
youre eating, and how much of it is
unnecessary. This will help you strike
the ne balance between eating too
little to stay light and eating enough
to stay strong and energized.
So, what to eat? Whole foods
like lean meats, vegetables, fruit, and
whole grains are crucial to maintaining a healthy weight. One trick
from 5.14 climber and trainer Mike
Anderson is to eat a ton of low-density foods like vegetables. He eats an
enormous salad with veggies, meat,
Angie Payne: I went through a
and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil)
light phase. I was climbing way
at least once a day; it provides plenty
too much, and not eating enough.
of nutrients and keeps him full for
I knew I was losing weight, but
hours, thanks to the ber, protein,
I didnt know I was losing that
fat, and bulk it provides. Fat loss
much. It was a pretty vicious cycle.
can be accelerated by cutting back
It wasnt really sustainable, and I
on carbs. Every climber needs carb
didnt have very much energy at all.
energy, but we dont need as much as
It feels good to feel light, and when
what a common American diet delivyoure pretty small you feel that
ers (bagel for breakfast, sandwich at
more often. But after a while, I reallunch, pasta for dinner, etc). This will
ized that the feeling of being strong
result in storing less of those unused
is a lot cooler than feeling light, and
calories as fat.
theyre very different.

46 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

STRENGTH TRAINING
Most climbers hate to spend training time off of the wall, but adding one or
two specic exercises, including hangboard workouts, after your climbing
session can produce major results. If youre short, wide-grip lat pull-downs at
maximum weight can give you extra reach and improve lockoff strength. Find
a lat pull-down machine (most gyms have them), and widen your grip as far
as possiblewider than your shoulders. Experiment with weight until youre
failing on your third rep. Then do
three to ve sets of two reps (failing
on your third) at that weight with
ve minutes of rest between sets. Do
these after a climbing session or on
an off-climbing day; dont do them
before your session because youll be
tired on the wall and wont maximize
your climbing time. Start with three
times a week, moving up in weight
as you get stronger. You can do more
sessions in a week, but if you nd
yourself too tired to climb hard during your session, scale back to three.
Trainer and author Steve Bechtel
is a huge proponent of weightliftCarlo Traversi: I doubled the numing, hangboarding, and campusing
ber of V13s I had climbed and did a
as specific training for rock climbfew V14s when I incorporated maxing. He says, I am becoming more
weight, wide-grip lat pull-downs
and more convinced that if you
into my training regimen four to ve
simply develop a base strength,
times a week. My personal record
everything else falls into place.
was 260 pounds, which was almost
Thinking about incorporating
twice my weight. As a short climber,
running into your training? Think
I often need to be able to lockoff
again. Bechtel thinks its a waste
incredibly wide, and lat pull-downs
of time for climbers. Instead, focus
were my solution.
on the obvious: climbing, hangboarding, campusing, weighted
pull-upsand the not-so-obvious: squats and walking lunges. Try lunges
or squats twice a week to strengthen your legs and core. These will
improve your overall performance, but theyll especially give you more
strength and power for dynos where the initial push comes from your
lower half. Multiple professional climbers have touted the hangboard as
their catalyst for bumping up grades. As you move up in grades, holds get
smaller, slopier, and generally crappier, and finger-strength training will
make these holds feel easier to use and hang from. Think of it this way:
If you can reach a hold to touch it, you will be able to grab it, and if you
can grab it, you can hold on. See climbing.com/skill/digit-dialing-2 for
some workout ideas.

WEAKNESSES

BREATHING

Its easy to have fun by focusing on what youre good at; its much more difficult
to face the fact that youre not good at certain things, and then go out and turn
them into strengths. Below are some common issues I found among the pros
when it came to weaknesses.

The simple act of concentrated and

thoughtful breathing can make
everything feel easier. When you
reach a difficult section on a climb,
your breathing becomes shallow
and rapid, which will decrease your
bodys overall efficiency and can even
make it hard to think straight. Start
taking slow, even, and deep breaths
before you leave the ground, and
continue to force these breaths as
you climb. Make them loud if it helps
you concentrate on it. Practice will
help you nd the balance between
breathing too rapidly and too slowly.
Smooth, calm breathing is a simple
solution for better performance.

Bad Footholds. Seek out the worst possible footholds in the gym and
practice using them in a variety of ways, moving in all directions. Do the same
outside and nd problems that are known for glassy, microscopic, terrible feet.
Small Hands, Big Holds. Women tend to be good at crimping the tiniest
nubs, but when it comes to large slopers and pinches, the ladies more often
struggle. The only way to become procient with these sizeable holds is by
using them. Shannon Forsman is a short but very strong V12 boulderer and
climbing coach. She encourages women to at least try difficult climbs that
arent just crimps: All Im asking is for you to try something out of your comfort zone, whether it involves slopers, pinches, or evengaspa jump move.
Just try! It might be difficult and embarrassing to project a couple of V-grades
lower than youre used to, but over time youll come out a much stronger
climber. She says nger strength isnt the only factor for open-handed holds;
success can depend on how well you use the rest of your body. Slopers require
patience, balance, core tension, and very subtle movement; every limb must be
engaged. You dont just grab slopers, you use the rest of your body to position
yourself in a way that makes them useable. A general rule of thumb is to stay as
far below slopers as possible so that you are pulling down rather than out.

Jonathan Siegrist: I could run lap

after lap on sport routes just below
my max ability, but power always
eluded me. My training volume
has gone down, but my training
intensity has gone up. I do limit
bouldering, so short, hard problems
[that have one or two crux moves at
your limit], and campusing, which
is really important. I do one to three
campus board sessions per week
that last two hours each.

Power. No matter how many laps you can run on techy moderates, you will inevitably plateau at a more difficult grade if
you dont have power. Try circuits on hard boulder problems instead of just climbing around randomly. The campus board
and systems board are also especially useful. Consider adding a few sets of simple box jumps (repeatedly jump on an 18 to
24 sturdy box) after climbing sessions. It will give you the explosive leg power and muscle memory you need for big moves.

FAILURE AND REDPOINTING

When climbing at a world-class level, professionals are constantly faced with failure. Each pro climber has had to develop
his or her own positive attitude, along with mental coping mechanisms. Studies that focus on the psychological aspect of
sports show that the best athletes are those who can successfully lie to themselves, meaning they can internally say, Yeah,
I can do that. Doesnt matter that I sucked just nowI can totally do this. No problem. Even if something is beyond your
current ability or strength level, its best to approach it with blind optimism and condence (within reason, of course). Carlo
Traversi has a refreshingly positive and simple outlook, saying, There are so many failures in climbing. I try not to dwell on
them. I climb because its fun.

SKIP STERLING (7)

All of these pros have spent monthssometimes yearson particular projects. This means returning to the same crag over
and over with an upbeat attitude and a desire to go back for more. With any luck on a project, youll be falling off higher
and higher up, but if you arent, the Anderson brothers (authors of The Rock Climbers Training Manual) say you should
get back in the gym and do a strength- and power-focused training cycle to get stronger. They say sometimes its best to
step away from the rock, even if it means not getting the send that season. Whitney Boland, a 5.14 climber, says she gets
anxious or scared before certain moves, especially big, dynamic ones since shes short (5 ). She recommends just going
for it as a way to push through. She says, When you get to a move like that, decide you want to stick it and go for it. More
often than not, youll surprise yourself. Even if you dont hit the move and take a fall, you can feel proud of the fact that you
really went for it, and then you can work on adjusting for the next attempt.
Emily Harrington: After a few
months in the big mountains, I
returned to sport climbing, and
it was demoralizing to start all
over. My secret was nishing
every day by giving it everything
I had, even when it bruised my
ego. I would fall on climbs that
were warm-ups. I reminded
myself why I do this sport and
what makes me love it so much.
All you have to do is put in the
time and effort. In the end, its
all about wanting it.

Heather Weidner: It takes

tremendous will to persevere
through repeated failure. The
best advice I can offer is dont give
up. Be headstrong. My hardest
routes have taken me months of
consistent work, and it is often
painstaking to put in another
burn that ends in failure. To get
through the frustration, it helps
me to focus on the small victories
instead of the end result. I celebrate getting a new high point or
guring out more efficient beta.

Paige Claassen: I leave the ground

with one big breath and then
maintain a steady pattern of deep,
consistent breaths throughout my
climb. It provides more oxygen to
your muscles to ward off pump. I
think about making my breathing
audible and rhythmic. If I can hear
it, I will focus on keeping it even and
deep. All I can hear is my breath,
and it has become a comfort as I
climb, distracting me from fear and
doubt. Plus, I immediately notice if I
stop breathing.

NEELY QUINN
Neely Quinn is a paleo nutritionist
and climber who works online from
the road. She and her husband, Seth
Lytton, created trainingbeta.com
for mortal rock climbers who want
useful training advice and programs
that are easy to follow.

CLIMBING.COM

| 47

CLINICS

HEALTH

EFFICIENT REST DAYS

By Dr. Lisa Erikson, DC

IMPROVE MUSCLE RECOVERY TIMES BY CREATING AN ERGONOMIC WORK SPACE

As much as our social media streams may suggest otherwise, most climbers are real people with real jobs, spending a fair share of time
deskbound. But fear not, weekend warriors, all that time in front of a computer screen doesnt have to go to waste: With the proper
approach, working at a desk can become a highly effective form of recovery. No joke. Most of our physical gains occur during the rest
phase. Muscular micro-tears, swelling, scrapes, and bruises heal quickly with the right nutrients, rest, and support. We are getting
work done and paying the bills, and all the while our bodies are restructuring piece by piece. Here are a few tips on how to turn your
desk into a rest oasis; theyre small changes, but add it up over several years and youll see a huge difference in the health of your body.

Repairing tight forearm muscles requires adequate blood ow that brings oxygen and the ability to rebuild small tears created during intense work like climbing. Unfortunately both your desk and your laptop can inhibit that, and they can create
more stress on overworked arms. Laying your wrist exors on any angled surface can produce friction, resulting in more
knots and injury. Check your laptop; check your desk.
Fix it: Luckily, theres a simple modication: inexpensive pipe foam from the hardware store. Just cut it to t and tape it
over the edge. More expensive options are edge protectors by Human Solution ($45, thehumansolution.com) or the Imak
Laptop Cushion ($16, amazon.com). A minimalist x is to simply le or sand sharp edges down (if you own the laptop or
desk, of course!), but your best rest will come when your forearm is in contact with a padded surface.

MOUSE
As you can easily push that
mouse a few miles in a year,
you need an intervention. The
type of mouse you have is less
important than how you use it.
Positioning is everything. Dont
let the mouse sit as far from you
as it can; pull it in close by your
side and make friends with it.
Same goes for your keyboard.
Dont make your body work
harder than it has to.
Fix it: An easy solution for a huge issue, pulling your elbows toward your midline will rest the shoulder girdle stabilizers,
neck, and rotator cuff in that neutral position. It can eliminate those aches and pains in the neck and upper back, which are
common in desk workers, and it will protect your shoulders, which are prone to injury for climbers.
Lets talk about friction. Repetitively rubbing the same spot on your hand or wrist on the surface of your mouse or desk
could limit the ability of your bodys soft tissue to heal. Pain in any specic location that contacts the mouse is a sign that
you might be putting too much pressure on that region. This aggravates pre-existing injuries and creates new ones.
Fix it: Easy modications include stick-on silicone gel padding from the shoe aisle or self-care section of your local drug
store, or you can swap to a different mouse altogether (see below). If your wrist is bothering you, try a pad that has a special
gel-lled section for your wrist. Just as none of us climb the same, none of us mouse the same. Streamlining your uses will
decrease your abuses.
Repetitively ring that clicker fatigues your already-tight exor muscles and rubs on your pulley tendons with every
click. An ergonomic mouse is excellent for keeping your arm and hand in a healthy position, which will allow your climbing
overuse injuries to heal quickly and efficiently. As the most commonly injured ngers in climbing are the middle and ring
ngers, protecting them is a no-brainer.
Fix it: If you suffer from wrist, forearm, or nger fatigue, consider a mouse that puts your hand in the thumb-up position. Thumb mouses are great because they allow your arm to rest in a neutral position on the outer edge of your forearm,
instead of using muscle power to force it at. If you stick with a standard mouse, try swapping your mouse hand every few
days to avoid repetitive injuries. It will take a while to get your non-dominant hand used to being in control, but youll netune your motor skills and hand-eye coordination in the process.

DR. LISA ERIKSON, DC

Dr. Lisa Erikson, DC, is a climbing-focused sports chiropractor for USA Climbing and The North Face
Medical Tent Staff (lifesportchiro.com). A climber and triathlete, shes currently working on a book
about climbing injuries and prevention.

48 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

JUST ASK
Many offices offer an ergonomic assessment to help you avoid overuse
injuries in the workplace. Ask your
office manager to look into purchasing ergonomic tools so you can be
comfortable and stay injury-free
while working at your desk. The
cost to the company can come back
tenfold in productivity, worker
satisfaction, and a better overall
atmosphere in the office. A happy
worker is a hard worker.

STANDING
The shift from sitting to standing is
the latest trend in workplace ergonomics. There are now standing desks
and even treadmill desks. Standing
up means your body is moving constantly, shifting from side to side, and
these many small motions lubricate
the joints and allow your muscles to
receive increased nutrition, oxygen,
and blood ow. Sitting is actually
excellent for resting your body, but its
crucial to get up every 30 minutes to
talk a walk, stretch, and move your
whole body.
Fix it: To affordably modify your
current desk into a standing desk, you
dont need to spend all of your cash.
With a little bit of creative ingenuity and some books, boxes, and/
or stands, you can have the perfect
standing desk. Try ling cabinets under your existing desk or using a wall
shelving unit with various heights.
The perfect height will have the desks
surface just below your elbow, so
when the forearm is resting on the
desk, your elbow is at about 90. (See
above-right for the correct position of
the monitor.) Keep in mind that if you
just have a laptop, you will denitely
need a separate keyboard or monitor
for a standing desk to be helpful.

BEN FULLERTON (2)

DESK EDGES

20-30
10

Stretches to
Undo Your Day
Being limber and loose allows your muscles their best chance of
healing, and stretching can decrease your risk of injury by leaps and
bounds. Here are a few stretches to incorporate into your day to
further aid in recovery:

NECK PNF
STRETCHES

MONITOR
Close is good. Too far away and your eyes will fatigue and your neck will strain. Too high or
too low and your neck and eyes will be locked into an awkward position that forces them
to work harder than they should. The goal is to cut down on eye fatigue and relax the neck
as much as possible. Imagine looking down all day at work and then up all night while
belaying and climbing; it is hard for the body to cope with such extreme opposites. Same
goes for looking up all day and then continuing at night; being locked in this position will
give you belayers neck twice as fast.
Fix it: The monitor should sit 20 to 30 inches from your face. The point on the screen
that you look at the most should sit about 10 degrees below where your gaze falls when
looking straight ahead. When the monitor is positioned correctly, angle the screen slightly
by tilting the top back 10 to 20.
Unfortunately, laptops pretty much set users up for injury. Theyre not meant to be ergonomic, just lightweight and compact. Most faces and necks become positioned too low,
bent over and peering down at the screen. If you raise the laptop to protect these regions,
your hands are up in the air, wrecking your shoulders.
Fix it: When working at a desk, put your laptop on a stand and get an external keyboard.
Worth its weight in gold, it unloads your neck and keeps you in an ergonomic position.
If you are using a monitor at work and have the same problem, put it on a wall-mounted
arm, or put phonebooks under it so you can have it as close to eye height as possible.

CHAIR

BEN FULLERTON (5)

KEYBOARD
Traditional straight keyboards force us to
engage muscles to keep palms at. This
prevents full rest, fatigues the muscles, and
puts them in an unnatural and injury-causing position. The supinator muscle goes
into overdrive in this orientation, and that
inner elbow attachment point is a common
painful spot for climbers.
Fix it: A curved keyboard is the answer.
With the same concept as the thumb-up
mouse, it allows hands and forearms to
naturally rotate with palms facing inward
toward each other. Finding a keyboard
that ts this arc allows us to rest, and this
increased rest allows us to conquer sidepulls, crimps, and underclings better as our
elbow stabilizers are fresh and spry.

Sitting up straight at work is hard enough,

even after just a few hours, and it can
be even harder for climbers who already
have problems with over-developed back
muscles that lead to a hunchback posture.
Whenever you slump over, youre putting
your spine in an unhealthy position, which
can lead to aches and pains beyond normal
muscle soreness from climbing. While this
might seem counter-intuitive, this slouching position also activates and engages the
muscles surrounding your spine, preventing quality rest.
Fix it: An inatable pillow is a fantastic
trick to help you sit in the upright position
in almost any chair. It places the weight of
your body over your bony vertebrae, which
allows the body to balance intuitively. To
use the pillow correctly, make sure your
chair is upright and in a locked position, at
a height that keeps your elbows resting at
90. Feet should be at on the oor. Place
the pillow against your lower back so it
straightens your spine and puts your head
directly between your shoulders. The closest we can come to neutral posture while
sitting, even with props, the happier our
body will be.

PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular

facilitation) stretching is 40 percent
more effective than static stretching.
Sitting on your left hand, use your
right hand to pull your head to the
side. Stretch your neck gently, focusing on what feels the tightest or the
sorest. Then slowly and carefully resist the pressure and push your head
against your hand. Relax and begin
the stretch again. Repeat four times
per side focusing on what needs it.
Moving the chin to either side will
bring the stretch to a new region
that also might need attention.

DOORWAY FAN LUNGE STRETCH

Stand in the doorway with arms up and hands against the frame
to stretch your chest muscles, and then step into a lunge position,
stretching the opposite hip and shoulder at the same time. Lower into
and out of the lunge, starting with your hands and elbows as high as
they go while maintaining a lunge. Repeat the lunge and lower the
elbows and hands by an inch each time. Push on the doorway to help
you stand up (another PNF-type stretch) and to come back down into
the stretch and lunge. Do it on both sides, with a ve-second stretch
and a two-second push against the doorway when transitioning. Do
six to 10 different hand positions on the doorway. Go through again
and spend 15 to 30 seconds stretching out the tightest areas.

SUPINE HIP AND CHEST OPENER

A great way to stretch your groin and chest at the end of your day. Begin on your back and put a yoga block directly between your shoulder
blades. Put the soles of your feet together and allow knees to drift out
to the sides. If your neck or knees need assistance, put a pillow underneath. Let your head drift back, arms open wide, feeling a stretch
through your chest and inner thighs. Stretch three to ve minutes.

CLIMBING.COM

| 49

Photography: John Glassberg

The Womens
Essential Tank
Check out the Marmot
Momentum Collection at
marmot.com/momentum

Athlete: Paige Claassen

Location: Ultimate Power, 5.12d Waterval Boven, South Africa

marmot.com

THE

CLIMBER WISDOM

CLIMB

VOICES

Im seeing those odd-looking belay glasses

more and more. Are they worth the money?
Aly N., Seattle, WA
Youre asking if you should pay $90 to avoid bending
your neck a little? Actually, its a good question, and
the answer is yes. And no. After extensive market research,
I have come to the conclusion that these prism specs are
worth it in the following situations: 1.) Single-pitch hangdog sessions where your partner works out moves and
takes forever. 2.) Reading things on your ceiling. 3.) You
have an injured neck or chronic neck pain. 4.) Excessive
wallet thickness. 5.) You are sponsored or got a pro deal.
Most belay glass practitioners say that they become second nature to use and do not interfere with proper belaying techniques like soft-catch timing. The fact remains,
however, that if you wear them in public, you will be the
subject of ridicule by those who do not possess a pair. After
all, thats what I do. But Im just jealous, since it appears
that they actually work. You just have to gauge how much
your neck comfort is worth, in both dollars and pride.

Whats the nal word on crag pooping?

Catherine C., Taos, NM

Ask Answer Man

He knows climbing. And he knows it.

BRETT AFFRUNTI

Im fairly new to climbing, and my buddies are all focusing on

bouldering. Id rather rope up, but Im having trouble nding a good
partner. Suggestions?
Patrick R., Boston, MA
This aint no last call for alcohol, Hail Mary, lets-you-and-me-catch-a-caband-split kinda thing, because instead of possibly ending up with an itchy
bathing suit area, you could end up dead. Word?
Since youre fairly new Im going to assume you want a little instruction in the
ne art of Not Killing Yourself. NKY is best taught, obviously, by someone who has
been climbing considerably longer than you, who understands the techniques, and is
a patient teacher. Every great climber has had a mentor who showed them the ropes.
Unfortunately, that person, while not impossible to nd, seems to be a slowly dying
breed. You can lurk about your local crag with ear-to-ear psych and offer belays in
exchange for time and knowledge and eventually nd a wing to get taken under, or
try a forum/partner-nder feature like Mountain Project has. But, I bet your gym offers a class in which you can learn proper rope management alongside a group of your
climbing peers who may also serve as potentialDING-DING-DINGclimbing
partners! Take a class, learn best practices, and nd yourself a good partner. Pretty
easy, right? If thats not your bag, you can explore the charm route, but as you can tell,
I have basically no intel on that method.

AND OTHER
TOPICS...

I typically take the Browns to the Super Bowl prior

to leaving the house or camp for a day of climbing.
Hey, you asked. But since I understand not everyone has
my Swiss-like bowel reliability (seriously, you could set the
atomic clock to it), Ive recruited Jason Grubb, the Education Programs Coordinator from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, to tell us about whats most proper
at high-traffic crags.
Who wants to have their afternoon ruined by encountering a big turd? And Im not talking about that gelatinous gumby ailing on your warm-up, Grubb says. Factors such as soil composition, aridity, visitor-use levels,
proximity to water, wildlife considerations, and others all
determine how quickly waste decomposes, the likelihood
of water contamination, and the potential of other climbers seeing or smelling it. Safest bet is to contact the land
manager for localized advice or pack it out using an EPAapproved pack-out system like the Biffy Bag or Restop 2.
With proper planning, there should never be an instance
in which you cant drop a deuce crag-side. Packing it out is
clearly gross but also clearly for the greater good. Take one
for the team and gure out a Plan B, too. When my clocks
off, I either put together a makeshift pack-out system or
dig a cathole. Go to lnt.org for more info. And no more fecal questions or your subscription gets revoked.

Got a burning question about climber etiquette, customs,

or values? Email answerman@climbing.com.

Can I y with my rack? No, cams dont provide optimal lift. // What dogbone is best for grabbing? The one not in your dogs mouth. Or any dogs
mouth for that matter. // Should I buy some brassies? Are you climbing thin crackies? // Will Lycra ever come back in style? For you? Denitely.

CLIMBING.COM

| 51

VOICES

THE WRIGHT STUFF

Cedar Wright pedals hard to catch up to
Alex Honnold on Sufferfest 2, a Southwest
bike tour during which they summited more
than 45 desert towers.

Climbers And
Climate Change
BY CEDAR WRIGHT

Im a little jaded, so I had to laugh at the futility of trying to save the

world through social media. To me, thats like slapping a Free Tibet
bumper sticker on your car. What does that really accomplish aside
from distracting us from doing anything of real meaning?

52 | SEPTEMBER 2014

But one of the most informed and serious guys I know, Alex Honnold,
jumped onto the hashtag bandwagon with his own series of posts, so I
had to ask him why and what good he thought itd do.
I got approached by someone working on climate policy for the
Obama Administration, he said. Just getting an email from a .gov
address is a pretty exciting thing. For me, the idea of trying to be a
part of something slightly bigger than climbing is very appealing, and
even if the current EPA regulations arent quite perfect, it still gets
the conversation started. Im personally very excited about the growth
of clean energy projects in the U.S., and this is one way to get more

Trying to save the world through

social media is like slapping a
Free Tibet sticker on your car.

SAMUEL CROSSLEY

Recently, the White House (seriously, the

White House, the one on Pennsylvania Avenue)
reached out to a bunch of climbers to help raise
awareness of climate change through the social
media hashtag #ActOnClimate. In the words of the Environmental Protection Agency, Climate change is a serious
threat to the health and welfare of American families. They
want to encourage people to take common-sense action
to reduce carbon pollution and promote a cleaner energy
economy. The outreach was timed with Obamas move to
cut carbon pollution from power plants by 30 percent from
2005 levels.

people thinking about it. I was psyched to help.

My inconvenient truth, if you will, is that I am one of the worst
sinners when it comes to my impact on the warming of our climate.
Would that make me a hypocrite to follow Honnolds lead? Even with
CO2 levels at an all-time high, I continue my selsh pursuit of the
climbing life, come hell or high water, driving and ying around the
world in perpetual motion, in a zealous search for climbing and adventure. Like any climber, I love this planet as a playground, but what
am I really doing to keep it healthy?

Were all part of the problem, myself

included, with the amount of travel that
I do. Were always faced with tough
choices, but making decisions from a
place of awareness is the rst step.
Then, I saw photographer and pro climber Jimmy Chins #Act
OnClimate post where he stated, Spending time in the glaciated
landscapes of the Himalaya is a constant reminder of the impacts of
climate change and the alarming loss of glaciers worldwide. Climate
change is a tricky topic. Were all part of the problem, myself included,
with the amount of travel that I do. Were always faced with tough
choices, but making decisions from a place of awareness is the rst
step toward moving the needle.
Jimmy is right: Letting our imperfections get in the way of creating dialogue is worse than sitting back and saying nothing at all. So, I
gave in to the trend. Why not engage and spread a message I believe
in to the 40k+ folks who follow me and usually only get snapshots of
my dog and climbing photos with wiseass remarks? So, I posted my
own #ActOnClimate post, writing, Im hopeful that we can reverse
climate change and global weirding. Im a huge fan of progressive
technology, like solar and wind power, LED lighting, energy-smart
appliances, water-sense faucets, and on and on. There is no magic
bullet, but if on a global scale we started to #ActOnClimate in our own
personal lives, I believe the impact could be meaningful.
And I truly hope and believe that. But, again, making a difference
and doing something of real meaning takes more than emotion and
thought. As a commenter pointed out on my good friend Renan Ozturks feed, after a huge, emotional debate over whose fault climate
change was (and even whether it was real) erupted around his post:
Reading these comments, one general truth comes to mind: If you
want to change the world, start with yourself. Most of the people popping up on Renans feed seemed pretty willing to point the nger anywhere but themselves.
Clearly, we all contribute to the problem, perhaps few climbers
more than me! One of my biggest motivators for becoming more environmentally sound in practicenot just thoughthas been the many
conversations Ive had with Honnold on our adventures.
Its not fair to condemn yourself, other pro climbers, or anyone else
who travels a lot as a whole, Honnold once told me. Flying a lot has
a huge impact, sure. But that impact is quantiable to some extent.
So if you try to remove that much carbon in other ways, or support
projects that prevent carbon from ever being emitted, solar lets say,
then youve accomplished something.

In the last couple of years, Alex and I have done two long bike-tour
climbing adventures. Its a nice way to step back from fossil fuels instead of jumping on a plane. On our last Sufferfest, we bagged more
than 45 desert towers and ended our trip on the Navajo Nation where
we helped with a $40,000 solar project that was funded by our sponsors Goal Zero, Clif Bar, and The North Face, through a nonprot that
Alex has started to help put his money where his mouth is, and to use
his unique position to inuence public opinion. Hes a climber whos
doing something about the biggest problem of our time, and one that
directly affects climbers and the areas we play. We should all follow
his lead by taking some real steps. Its a work in progress, but heres
what Im doing to be less of a careless D-bag to Mother Earth:
1. Despite my imperfections, Im striving to create dialogue and hopefully get climbers (thats you!) to think about how they can personally
make a small difference.
2. Half because I care and half because Honnold wont stop nagging
me, I am installing solar panels on my townhouse. All my lights are
LED, and Im looking at other ways to make my homes energy blueprint as efficient as possible. This also hedges against rising energy
costs. More money for climbing in the future?
3. Because my hometown of Boulder is ber bike friendly, I ride instead of drive for nearby errands (and bar runs), which keeps me t
for my next rst ascent or Sufferfest.
4. I enthusiastically encourage dirtbagging. Drop out of the mainstream and just climb. Living in a tent or cave adds very little to the
Earths greenhouse gas woes, right? Plus, it deepens your appreciation
of the natural world.
5. Not showering much. I might just be lazy, but this old dirtbag habit
saves a ton of water and the energy it takes to heat it. Most of the West
is in a drought, so I encourage you to just hold off on showering until
later this winter.
6. Participating in events like the annual Yosemite Facelift. It might
not directly erase carbon impact, but building good karma cant hurt.
7. I use my gear for its full life, until its unsafe. The impact of manufacturing and trans-ocean shipping is enormous.
8. Ive moved to a largely vegetarian diet. The meat industry is a huge
greenhouse gas producer, and beef is far and away the worst, producing about four times the greenhouse gas of sh or poultry. Added bonus: Im lighter for sending my next project.
9. Im going to road-trip in my minivan until it explodes, hopefully
many years from now. The greenest car is the one you already own,
not that shiny new Sprinter or Prius.
10. Drinking beer. Im not exactly sure how this is helping, but its a
local brew, and it feels like the world gets better with each sip.

Cedar Wright is a professional climber and contributing editor for

Climbing. Youll smell him a few minutes before you see him.

CLIMBING.COM

| 53

VOICES

SEMI-RAD

Long,
Hard
Routes
BY BRENDAN LEONARD

I think every climber needs to summit something super, super phallic at least once, I said to
a friend on a raft trip last fall, for absolutely no
reason at all.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized Ive
really only climbed one desert tower and a couple other
things that are somewhat schlong-like, and they were
more sword-like than schlong-like, if Im being completely honest. Am I even, by my own definition, a real
climber if I havent climbed anything that looks like a,
well, you know? I should make plans to go up Castleton
Tower or at least Owl Rock soon, right?
54 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

Even if I dont particularly excel at any form of climbing, I understand and have at least minimal experience in most of all the disciplines: sport, trad, aid, bouldering, mountaineering, ice, mixed, and
plastic. But I havent made the effort to climb Ottos Route (an especially sexy ve-pitch 5.8 woody) at Colorado National Monument, or
anything else truly wang-like, which I suppose one could dene as any
formation way taller than its diameter. You know, like a cucumber, or,
say, a frankfurter, or a banana, or a mushroom, or an egg roll.
Are you too serious of a climber for dick jokes? Im clearly not. But, this
is not just about dick jokes (although possibly the best place in climbing
for them). Its about the experience of standing on a unique summit, a
sculpture high above an arid landscape, maybe the closest feeling many of

Alex Honnold
celebrates atop
Owl Spice.

SAMUEL CROSSLEY

us will have to climbing something because its there, as George Mallory

famously said.
You should ip through Steve Crusher Bartletts 2010 book, Desert
Towers: Fat Cat Summits and Kitty Litter Rock. I have for hours at a
time, and let me tell you, its an amazing and visually stunning volume
on the history of desert climbing, with a ton of beautiful photos of early
climbs on the Colorado Plateau, most of which are on towers. You cant
help but ask yourself, Why are desert towers so compelling?
Well, of course, theyre easily the best summits in the desert, not to
mention very distinct and picturesque. And there are enough of them to
build a road tripor a lifetimearound. Technical climbing is usually
the only way to the topquite often, bold technical climbing. So factor in
hefty doses of fun and fear to the mix, and you have quite an attraction.
But when Huntley Ingalls discovered Castleton Tower in the Utah
desert in 1956, did it strike him that it was a little, you know, wang-like?
Of course not. As he told this magazine in 2009, I was startled that
there could be such a thing. And that it was a beautiful tower. I immediately thought of what it would be like to climb it. And, of course, he
easily talked Layton Kor into putting up the rst ascent of Castleton,
among other towers, with him.
Well never know, but I like to think that at one point when they
were approaching Standing Rock, one of them had to mention to the
other that it looks a hell of a lot like a giant dildo. Hell, the SummitPost page about Standing Rock actually says, Towers dont get more
phallic than this.
Utah, as has been pointed out by plenty of people before me, is lled
with phallic rocks. Bryce Canyon is essentially a giant amphitheater brimming with glowing orange wieners (without a doubt one of the most awesome views in America). Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold completed an
amazing bicycle tour of more than 40 desert towers this past spring. Any
spring or fall weekend in Moab, youd be lucky not to see another party on
three of the areas classic tower climbs: the 5.8 West Crack on Owl Rock,
the 5.9 Kor-Ingalls on Castleton Tower, and the 5.10 Stolen Chimney on
Ancient Art. Although this last feature is considered a tower, its not exactly wang-like. Well, if your wang looks like Ancient Art Anyway, your
wang does not look like Ancient Art. But it may resemble Owl Rock.
Why are we drawn to these places? Is it the immature fascination
of nding what looks like a dong rising out of the desert? Or is it the
unique sensation of seeing the ground drop away on all sides while
youre thrust above the landscape on a formation that seems to defy
all explanation. For me its mostly the latter, but there will always be
a small part of me that triumphs over ascending the Earths erection.
Does anyone have a tick list full of wangser, towerstheyre hoping
to complete in a whirlwind tour in fall 2014? Would sponsorships await
this person? Five Ten? Petzl? Trojan? //

Brendan Leonard is a contributing editor for Climbing. His rst book,

The New American Road Trip Mixtape, is available at semi-rad.com.

56 | SEPTEMBER 2014

High above the water, Sarah Moore

goes full extension on The Whigg
(5.12a), Trappers Camp, Missouri.

Missouri

Loves
Company
A prodigal son returns to the banks of the Mighty
Mo to rediscover the best rock hes ever climbed.
By Jeremy Collins // Photography By Andrew Burr

Im 50 feet up, and theres a slight breeze

whispering across the oodplain.

Inhale.
Pine trees, limestone, humidity. Exhale. High step, layback, cam placement. Beneath me, shiny spring-loaded trinkets poke out of white
akes and protect me from rolling down the face.
At the other end of the rope is Jim Karpowicz. At the other end of the
rope is encouragement and belief. Twenty-ve years ago, he was up here
just as I am now, standing on these crisp alabaster edges, fully committed, laybacking off his ngertips from a one-inch-thick ake, with the
sun beating down on his bearded face, as sweat soaked into his webbing swami belt and tube socks. Back then, the train ran just beneath
the crag, called Providence after the nearby town (population: some).
Back then, Jim had owing brown hair reaching down to his shoulders
and a bronzed body from spending his days on these bluffs. And now,
white-haired and nostalgic, he watches me do the same moves with
half the grace and twice the gear. Next to him is Mike Jenner, his faithful climbing partner then and now. They both still climb consistently,
rarely without the other.
I hesitate a moment and place the cam just righthorizontal, outer
lobes down, shuffled to the spot where the rail tapers tightest. Just in
case, I place another one next to it. I gather them together with a single
quickdraw. Back then, Jim and Mike placed hexes here. They werent
purists, per se, but they were pure, if there is such a thing.
Ground up, and no bolts unless we needed to to avoid dying. Honestly
we had no idea what we were doing. Just surviving, really, Jim says.
I admired their ethos when I rst discovered climbing 20 years ago
and began my own journey here in the rust-colored hills of central Missouri. It may be easy for many climbers to dismiss this place as just
another patch of green in yover country. And I wouldnt blame them
for assuming so. I doubt its merit myself sometimes, but I keep returningand reliving the fun and fear of my early days.
Heroes were hard to come by back then. We all sort of did
our own thing, climbing within our small circles, occasionally running
into the random weirdo out in the woods with a rope and a pack full of
weathered gear. But Jim and Mike had been at this longer than anyone
I had met, and they had somehow found great satisfaction here in the
Show-Me State. I wondered how then and still do. Are they blinded by
their own nostalgia? Am I? I ponder this as I clip the rusted anchors on
Prohibition (5.11a).
Jim tells me, Missouri has the best climbing in the world, and then
goes on to qualify himself by adding, Anywhere you fall in love with
climbing is the best in the world. He smirks at me with a twinkle in his
eye, and we rack up for another of his old, magnicent routes. He and
Mike enjoy watching another member of our posse, 24-year-old Dakota
Walz, grunt his way up a steep 5.10 offwidth to hand crack they rst
climbed in the early 1980s.
I suppose hes right that the best climbing is all in your individual
perspective. Here we are smack dab in the absolute middle of the country, as far as you can be from the Rockies, or the desert, or the Sierra,
or the Gunks, or anywhere the majority of American climbers dream
of going. We might as well be on an island. Clearly those who adapt to
island life thrive, and those who dont, well, they move to Boulder.

Starting in the late 1990s, I began to nd my own way here as a

climber. I had sent most of the established limestone routes in the state,
many of them multiple times over, and I started sniffing around for new
rock. After many bouts with poison ivy, I gured out hiking in pants was
best, and that a machete was just as important as a rope. I also gured
out there was a helluva lot of unexplored rock in this mountain-starved
state, if one was willing to bushwack, paddle, and hack their way to it.
My friends Jesse Gross, Sean Burns, and J.P. Sankpill joined me on
these explorations, and somehow none of us died in the process. Sean
was our patron saint. He showed us the ropes, loaned his gear and advice, and eventually wrote a book on Missouri rock, Missouri Limestone
Select. He showed us how to be bold as developers but make good routes
for other people. He also showed us how to work the trinkets and how
(and, more important, why) to respect nature. Our game then was simple: Climb from the ground up, if at all possible. The only reason it
sometimes wasnt possible was because you chickened out and scrambled up a gully to come in from above (similar to Jims generation). We
dragged a trail line behind us for pulling up a drill. If you couldnt get
into a stance, you hung on a hook or a crappy cam shoved into a rotten,
delaminating rock scab. Eventually, with work and good fortune, you
made it to the top. If you were lucky, your route got two starson a 10star scale. And then, every once in a great while, a true three-star route
emerged from the carnage.
Then, I left.
We all did at one point or another, scattering like roaches looking for
a better meal. I lived in a 1988 Vanagon in Arizona and Colorado and
climbed a ton of beautiful granite. I climbed desert splitters that shot
into the sky. I tasted the sweetness of the West. But I suppose I just
hadnt received enough tick bites and bloody knees, so I ventured back
every chance I got.
A hundred new routes later, I still nd motivation to get out there on
the rivers, watch the sun rise over the plains on the drive in and the bald
eagles soaring just over your head as you hang over the water, and relish
in the belief that this is the best climbing area in the world. Maybe that
old coot Jim has something there.
This isnt Rie, or the Red, or Cse, and thats actually one of the
best things it has going for it. Having something that is yours has a
particular romance over having something that is everybodys.
I once met the great alpinist Mark Twight, and after I told him
where I learned to climb, he chuckled and wrote Loose rock keeps you
sharp! as he signed the inside cover of his book for me. In the book he
says, No matter what I did, the suffering I experienced did not satisfy
me. I had to have more. That resonated with me as I found pride in my
hard-earned ability to adapt to the occasional 40-pound loose block or
detached ake. Climbing in Missouri develops a tenacity not found at
normal crags.
I took the skills I learned on the (very) sharp end in my home state
to the Rockies, the Sierra, and then farther and farther away until I
had somehow tossed blocks over my shoulders all over the world. Loose
rock also develops a dark sense of humor, and maybe thats what Twight
was imparting as well with his innite wisdom. Crags like Missouris
build character.
This type of rock is the norm at Trappers Campa crag in a town
called Osceola. Osceola is locally famous
Dakota Walz sticks an awkward
for its cheese, and at the Osceola Cheese
clip below the roof on the traversfactory you can sample hundreds of difing route Above the Law (5.12a),
ferent avors, including jalapeno chedAndromeda, Missouri.

CLIMBING.COM

| 59

Jeremy Collins belays Dakota Walz

across the airy traverse of Above the
Law (5.12a), Andromeda, Missouri.

First ascensionist Jeremy Collins pulls down

a perfect hueco on his route The Whigg (5.12a),
Trappers Camp, Missouri.

Jeremy Collins utilizes a hand-foot

match on the slabby upper section of
Turn Your Head and Cough (5.10c).

Bouldering missions in Missouri require mental

fortitude and some bushwhacking skills.

62 | SEPTEMBER 2014

dar and a sharp chocolate (yes, sharp

Just like back in the day, Jeremy
Collins breaks out the drill for some
chocolate cheese). At the crag the 70new-routing in Trappers Camp.
foot walls rise up where two rivers meet,
the Sac (pronounced sauk) and Osage.
Both rivers run north (the only two in the state that do so), and on their
banks is good hunting and shing. Local lore says white fur trappers
were camped here at the fork in 1814, when a band of Indians woke
them late at night by shouting and dancing around a re above them on
the cliff s edge. The white men quickly packed up and moved to what
would become Osceola just downstream. Along the base of this wall
is a perfect strip of horizontal talus that allows for a hike or canoe approach, depending on the water level.
On a warm, low-water day some years ago, Jesse Gross and I were
walking along at Trappers, eyeballing some of the nonsensical routes
we had put up here over the last decade. Some were not worth the anchors that adorn them, but some of them were, as the legendary Peter
Croft might say, tear your hair out and howl at the moon good. Im
lucky Im not baldthey are truly that good.
One in particular was Ginsu, a 5.11 slab route that passes through a
three-foot roof at its midpoint and had just enough knife-blade holds to
make it hurt, in a good way. We got to the base, dropped our packs, and
looked up. Where were the bolts? Were we lost? Jesse wondered out
loud, Did somebody chop Ginsu? Assuming we had stopped too early,
I reached down to get my pack, and out of the corner of my eye saw
something shiny in the water below. It was Ginsu. Piled up just beneath
the rivers surface was the slab with the bolts still attached.
Jesse and I stood there with our hearts in our throats, imagining
ourselves attached to them still, pulled into the water by our own obsessions. We looked at each other, laughed in the sinister way only a
climber can, put on our harnesses, and went to climb something else.
Not everyone here shared our dark humor or near-masochistic ethos
back when we started new-routing, and eventually we got the hint. We
found new crags in the statesteeper faces, cleaner rock, and better
features. We started rappelling to clean the loose rock rst, and then
bolted full sport routes. Missourians rejoiced, and we basked in cragdeveloper gloryuntil spring. Thats when the S.H.I.T. (Snakes, Humidity, Ivy, and Ticks) really hits the fan. The smart climbers ee to the
high country during the hot season (California and Colorado). Some
just deal with it and climb all year long.
Now, in the southern tip of the state, climbers have proven that us
old timers were a bit short-sighted when it came to nding new areas to
develop. Over the last ve years, they have more than doubled the boulder problems in the state, unearthing spectacular sandstone and new
crag after new crag. The gem is Peters Branch outside the one horse
town of Nixa. Deep in the woods, a couple hundred routes hide under
a dense tree cover. The climbing is gymnastic and powerful with sloped
exits on water-sculpted holds. Stand-alone boulders and caves line the
small gorges. Gnomes and fairies seem to cheer you on from intricate
earthen homes in the hillsides. Even the ghost of Missouri-born president Harry S. Truman spots you from below, and every time you hit the
pad he says, The buck stops here, and then laughs. That may not seem
so far-fetched once you feel how immaculate the rock is. Not like good
for Missouri, but really, truly excellent.
Justin Frese and Lance Sitton are currently the areas most active developers, pushing the envelope every climbable day, year-round. Starting with the obvious features, they continually grow stronger, both in
tendon and vision. Now a number of double-digit problems exist in the
state due to their efforts, with a constant ow of new projects on the
horizon. Every time I talk to them, theres a new crag in a new valley, or
hanging over some stream in some place Ive never heard of, and they
say, This is way better than the last one. Where are we, Utah?
Both Frese and Sitton hail from Springeld, a college and megachurch city just north of the sparkle and glitz of Bransonthe Las Ve-

Beta
GET THERE Missouri crags are
spread all over, but the majority
are plumb in the middle. Major
hubs Kansas City and St. Louis
are on opposite sides of the state,
both off I-70. From either, you
can be climbing in two hours on
granite, limestone, or sandstone.
Warsaw and Trappers Camp are
both on Truman Lake arms. Boone
County areas are primarily along the
240-mile Katy Trail that runs from
Clinton to St. Louis. Peters Branch
and other bouldering areas are closest to Springeld, near the central
southern border. Northern Arkansas
climbing is right over the state line.
Kansas City has a local sport crag
downtown and some bouldering in
Swope Park. Check mountainproject.com for more detailed directions to your chosen crag.
GUIDEBOOK Mo Beta: Rock
Climbing in Missouri, by Jeremy

Collins with Ben Williams, Justin

Frese, Ryan Gajweski, and Thomas
Shpakow ($25, xedpin.com)
CAMPING As most cragging
in Missouri is a day trip, camping is not usually on the menu.
However, if you must, there is an
RV campground near the Truman
Dam in Warsaw, an excellent cave
at Trappers Camp, Katsh Katys
near Andromeda, and of course,
Coopers Landing along the Missouri River (cooperslanding.net).
SEASON Winter is heavenly for
rock climbing. With most crags
existing on the water, a sunny day
without a breeze can be T-shirt
weather. The sun reects off the
water, and then the bright rock,
to induce a pseudo solar cooker at
the crags. Fall is excellent as it is
in most places, and spring is nice,
but can be humid. Summer is, well,
hell on Earth. Get up early if youre
desperate.

CLIMBING.COM

| 63

Show-Me
State Classics
THE SAINT (5.7)
Trappers Camp
Slightly under-vertical hand
crack dihedral. Watch out for
scolopendra heros (poisonous
centipedes).
ANDROMEDA SPRAIN (5.8)
Andromeda
The ultimate Missouri trad
routea 90-foot winding
dihedral with plentiful face
holds to keep it casual.

PROHIBITION (5.11A)
Providence
A classic old-school ake
line with a couple bolts when
there is no gear to be had.
INDIAN DRUG CARPET
(5.11C)
Warsaw
Steep Rie-esque blocks
and pinches hanging out over
Truman Lake.
SAINT JUDY (5.12A)
Warsaw
Techy and sustained with a
punch to the anchors that
sends many ying.

HIGH TIDES (5.9)

Warsaw
Maybe the most-climbed
route in the state. A fun, lowangle but technical face with
a roof nish.

ALPHA MALE (5.12B)

Andromeda
If you dont have the precise
ape index, you may come up
short (as the author does).

KARP TOOL (5.10A)

Providence
A newer route with gymnastic
movement on beautiful white
pockets.

TIGER BILL (5.13A)

Warsaw
An 80-foot-long overhanging
prow with multiple cruxes,
including a real nail-biter.

TURN YOUR HEAD (5.10D)

Trappers Camp
Pockets! Bolts! Crystal
pinches!

Jordan Horner sticks the colorful huecos to

techy face moves of Where the Sidewalk
Ends (5.10d), Andromeda, Missouri.

Sarah Moore sends the formerly scary trad route

turnedpopular sport line The Whigg (5.12a),
Trappers Camp, Missouri.

Jeremy Collins looks for the sweet

spot on Turn Your Head and Cough
(5.10c) at Trappers Camp.

66 | SEPTEMBER 2014

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gas of the Ozarks. Somehow Springeld consistently generates a slew of

motivated and talented climbers. Its the home of another local hero
Clay Frisbee. Five-foot-six, t, and tough as nails, Clay is in his mid50s, a proud grandfather, and an insanely motivated rst ascensionist.
Training primarily on his grain silo home gym, Clay makes an annual
pilgrimage to Yosemite Valley where he shows what a heartland climber
with the right attitude is capable of. On his rst attempt, Frisbee made
the rare El Capitan, Half Dome link-upin a day. But no one heard
about this because Clay Frisbee doesnt have an 8a.nu, Instagram, or
Twitter account. He celebrated at home with his kids.
His training partner, Todd Johnson, lives in Springeld, too, and
regularly solos the Nose on El Capitan, logging one of the fastest times
ever. Hes currently working on doing the solo link-up. He trains on the
grain silo as well. In fact, he built an office inside of it. This, in a state
without mountains, just boldness-enhancing rock.
Back at Providence crag with Jim and Mike, they show me some
new routes being established by locals David McGee and Jordan Horner. They are steep, pocketed, and long, and even look like legit threestar routes, maybe even the elusive four stars. We rope up again, and
as I dip into my chalkbag in the middle of a steep 5.11d called Simple
Math, I am startled by two large great horned owls that launch silently
from a tree perched next to me.
Nature! I shout, and we watch them oat across the oodplain beneath us on the edge of the mighty Missouri River. I continue on toward
the anchors, Dakota belaying me attentively, and then lower back to the
ground out in space.
Dakota has just returned from a month-long climbing road trip
through Utah, Mexico, and Yosemite. As we walk back to the car along
the now-abandoned gravel train tracks, he revels in the day of crag-

68 | SEPTEMBER 2014

ging with three generations of Missouri

climbers.
I just had no idea how much was available here, he says enthusiastically.
Up ahead, Jim quips, Told ya! Its the best climbing in the world!
We drive downriver past small waterside communities as the sun
winds down and the reies come out like Christmas lights in the
forest. At a sharp bend in the gravel road are 100 cars surrounding
a small campground with a banjo and upright bass thumping in the
background. Jim and Mike are astonished to hear that I have never
been here. Coopers Landing is a campground and marina hidden on
the banks of the Missouri.
You cant call yourself a Missouri climber without having been to
Coopers Landing! Mike says.
I grab a seat in front of a rousing band on a plywood stage with a
plate of Thai food bought from a food truck. Next to me is a woman
named Janet Moreland, who has recently completed the full Missouri
Mississippi River solo paddle, from source to sea. All 3,902 miles of
it. It took her seven months, and she was the rst American and rst
woman to do so. She tells me she used to date the great Yosemite Stonemaster Dale Bard. Where am I again?
All around me people are drinking, dancing, and telling their hunting, shing, and, yes, climbing stories from the day on the Mighty Mo.
Old friends give hugs, and dogs roam around snatching up food droppings. The band strikes into a frenzy as the sun hits the western horizon
on the bend in the river. A curly, red-haired vixen croons into a microphone, and a beaver leaps from the rivers edge to catch dinner. We slap
our knees and tap our feet. Jim looks at me and says, Coopers Landing
is like the Chamonix of the Ozarks.
I gotta say hes wrong. Its way better. //
At a typical belay stance for the area,
Jim Grace belays Nate Moore fresh
off the boat in Trappers Camp.

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70 | SEPTEMBER 2014

John Byrnes and Jim Didio brave

the angry sea on Holy Huecos
Batwo-mon! (5.10c). Even with
moderate seas, the whirlpool at the
bottom can spontaneously send a
waterspout 40 feet up the wall.

Island Time

The Caribbean island of Cayman Brac is

a laid-back sport climbing wonderland
but that doesnt mean you cant create a
little trouble in paradise. By Jeff Achey
Photos by Kirk Donaldson

Ninety feet over the Caribbean Sea, Katy Dartford

climbs Walking the Plank (5.10c) at the Point.

The clouds began to ush

pink over the Caribbean
as Amber started up the
last route of the day. She
cruised the steep 5.9
studded with big pockets
and the multi-colored
caymanite formations
that local artisans use to
make jewelry, while I kept
an eye on the turbulent
ocean below. A bit of
spray hit me in the ankle.
Half an hour earlier, Id shrugged off Ambers concern about the increased size of the swells. The Wave Wall, Id reasoned, always feels wild
and atmospheric, but its usually more intimidating than dangerous.
Now, however, I wasnt so sure. Surges of foaming seawater were inundating the slabs that we had traversed to get to the route. The waves had
been impressive at midday when we came in, making the approach wet
and sketchy. Now they were twice the size. I watched in awe as a particularly powerful set came in, pummeling the slabs, washing up past the
second bolt of a climb to our left, and shooting spray 30 feet into the air.
No question, that set was big enough to sweep us clean off the slabs
and into the sea. For a swimmer, the nearest safe exit through the jagged rocks was ve miles down the coast. It would be dark in an hour.
Denial slowly turned to incredulous acceptance: We were stranded.
Cayman Brac is a small island about 150 miles south of Cuba and
about the same distance northwest of Jamaica. While the other Cayman Islands are upscale tourist destinations, the Braclacking the
fancy hotels of Grand Cayman or the bucket-list scuba diving sites of
Little Caymanjust isnt. But desirability depends on what youre after.
Brac is Gaelic for cliff or bluff. From a square mile of ats on the
southwest tip of the nine-mile-long island, limestone bluffs rise steadily
in height and prominence until, for several miles at the far northeast
point, they drop 150 feet directly into deep ocean, forming one of the
most impressive sea cliffs in the Caribbean. On both sides of the island,
above either the ocean or a narrow band of coastal ats, lie steep, clean
sectors of cliff riddled with bolted sport climbs.
The Bracs climbing potential was rst recognized by Colorado-based
climber and scuba diver Skip Harper, during a diving trip to the Caymans in 1994. A tsunami of enthusiasm followed: Over the next three
years, Harper and a small crew of Colorado climbersmost notably
Jeff Elison, Liz Grenard, Craig Luebben, and John Byrnesvisited re-

peatedly, putting up more than 70 sport

routes. Due to the very featured nature of
the steep limestone, most fell within the
sweet 5.10 to 5.11 range, with a few good
easier lines, numerous 5.12s, and a few
5.13s to challenge the restless and the t.
With friendly, overhanging sport
climbs, ocean sunsets across the beaches
and bluffs, and dreamy warm waters full
of sea life, Cayman Brac seemed like the
perfect place to take my girlfriend, Amber, for a romantic getaway.
That was my sentiment going into our
rst visit to the Brac. This trip, our second to the island, was intended to make
good on that initial attempt, which neither of us would describe as romantic
in hindsight. On our rst try the previous
March, the white limestone became the
setting for black comedy, produced and
directed by my uncanny ability to ignore
some basic principles of climbing and
human relations.
The rst fundamental climbing rule I
violated: Never mix romance and route
development. A romantic climbing vacation needs an easygoing attitude, and the
climbing must be tempered with other
activities, such as swimming, so it doesnt take on too much importance. Hard projects, which foster obsessive focus and a performanceoriented drinking agenda (read: less booze), should be avoided. Fall
asleep with a crux sequence in your head, and you know youre blowing
it. New-routingwith its early starts, long days, and love-killing work
ethicis even worse. Heedless, I headed to the Caymans packing a drill.
The trip had started out auspiciously enough. Wed own out of Denver in a midnight snowstorm, traveled all night and most of the next
day, and arrived in sunny, humid, and exotically warm Georgetown on
Grand Cayman. Chickens and lizards patrolled the airport grounds as
we walked out on the tarmac to a little Twin Otter prop plane for the
90-mile hop to Little Cayman and then the Brac. The plane sounded
like a weed whacker as it taxied down the runway, but it lifted easily
into the calm air. We peered out the windows at swaying palms and the
emerald to cobalt hues of the water.
John Byrnes, the islands unofficial climbing ambassador, greeted us
at the Brac airport. A retired engineer, John had a house on the island
that he visited for a couple of months every spring. He rented out half of
it to climbers and hoped to develop more of the islands climbing potential, so hed invited me down to help. I should have foreseen the risks of
having our love boat captained by a task-oriented engineer.
John whisked us back to his picturesque Bluff View house, gave us 15
minutes to unwind and unpack, and then hurried us out to the Orange
Cave for a few moderates by the sea in the last evening light. The climbing was as good as wed hoped, and the showpiece crags were yet to come.
The rst ill note sounded that evening at the Reef Beach Resort restaurant and bar when we saw the price of a beer$6 for a Red Stripe
was denitely going to cramp our style. The diver clientele was a pleasant crowd, but mostly in their 60s or older. More reality checks quickly
followed.

CLIMBING.COM

| 73

Pat Cusack approaches the afternoon

shade of the Wave Wall.

Tick List
Tour the Bracs most
classic lines.

baffling anchor clip in a cave.

As the guidebook says: If
youre not on a bucket, youre
off route.

BANANAQUIT (5.7)
Sea Horse
Beware the modest rating
this long route has great
climbing but traverses some
rock too sharp to risk a fall!
Climb the spiny slab past a
bulge or two and into a steep
dihedral.

SPIRAL STAIRCASE (5.10A)

The Point
This one isnt located at the
main Point area, but at an
isolated sector called Edds
Place, located to the south. A
ne, adventurous outing with
a wilderness approach hike,
great climbing, and guaranteed solitude.

OLD SCHOOL (5.8)

Wave Wall
On the far side of the waveprotected platform, climb
generous features up the
gently overhanging wall to a

ICK! THEOLOGY! (5.10B)

Theology
Steep and bulgy, with holds
that prove God loves climbers.
Clear the initial overhang and
youre in theremaybe!

74 | SEPTEMBER 2014

FAKE LEFT,
MOVE RIGHT (5.10D)
Orange Streak
Techy, devious climbing
with some tricky traverse
sequences that require some
back and forth. Try not to miss
the invisible clipping hold at
the anchor. Make sure your
belayer is paying attention!
PARROT PRESERVES ON
RYE (5.10D)
Wave Wall
Long and technical! Up a
moderate wall (a nice 5.8 in
itself, with its own anchor),
out a pumpy bulge, and then
more testy moves on an
exposed headwall. You can
extend this for another couple
of bolts and top out the crag.

THROWIN THE
TORTUGA (5.11B)
The Point
Climbs at the Point are
impossible to see before you
commit, so if youre new to
the crag, its hard to decide
where to start. If you climb
at the grade, this is a great
option. For an easier intro, try
Shiver Me Timbers (5.10b),
which has a short crux, a huge
palm tree anchor, and a belay
ledge high off the water.
DIXONS DELIGHT (5.11B)
Dixons Wall
Awesome overhanging
owstone, just like the routes
nearby, but a bit easier. If
5.11+ to low 5.12 is your
grade, youll have a blast in

this easily accessible and

mostly shady zone.

LEAPIN LIZZARDS
(5.11D/5.12A)
Love Shack
Park-and-huck climbing.
Stick-clip the rst bolt and
start throwing. Huge holds,
huge reaches, huge fun, but
usually sunny and hot.
PIRATES OF
PENANCE (5.12B)
Wave Wall
Steep and stout! Make long,
contortionist moves between
big holes and pockets (harder
than it looks) to a sequential
crux up high and an airy run
to the anchors. Dont give up
until youre at the top!

Jeff Achey at the powerful lower crux of Carpe Stalactite (5.12b) at Dixons.
The route heads toward the large stalactite on the climbers right and requires
stemming over to reach it, and then climbing the outside.

First, the Caribbean Current that bathes the island with warm water
also carries an alarming amount of plastic garbage to Cayman Brac,
forming a broad, multi-colored berm about 100 feet back from the
shore. Faded shampoo, pop, oil, and detergent bottles, netting, oats,
Styrofoam bits, and thousands of shoes of all kindssandals, pumps,
clogs, Crocs, slippers, sneakers, loafers. Never in pairs.
As the trip progressed, protracted new-route scoping and equipping
would occasionally give way to short bursts of climbing in an inefficient
party of three. One day, John invited along a 15-year-old tourist girl
who didnt know how to climb, and Amber ended up belaying her for
two hours on the rst 10 feet of a route at Dixons Wall while we were
off bolting. Excited about my new route, I barely noticed. After a few
long outings where she averaged two or three pitches, Amber started
skipping climbing days and going on bike rides, alone. It pains me to
recall some of my blunders that trip. I think, in the end, our relationship
got stronger because of our tropical vacation in the Cayman Islands, but
denitely not in the way I had envisioned.
On the second go, I was determined to bring Amber back and do the
trip right. And now, there we were, rst day out, having an epic. Seriously? Another massive wave set thundered in, making me shudder at the
thought of us out on the slabs that blocked our way home. I imagined us
belly down on razor-sharp rock, clinging for dear life with bleeding hands
as a wave exploded over our heads. We had 45 minutes of daylight left.
I called up to Amber. She couldnt hear me, but having understood our
plight long before I gured it out, she needed no explanation. I gestured
vigorously for her to come down. She said I told you so with one look.
We quickly collected our gear and sprinted back to the center of the
wall, where the belay zone was more protected and a long 5.10d topped
out the bluff. Id been up top during several new-routing forays, and
though there was no walk-off through the impenetrable thicket beyond
the rim, I had something of a plan. AnyLeft: Jeff Achey surveys the Wave
thing would be better than risking those
Wall for his new route The Huckster
wave-battered approach slabs.
(12c/d). Below: Amber Johnstone
Burdened by our packs, pulling on draws
climbs the owstone of Dixons
with abandon, and oblivious to the superb
Delight (5.11b), a classic route on
Dixons Wall.
climbing, we yarded through the overhangs

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and topped out at last light. Sans headLocal veterinarian Ioana Popescu
checks the next sequence just after
lamps, we tiptoed across upturned blades of
pulling over the crux move on No
limestone in the few feet of exposed rock beProblem, Mon (5.10a), at the Point.
tween the thorny vegetation and the abyss.
This wall features shade almost all
Waves thundered below, and lightning lit up
day in the winter.
huge storm clouds on the horizon.
After a stressed half hour, we reached
a point above a new route on a section of cliff climbers left of the wavethreatened slabs. At least thats where I thought we were. An exceedingly sketchy belayed downclimb brought us to that routes anchor, and we
rapped to the ground. The hike back to the carnormally a 15-minute
strolltook us more than an hour in the dark, but we were so glad to be
alive that we didnt care.
Most climbers would nd it difficult to get in as much trouble on the Brac
as I have, though. The routes are generously bolted with corrosion-proof
titanium, and for the most part theyre clean and easy to get to. True, the
Wave Wall approach is to be respected, but getting to the excellent venues of
Dixons, Love Shack, and the Orange Wall sectors requires no derring-do.
Dixons, behind the neighborhood of Spot Bay, is the Bracs most
gymnastic crag, with a dozen long, overhanging routes on shady owstone; most are four-star classics in the 5.11c to 5.12b range. Love Shack
is often too hot and sunny, but in cooler conditions its concentration
of testy 5.11s and 5.12s is not to be missed. The Orange Cave/Orange
Streak/Theology sector is the islands most moderate and popular venue, with enjoyable routes from 5.7 to low 5.11 in a beautifully aesthetic
seaside setting.
And then there is the Point, the dramatic northeast terminus of the
islands bluff, where vertical and overhanging cliffs drop directly into the
ocean. With access only by rappel, its inconvenient and intimidating, but
no climbing trip to the Brac is complete without at least one Point day.
Despite our apparent penchant for disaster, the rest of our stay unfolded without further drama, and our Point day proved to be pure
pleasure. We piloted our rental car up onto the spine of the island. The
forest on either side was cut occasionally by side roads, but there were
no ocean views or indication of the cliffs. Finally, at a small lighthouse
on the northeast tip of the island, the road ended and an incredible
panorama opened. A stones throw from the car, cliffs dropped 150 feet
into deep water. The blue Caribbean stretched to the horizon, ecked
with whitecaps. Frigates and boobies patrolled the sky. We peered over
the edge and spotted a green-backed tortuga basking on the surface.
A hundred yards away lay the top anchors to our chosen route, Blackbeards Revenge (5.10b), and we dropped our packs near a small booby
colony. Wed climbed in plenty of airy places, from Yosemite to the Alps
to Verdon to the Black Canyon, but agreed that starting a sport route
at the Point was as intimidating as any of these. I tied a double knot in
the end of the static line wed borrowed from the Bluff house, and Amber rapped down rst, clipping a few directionals to stay near the wall.
As Amber led up, a crab scuttled out of a nearby pocket. The water
sloshed and thumped in the undercuts below my feet, but the sea was
relatively calm, thankfullyclimbers have been completely doused by
waves at belays here. The runouts were noticeably longer than at the
Bracs other crags, and with the noise of the waves and the long pitches,
good leader/belayer communication was difficult. The rock was excellent, albeit with the occasional loose hold. With the exception of the
sporadic shing boat and whomever you bring with you that day, youre
more likely to see dolphins than another person.
As Amber neared the top, a booby ew by low and fast, chased by a
frigate that was trying to steal its sh. They swerved and dove in synchrony, the booby eventually eluding its pursuer. The sea around the Caymans
is teeming with sh, and I couldnt help think it would be a lot easier for
the frigate to catch his own. But I guess its a matter of temperament. Like
certain climbers on a romantic, tropical sport climbing vacation, they nd
a way to make life a bit more interesting. //

78 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

Beta
GET THERE Fly into the international airport on Grand Cayman,
then charter a puddle jumper to
the Brac (caymanairways.com).
Most climbers rent a car for their
stay, but the island is small enough
(9 miles long) to navigate by
bicycle.
STAY Camping is not allowed on
the island (a bummer), so youll
need to rent a place. John Byrnes
Bluff View house is a great option,
and it provides several key amenities such as a stick-clip and static
line for Point rappels (climbcaymanbrac.com/lodging).
REST DAY Activities include biking, hiking, exploring the islands
numerous small caves, and, of
course, snorkeling. You can rent
snorkeling and scuba gear, as

Havana

CUBA
Cayman Brac

well as bikes, on the island. Or,

hire a boat for a day of shing or
sightseeing. See Byrnes website
climbcaymanbrac.com for a wealth
of beta on all of the above and
much more.
SEASON December through
April, the dry season, is best for
climbing. Expect daytime highs in
the mid-80s. Even though average temps rise a bit, early to late
March is cooler for climbing than
midwinter because most crags get
more shade.

Author Molly Loomis pauses to nd a

passable line during the rst ascent of
Gamlang Razi in Myanmar.

ON THE
ROAD TO
FIND OUT
WHEN A TEAM OF
AMERICAN CLIMBERS
SETS OFF FOR MYANMAR
TO DETERMINE THE
HIGHEST POINT IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA,
THEY FIND THAT
THE ANSWER
MATTERS LESS
THAN THE QUESTION.
BY MOLLY LOOMIS
PHOTOS BY MARK FISHER
CLIMBING.COM

| 81

EXPLORATION MEANS DAYS OF BOREDOM

PUNCTUATED WITH MOMENTS OF ECSTASY.
AS FOR THE SAKE OF THESE MOMENTS, THE
EXPLORER IS PREPARED TO BE SOMETHING OF
AN ASCETIC AND ACCEPT THE REST.
FRANCIS KINGDON-WARD, THE PLANT HUNTERS PARADISE
WOULD YOU LIKE ANG TO READ YOUR HOROSCOPE?
our translator Soe Thu Win asks. I look at the curling, serpent script
lled almanacs and the old man who would divine my prediction from
them. Out of approximately 300 ethnic Tibetans in Myanmar, Ang Cho
is said to be the only one who is literate. So saying yes seems opportunistic at the very least. But Im hesitant, fearful of what he might say.
I did not arrive at his hearth, in the village of Zondham, nearly 900
miles north of Myanmars capital, Yangon, easily. Weve walked 156
miles over 11 days through thick, dank jungle. Our objective, an unclimbed 19,000-foot peak called Gamlang Razi, is still 30 miles away
and 13,000 feet higher. I say yes and take a gulp of corn whiskey.
Ang Cho asks my birthday and ips through a thick tome lled with
Tibetan script, explaining how cross-referencing these texts can divine
all sorts of future events, from something as simple as when an expected
visitor might arrive to as serious as a death. As he ips the yellowed pages, I realize Im holding my breath. I could really use some good news.
ID COME TO MYANMAR to climb a mountain in the sliver of
the Himalaya that reaches into the Venn diagram of India, China, and
Myanmars ill-dened borders. Not only was the peak unclimbed, but
mapping discrepancies wed uncovered indicated that our objective,

82 | SEPTEMBER 2014

Gamlang Razi, might be higher than Hkakabo Razi, the mountain long
considered to be Myanmar and Southeast Asias highest. For me, there
was another motive: After two and a half years in and out of surgeries, physical therapy, extended light duty for a major knee surgery gone
wrong, and then a rare spinal cord condition, which for a while made
me unsure Id ever climb again, I was nally mountain-ready. Gamlang
Razi offered a chance to ll up on the soul-fuel of which Id been so
starved.
Ang Cho nishes my reading. Its accurate, if a little vague, like any
backpage horoscope. Yep, Ive had some difficulties this year. Yep,
things are getting better. But there is no prediction of tragedy or triumph related to the mountain weve come halfway around the world to
climb. He simply says that if I want to accomplish something, I should
put my mind to it, and it will be possible. And so we organize our loads.
As we head deeper into Hkakabo Razi National Parks jungle, I replay over and over my time by Ang Chos re. I worry that the ambiguity
means he divined something he didnt want to share. He knows enough
to know the importance of the days that lie ahead.
SIX MONTHS EARLIER, American climber (and my better half )
Andy Tyson and Burmese climbers Win Ko Ko, Po Pin, and Than Pai

Tun stood in a foggy whiteout, celebrating around the rimed summit

pole at the top of the Chinese peak Haba Xue Shan (17,703 feet). It was
the Burmese climbers highest summit to date, and the guys were elated. Andy, whod traveled from Idaho as a volunteer instructor for a 10day mountaineering course, considered the failing light and the pickets
hed need to place for the descent, while the rest of the group reveled
with the white, red, and black Technical Climbing Club of Myanmar
(TCCM) sign, snapping summit shots against the whited-out sky.
Having grown up under Myanmars (formerly Burma) oppressive
military regime, most TCCM members had no knowledge of climbing until Steve Davis, an ex-pat determined to keep climbing while on
a teaching assignment in Myanmar, introduced them to it. It was the
rst time theyd ever seen a climbing magazine, video, or piece of rock
climbing gear. In 2011, Davis traveled with two Burmese climbers, Win
Ko Ko and Pho Nge, to Thailand to show them what climbing culture
was all about. They came back red up to learn technical skills, and the
Technical Climbing Club of Myanmar was born.
While the dozen or so new members had nothing more than Davis gear
and some extra shoes, and they had never heard of a dyno or a mantel, the
mere action of creating their own non-governmental organization was a
tremendous move in Myanmars tiny outdoor community. I found it genuinely inspiring that out of all the activities and passions that these Burmese
could choose after years of oppression, climbing would be the one.
Now, after months of intense planning, Andy, Chris Nance, Mark
Fisher, Eric Daft, and I were nally in Myanmar, joined by TCCM
members Win Ko Ko and Po Pin, with a big snowy mountain that
looms nearly 18,000 feet above the steaming jungle oor in our sights.
Andy, our expedition leader, had stumbled upon Gamlang Razi while
surng Google Earth. Thats also how he discovered the mystery surrounding the recorded elevations of Gamlang Razi and Hkakabo Razi.

Hkakabos 5,881-meter measurement comes from a ground-based triangulation survey conducted the old-school way by the Indian Army
in 1925. That elevation was used and popularized by the British naturalist Francis Kingdon-Ward, who made several expeditions to Myanmars northern territory and documented his explorations in several
botany books, each rife with adventure (who knew?). Takashi Ozaki, a
talented Japanese climber, made the rst ascent of Hkakabo Razi with
local Burmese-Tibetan Namar Jonsain in 1996. Although Ozaki had
an impressive resume, including the rst full ascent of Everests North
Face and six 8,000-meter peaks in winter, he was thwarted on his rst
attempt by crevasses too large to cross without ladders in Hkakabos
eastern icefall. Ozaki had relied on Wards books for reference, further
spreading the 5,881-meter measurement. However, American, Chinese,
and Russian maps we researched all placed Hkakabo lower (anywhere
from 5,691 to 5,758 meters) and Gamlang Razi higher. Our visits to the
Harvard Map Library and conversations with GIS experts and mapping
professionals were inconclusive. So, armed with a survey-grade differential GPS, our team hoped to provide a critical piece of the puzzle, a
reliable measurement recorded from Gamlangs summit. With all the
contradictory data, could Gamlang Razi in fact be higher?
SNOW! I YELL TO ERIC. It is another day in an endless jungle blur of sweating like a faucet, but off in the distance is a speck of
white tucked into a north-facing nook, away from the equatorial suns
rays. Finally, proof that the high mountains wed come to climb actually existed. Wed hiked down and up countless accordion-like ravines,
battling leeches, sandies, swarms of bees, unholy temperatures, and
humidity, and frankly I began to wonder if wed ever see the mountains.
As Southeast Asias largest intact temLeft: Molly Loomis and Po Pin make
perate rainforest, the area is home to ve
the nal push toward Gamlang
different indigenous tribes, including
Razis summit.
poison dartwielding pygmies, and a meRight: Eric Daft cools off on the apnagerie of weird plant and animal species
proach that winds through Hkakabo
Razi National Park.
like barking deer, leaf deer, and coveted

CLIMBING.COM

| 83

Local porters, vital to the

expeditions success, cross one
of the dozens of suspension
bridges in the jungle.

medicinal plants. The area had been closed to foreigners for three years,
and in some places they hadnt seen outsiders for nearly a decade. Each
night we descend upon a different village; our crew of porters, liaisons,
and an eclectic entourage of hiking enthusiasts sleep in the schoolhouse
or the village chief s bamboo hut, balanced above the ground on stilts.
We have walked back in time to a way of life as unplugged as it gets. But
with Myanmars recent opening and the transformative changes that
are inevitable with the development predicted to follow, the chance to
be in northern Myanmar at this moment in history is a gift.
Now, 156 miles in, the thick jungle transitions to gnarled webs of rhododendron and patches of trampoline moss. Four days and 30 more
miles later, we arrive at our basecamp, a wonderland of dark towering
pines, craggy peaks, and mazes of tall wildowers swirling with mist (or
a drenching downpour, depending on the moment). From here, we hope
to set a high camp 4,000 feet above, where we can scout a ridgeline that
looked promising from the satellite data. As we trek uphill, we slow our
pace to compensate for the heavy loads and the thinning air. Namar Jonsain, a national hero for his rst ascent of Hkakabo Razi, lopes across the
steep slopes, bending down with his machete to search for prized roots
like machit that attract tribesmen from all over, including illegal Chinese
hunters wielding guns. He offers me a small white nugget of machit for
strength and power. I ash to the last time I accepted a mysterious substance from a friendly local. It was some kind of Chinese snuff, and my
nostrils burned for days. But Namar is like Myanmars Tenzing Norgay.

84 |

SEPTEMBER 2014

I cant resist. Its the alpinists version of the sacrament direct from the
Pope. I crunch down on the earthy ball. Its bitter with no other effects.
High on the ridgeline, we nd intricate traps handmade with bamboo
for catching blue sheep, and even the rare sky-blue poppy Ward wrote
of. But we dont nd water, so for the next seven days we ferry loads up,
down, and up again through talus and alpine meadows to our high camp
on Gamlangs west side. A cold downpour accompanies us with thick fog
and temperatures hovering around freezing. Weve glimpsed the bottom
quarter of our intended route, but after nearly a month, we have yet to
see the summit. Lying in my sleeping bag, listening to the rain, I think the
mountain doesnt want to be climbed; she isnt ready to reveal her mystery.
On day 31 of our journey, Marc De Keyser, a meteorologist friend
from Antarctica, texts a weather report to our sat phone. Its short but
has the rst mention of suneven if crypticsince leaving Zondham.
At 3 a.m. our alarms sound, and we begin ascending in a light drizzle
that turns to snow as we reach the 16,000-foot level. We scatter in the
icefalls labyrinth to scout a pathway. After 180 miles of trekking, gaining a cumulative 60,000 feet, and managing to stay healthy despite
the unending threat of jungle funk, venomous snakes, and swarms of
bees, I realize that in a single step it could all be over. Ultimately its the
things we cant control, like the weather, the snow, and the crevasses
that will determine our success or our failure.
It goes! calls Andy from his perch in the icefall. The rest of us rope
up and dig our crampons into the ice.

the summit pedestal. He screams Win

Ko Kos name (he had to turn back about
an hour into the summit climb) into the
wind, hyperventilating. His face streams
with tears. Po Pin pulls small Myanmar
and U.S. ags from his parka along with
his Jehovahs Witness prayer book for
photos. Andy retrieves the GPS from a backpack where it will record
1,200 data points over the next 20 minutes, which will eventually be
adjusted for satellite, barometric, and atmospheric abnormalities, calculating an average elevation of 19,258 feet (5,835 meters), or 37 feet
shorter than the currently accepted height of Hkakabo Razi.

ERIC DAFT / FISHERCREATIVE.COM (BOTTOM LEFT)

Clockwise from top left: After a

successful summit, the team begins
the descent; summit of Gamlang
Razi, representing Myanmar and the
U.S.; Chris Nance climbs through the
icefall in a blizzard.

At 18,000 feet we stop. From the nv onward, the route had maintained a consistent pitch, steep enough to keep us working hard but not
angled enough to bother with pro. The sky remains milky; we cant see
beyond the end of the rope team. Luckily, despite the poor visibility, the
terrain naturally corralled us in the right direction. But as the gradual
ramp opens into a small bowl, we hit a headwall of clean, splitter granite (just the kind wed been looking for 3,000 feet lower). We need to
catch the correct ridgeline to the left, but the clouds are too thick to discern a path. Three times we start off, wary of what might be overhead.
Three times we turn around. Finally, as mutters of packing it in for the
day begin surfacing, the cream thins just enough to catch the electric
blue of the serac fall were looking for, the handrail we need that will
take us to the summit.
We step-kick on, unsure of what insurmountable micro-feature
might lurk ahead. We stumble into trap doors created by underlying sugary snow. We place a few pickets as the angle steepens; the ice
screws and rock pro remain on our racks, for now. We break in a large
wind scoop free of crevasses and gobble bars. The clouds clear again,
just enough to see the snowy cap of the summit above us. Five hundred
feet and what looks like less than a quarter-mile to go. Its cold, and I
keep my black balaclava tucked over my nose, my hood cinched around
my helmet. The sweat and heat of the jungle feel forever ago, and for the
rst time in more than two years, this cockeyed plan feels like it could
work. We move cheval across the nal ridgeline. I belay Po Pin onto

THIRTY MILES AWAY, Ang Cho sits with translator Soe Thu Win.
The mountains dont like to be entered, Ang Cho says. But once
they are, once theyve been climbed, the mountains open. The team has
climbed the mountain. The rain that had been pouring down for 10
days has stopped, and the sun breaks through the clouds at 2:30 p.m.
No one told Ang Cho that 12 hours earlier wed woken in darkness to
begin our climb. Is this a good tale or the truth? I dont know, but here
anything seems possible.
Descending back to basecamp in a golden late-afternoon glow, we
hear the stream roaring signals of the end of our expedition. Our time
climbing in Myanmar is over. Despite the challenges, successes, and a
lifetime of experiences to ponder, sadness oods me.
Like the rivulets running down the hillside to the basecamp stream
that then runs to the river, to the ocean, and onward with the current,
the quest isnt over. Its just the beginning.
This year a Myanmar team headed to Nepal to attempt Mount Everest. A Singapore-based Burmese man is organizing an ambitious Seven
Summits circuit for a Myanmar team that will include women. Another Myanmar team will attempt Hkakabo Razi this fall. The countrys
rst climbing wall was just built in a Yangon backyard, and the TCCM
has plans for more expeditions and crag development. Also this year,
another chapter of this story will be written: Hkakabos measurement
will be ground-truthed, also with a survey-grade GPS, and the question
of what is Southeast Asias tallest peak will be laid to rest.
After returning home, I Skyped with Takashi Ozakis widow, Frederique and asked her what she thought of our expedition and the height
question. In a thick French accent and dragging on a cigarette in the
sexy, indifferent way that only a French woman can, she said she was
curious to know the answer, But I hope Hkakabo is higher.
We laughed, brought together by the passion, challenges, and mysteries of this far-ung place that so few will ever know. For me, this is
more valuable than the answer to the question. //

CLIMBING.COM

| 85

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THE FLOW
Which Climber Town Do You Belong In?
BY KEVIN CORRIGAN
START HERE
Does the presence of bolts
(aside from anchors) offend you?

Bouldering,
sport, or
all kinds of
climbing.

To each
their own.
I prefer that
climbing be
scary.

Keep
climbing
bold!

Theres only
one season:
climbing
season.

Love em,
particularly
what they
do to leaves.

Endless
boulders.

Throngs
of rugged,
single men.

A small
town where
I know every
climber by
name.

I buy it
from a local
farmers
market.

If you could only climb one thing for

the rest of your life, it would be...

The
splitterest
cracks.

Which of these best describes

your ideal home base?

Where do you get your hummus?

How do you feel about seasons?

A small city
with plenty
of restaurants
and some
larger buildings.

A place with
strong hippy
vibes.

I take it from
the dumpster
behind a
local farmers
market.

A small
German village, but in
America.

That answer
changes
weekly.

Do you like to get high?

I love to
deprive my
brain of oxygen one way
or another.

Dont make
me choose!

NEW PALTZ, NEW YORK

MOAB, UTAH

BOULDER, COLORADO

Welcome to trad
heaven, where bold
climbing is a fact
of life. Some call
the Gunks 5.6 roof
routes sandbagged,
but before long
youll agree that
the rest of the
countrys grades are
just soft. New Paltz
might be surrounded by farms, but the
local college keeps
things interesting,
and NYC is less than
two hours away.

Weirdos tend to
ock to the desert,
and Moab is no
exception. This is a
place of oddballs,
hermits, hippies,
freegans, andcraziest of allBASE
jumpers. But theres
no denying these
people know how
to have fun. And if
splitter cracks and
beautiful desert
towers are your
thing, well, Moab
has those, too.

Equal parts New

Age mecca and athletic epicenter. You
might have your
project ashed by a
pregnant yogi who
road her bike to the
crag, but its worth
it. The access to incredible climbing of
all kinds and other
outdoor pursuits is
unrivaled. Live here
long enough and
youll become an
ber-t Boulderite
yourself.

88 | SEPTEMBER 2014

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO CLIMB?

Just trad!

CHATTANOOGA,
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga is the
largest on our list
at 170,000 people,
but the laid-back
atmosphere full of
Southern charm
keeps it pleasant.
It gets humid, but
its a small price for
year-round climbing temps and eight
crags within an
hour. Pro-tip: Buy
a kayak to t in.
Everyone here has
a kayak.

BISHOP, CALIFORNIA
Theres no better place in the
country to be a
boulderer (except
maybe Tahoe).
Bishop is small and
relaxed. There are
enough climbers
here to form a
community, but not
so many that any
rock gets swarmed,
siege style. And
where else can you
relax in a hot spring
after a long day of
projecting?

I dont mess
with altitude
and/or
controlled
substances.

LEAVENWORTH,
WASHINGTON
No climbing here.
The only things in
this faux-Bavarian
tourist town are
pretzels, beer, and
bearded single men.
Leavenworth denitely doesnt have
an innite amount
of boulders, roped
routes, and quality
ice. Better off looking in these other
towns for those.
Move along. Nothing to see here.

A VAN
Why choose one
town when you can
live everywhere?
When you live in
a van, any level
ground is home.
Van life comes
with its own challenges, like reliable
employment and
Internet access, but
what you get is the
freedom to chase
perfect weather
and climb yearround wherever
you please.

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