No matter what skill level you are, every climber can identify with the amazing feeling you have when you send a climb that is a step above what you normally do. Regardless of the rank of the climb, pushing yourself to your limit and succeeding is a feeling that can’t be matched. Sonnie Trotter’s, The Shadow sums this feeling up [...]
There is an obvious difference between the U.S.A. and the rest of the world when it comes to competitive climbing. North American may harbor some of the strongest and most media spotlighted climbers in the world, but when it comes to competitive climbing, it seriously lacks momentum. Compared to the rest of the world, it doesn’t really seem like we [...]
We’ve got some big news coming from way out in the boondocks of Northern Alaska. Patagonia climbers Hayden Kennedy and Tommy Caldwell have recently set up a new 1300 foot route (5.11+X, M2) on the Arrigetch Peaks in Alaska. To avoid the mosquitoes and the vegetation, the team decided to make this a winter excursion. However, while avoiding the summer [...]
You would have to try very hard to find a climb with Ueli Steck that doesn’t seem amazing, and this latest video is no exception. On this excursion, Ueli is joined by Jonathan Griffith in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps to climb the north face of Les Drus. It is always fun to watch the confidence and [...]
Maine native Dave Graham has been sending ridiculous problems for quite some time now, so it comes as no surprise that a new video is out showing him sending Memory is a Parallax (V14) out near Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Infamous for its absolutely brutal crimps, the problem has sent many climbers walking away nursing their fingers. Not [...]
Hot on the heels of news that Jason Kruk and Hayden Kennedy put up the first “fair means” ascent of the southeast ridge of Patagonia’s Cerro Torre, word has it that David Lama and partner Peter Ortner have established the first free ascent of the Compressor route. Controversy rages (as I write, there are 748 posts on this Supertopo thread) around [...]
Earlier this week, reports came in that Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk made the first “fair means” ascent of the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre in Patagonia. Details are scarce, but what we do know is that the achievement is truly groundbreaking. The Compressor route was established by Italian Cesare Maestri in 1970, who controversially placed some 360 bolts with [...]
27 Crags reports some big news coming out of Las Vegas! New Jersey’s own Paul Robinson, who we saw throw down at this year’s Nor’easter comp, has just established a new problem at Red Rocks called Meadowlark Lemon, which he has graded as a V15! This is Robinson’s second V15 FA to date and was caught on film by Chuck Fryberger’s [...]
The Copp-Dash Inspire Award application deadline is January 31. Now’s the time to stop procrastinating and apply! The award was created last year in honor of Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, who lost their lives in 2009 while attempting a new route on Mount Gongga in China’s western Sichuan Province. The loss of Jonny, Micah and filmmaker Wade Johnson was [...]
At the end of December, Bjørn-Eivind Årtun and Ole Lied climbed a gnarly new route on the west side of Torre Egger’s south face in Patagonia. They’ve dubbed the line Venas Azules and tacked an AI6 grade to the the overall route! Torre Egger is the second highest spire (8,809 feet) in the Fitz Roy massif of southern Patagonia, and though [...]
