Climbing Magazine

How we reported this story: Climber and Climbing Magazine contributor Ryleigh Norgrove interviewed a meteorologist and mountaineer, the founder of ClimbingWeather.com, and a guidebook author and expert on Patagonia climbing conditions. These experts explain what climbers should know about where the rock will be dry, the ice will be in, and the alpine conditions will be favorable from now through February 2027.  This year, NOAA forecasters say there’s a greater than 90 percent chance that El Niño

Free soloing has been called many things: foolhardy, deadly, a life wish, a misnomer, an art form, a dangerous game. But for all its history of taking lives, it’s rarely been the cause of saving one. In a thoughtful essay about free soloing published in January, longtime Colorado climber Jim Erickson urged free soloists to channel their courage toward search and rescue operations. “Every single free solo climber possesses the freedom to choose their danger,” he wrote. “The true heroes in life se

What to know: After another season of testing, our expert testers recommended two new helmets for this list, including our new “Best Big Wall” pick, the Mammut Wall Rider 2.0, and new “Best Ultralight” pick, the Blue Ice Blast. We also updated pricing and info on helmets that we previously tested and still highly recommend. Whether you’re a climber who always wears a helmet or one who tends to skip it, there’s no debating that helmets are your best defense against rockfall and other

About our reporting: Associate editor Sam MacIlwaine spoke with the president of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, Brent Boulet, about how he and his fellow volunteers rescued two climbers on Edge Peak on September 22 and how that operation fits into mountain rescue trends. The most time-consuming rescues are often some of the most preventable. In fact, the more I report on rescues, the more I realize that the same themes tend to show up, over and over again. Climbing’s spectacular growth as a sp

What to know: After another season of testing, our expert tested added two new picks to our list of best climbing harnesses, naming the Ocun WeBee as most innovative and the Wild County Movement Light as best projecting harness. We also updated info and pricing on previously tested harnesses that we still highly recommend. If there is one piece of gear that will make or break your mood during a long day on the wall, it’s your harness. Sitting in a hanging belay in an uncomfortable harness is a s

About our reporting: For this story, we interviewed Leo Cea and his father René Cea to get a behind-the-scenes look at his historic ascent. Additionally, we researched past records and route history by cross-referencing past articles, digital logbooks, and social media posts.  On September 2, Chilean-German teenager Leo Cea became one of the youngest people ever to climb a 9a+/5.15a route when he reached the top of No Pain No Gain. The 40-meter (131-foot) line is located in the climbing area of

About our reporting: Senior Editor Anthony Walsh interviewed two members of Robson Valley Search and Rescue and spoke with a climber who was below the wall during the first rescue attempt. He also drew upon his own experience climbing on the Emperor Face.  As the sun set behind Mount Robson, the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, two climbers high on its steepest wall knew they were in trouble. The pair had climbed approximately 5,000 feet off the valley floor that morning via the legenda

Many a climber’s worst nightmare is a core shot or cut rope, particularly while you’re fully trusting your life to it. I have personally eyed sharp ledges and arêtes with suspicion as I imagine what would happen if my rope went taut over such edges in a fall. If you’re climbing on sharp rock or share this concern, you may want to consider a rope made with aramid, a hardy fiber helps resist rope cuts. One such rope is Mammut’s Alpine Core Protect, which we reviewed last year and

Ever since my husband Chad and I started living aboard a boat four years ago, I had imagined jumping off the stern to go deep water soloing (DWS). But marinas, anchorages, and the realities of boat life struggled to match the picture I’d conjured in my head. When we moved to Florida in 2022 to buy our first sailboat, we had no idea where we’d end up docking. We imagined sailing across oceans in search of good rock, moving our home from one destination to another. What we hadn’t fully appreciated

About our testing: Veteran sport climber and gear reviewer Matt Samet tested the Scarpa Blackbird on a range of pure-rock and plastic problems, from 5.10 gym routes to 5.13 granite tech in Colorado. We climbers had wacky ideas back in the 1980s, which was nonetheless a huge decade for innovation. If you lived through that era, perhaps you’ll recall the early Metolius Simulator hangboards that came with bungee cords for taking off weight—and whose cords were recalled after snapping up and nailing

“Kaya, I’m really scared,” my climbing partner—we’ll call her Lucy—whispered to me a few feet off the belay. Her first pieces of protection were two micro-nuts. It was a beautiful summer day in Squamish, and the wires sticking out of the rock at off angles did not look inspiring. Her arms shook as she held herself in an awkward lock-off position, wanting to move but unable to commit. If she fell, she would risk decking on a ledge below. The move was bold, but not overly difficult, one of those c

Today marks the digital release of a new documentary about what really happened during the tragic and historic winter of 2020-2021 on K2 in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range. Prior to that fateful season, no one had successfully made a winter ascent of K2 (28,251 feet/8,611 meters), the world’s second highest peak and a challenge far more formidable than Mount Everest. Despite the peak’s reputation as “the savage mountain,” quite a few groups showed up to give a summit bid a shot that winter. The first

About our reporting: For this story, we interviewed the executive director of the nonprofit Joe’s Valley Climbing and Community and a board member of the Emery County Trails Committee, as well as solicited comments from a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) representative involved in the project.   What climbers should know: After a coal mine reopened in Joe’s Valley in central Utah, a local climbers’ coalition partnered with land managers and the mining company to address safety risks through new c

About the quote of the day: “I’m not anything a woman should be” is a remark from the late climber Jan Conn, who moved into her panel truck in the 1940s to seek rock around the country—and never looked back. Conn made the statement several years ago while recording interviews for a new documentary about Jan and her husband Herb called Catching Pinecones. The quote reflects her self-regard as a misfit who chose to reject the prevailing cultural standards of a house, a 9-to-5 job, and having

REI just significantly marked down one of our favorite approach shoes: the Arc’teryx Vertex Alpine. We called this shoe the best all-around pair of the year in our most recent guide to approach shoes. Right now, the Vertex Alpine approach shoe is 30% off at REI, with good inventory in both men’s and women’s sizes in two different colorways. That means climbers can invest in this normally $230 shoe for $161. This unique shoe blends the design elements and traction of an approach

Free soloing is so psychologically challenging—and not just to people who do it but also to everybody else—that it always gets everyone asking, “Why? Are you sure you’re doing it for the right reasons?” Alex [Honnold] has thought about this a lot. He says the positive ideal, among close observers of the sport, tends to be Peter Croft. As Alex put it, “Anybody that looks at Peter Croft’s climbing always gets a sense that everything he’s done he did because he loves it, because he’s just out playi

There are few things as scary in climbing as getting stuck in a rock. Not only are you trapped in place, exposed to the elements for an indefinite amount of time, but you’re locked into an endless wave of pain, with sharp edges digging into your body. If the pain doesn’t get you, the sudden feeling of helplessness—and the humiliation—just might. I’ve only witnessed one person get her head stuck in a crack; most of the time, people trap themselves with a knee. Last year, the American Alpine Club

Today, September 22, Canadian climber Barry Blanchard releases a new book recounting tales of “punk rock pure alpinism,” Hollywood rigging, and loss in the mountains. Below, we share part of the first story from chapter 1, entitled “The Infinite Spur,” about a near miss Blanchard experienced in Alaska. The Echo: Stories from the Edge of Survival is published by Patagonia. The following story is excerpted with permission from Patagonia. Mt. Foraker, Alaska, 2000   MAY 15: Ropes, we needed ropes.

A new documentary currently in the film festival circuit, Catching Pinecones, profiles Herb and Jan Conn, who made over 200 first ascents across the country while living a pure dirtbag lifestyle. We preview the film and interview the directors to find out what the Conn story can teach climbers in 2026, and where they can watch it. Before there were Stonemasters squatting in Camp 4, before Fred Beckey and his dilapidated station wagon, before Yvon Chouinard and his diet of porcupines and cat food

When gear reaches the end of its lifespan—functionally or due to safety recommendations—don’t toss it. Instead, try these 11 weird but wonderful hacks for reusing old climbing gear around the house and in your everyday life. Despite my efforts to present as a sane and well-rounded person, I tend to identify first and foremost as a climber. That means I want everyone to know I climb. In everyday life, this is easy—I just add a chalky handprint to my work slacks or loudly complain about my tendoni