You’re browsing through the guidebook and you see something like V6 R, 5.10b R/X, or 5.12d X. What on earth do these mean? They rate the danger or seriousness of a route. A route with an R rating means that you’ll get seriously hurt if you fall. A route with an X rating means that…
“Sport climbing is neither.” It’s something that used to be on t-shirts and bumper stickers (and probably still is). But what exactly does it mean? It means that sport climbing is neither a sport nor climbing. It originated in the early days of sport climbing (that is, using bolts drilled and hammered into the rock…
One of the biggest mistakes that non-climbers and new climbers make is confusing the terms free climb vs. free solo. What’s the difference? Is there a difference? Is it important? Free climb vs. Free solo The terms free climb and free solo both refer to forms of rock climbing, but they differ in the use…
Here’s all of the best and interesting rock climbing stuff that happened over the last week. Enjoy! Climbing News AMERICAS Big Sends, More Bears, a Bad Fall and Avalanches in the Rockies at Gripped RIP: Steve Edwards at DPM (See also DPM.) New Ontario Select Rock Climbing Guidebook and App are Cutting Edge at Gripped Remembering…
Thanks for hanging in there as I took a few weeks off! Here’s all of the interesting rock climbing stuff that happened over the last week. Climbing News AMERICAS Puccio and Schubert Win Hueco Rock Rodeo at DPM Youth Bouldering Nationals Finals Results at Gripped Lucie Hrozová Sets Standard With New M15 In Colorado at Gripped (See…
Here’s all the interesting stuff that went on in the rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering world during the week of January 24 to January 31, 2016. Climbing News AMERICAS New Fitz Roy Route and Patagonia Season Highlights at Gripped American Alpine Club Announces 2016 Award Recipients at Climbing Remembering Iñaki Coussirat at Planet Mountain Climbers…
![Image: Screenshot from the video of The Kraken (V13].](https://theundercling.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/rock-climbing-blog-768x428.png)
Image: Screenshot from the video of The Kraken (V13]. Here’s all the interesting stuff that went on in the rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering world during the week of January 18 to January 24, 2016. Climbing News AFRICA Blasting in Montagu – Road / Crag / Hiking Closures at Climb ZA CityROCK Cape Town…
Here’s all the interesting stuff that went on in the rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering world during the week of January 11 to January 17, 2016. Climbing News AFRICA Bouldering in Table Mountain National Park is LEGAL at Climb ZA AMERICAS Mason Earle Wins $1,000 by Onsighting Indoor Crack at Climbing – And it goes at 5.12+/5.13-….
Here’s all the interesting stuff that went on in the rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering world during the week of January 4 to January 10, 2016. Climbing News AMERICAS Necessary Evil (5.14c) for B. J. Tilden at DPM New Ice Crag in Northern Ontario at Gripped AAC Supports Two Cutting-Edge Expeditions at Climbing Richard Wright…
Here’s everything that went down in the rock climbing world from December 28 to January 3. Climbing News AMERICAS Big New Ice Climbs in British Columbia at Gripped In Memoriam: Ryan Jennings at Alpinist New Thin Ice Routes in Northern Ontario at Gripped AAC President Doug Walker Dies at Climbing (See also Gripped, Alpinist.) Canadians…
Here’s what went on in the rock climbing world from December 21 through December 27. Climbing News AFRICA Silvermine is officially open again. at Climb ZA AMERICAS Jimmy Webb Puts Up the South’s First V15 at DPM RIP: Kayah Gaydish at DPM Canadians Continue Sending Down South at Gripped Climbers We Lost in 2015 at…
Here’s all the climbing news fit to print from December 14 through December 20. Climbing News AFRICA Never the Same, first free ascent on Tsaranoro Atsimo in Madagascar by Polo, Gorobey and Giuliberti at Planet Mountain AMERICAS Cerro San Lorenzo new Slovenian climbs in Patagonia at Planet Mountain Ice Climbing World Cup 2016: Maxim Tomilov…
Sorry this edition of This Week in Climbing is a couple days late, but better late than never, right? Climbing News AFRICA Rock Master 2015 Results at Climb ZA AMERICAS New V14 in Joe’s Valley by Matthew Fultz at DPM Sarah Hueniken Sets Standard With M14 Send at Gripped Legendary Climber Doug Tompkins Dies in Kayaking…
Here is a roundup of all of the best rock climbing-related news from the past week. Feel free to submit things to me throughout the week (or at @climbingtips on Twitter) if you have a climbing blog or come across a great video or find something else that you think is interesting. And if you want to…
This is a big one! Here is a roundup of all of the best rock climbing-related news from the past week. Feel free to submit things to me throughout the week (or at @climbingtips on Twitter) if you have a climbing blog or come across a great video or find something else that you think is…
This is a roundup of all of the best rock climbing-related news from the past week. Feel free to submit things to me throughout the week if you have a climbing blog or come across a great video or find something else that you think is interesting. And if you want to subscribe to This Week…
This is a roundup of all of the best rock climbing-related news from the past week. Feel free to submit things to me throughout the week if you have a climbing blog or come across a great video or find something else that you think is interesting. And if you want to subscribe to This Week…
Chances are you’ve heard someone talk about sandbagging climbing routes. Something like: It’s a sandbagged 5.9. It’s rated 5.11a, but it’s totally sandbagged. I remember that route. It’s a sandbag, for sure. But what is the sandbagging meaning? It doesn’t matter if you saw it in a guidebook, read it on Mountain Project, or heard…
Check out everything that happened in the rock climbing world over the last week! Climbing News Slovenians climb new routes in Kyrgyzstan at Planet Mountain Stefano Ghisolfi frees Lapsus at Andonno, Italy’s first 9b sports climb at Planet Mountain (Also at UK Climbing, Gripped, DPM, and Climbing. Also see this other Planet Mountain post.) Quebec’s…
Here’s your weekly dose of rock climbing goodness! New on The Undercling What does “SDS” mean in bouldering? Climbing News Oriane Bertone is 10 and Sends Another V11 at Gripped Niccolò Ceria cruises Moon’s Voyager at Planet Mountain (See also DPM.) Voodoo-Zauber, new rock climb up Dolomites Heiligkreuzkofel by Simon Gietl and Andrea Oberbacher at Planet…
Here’s the best stuff from the online climbing world over the past week. Enjoy! Climbing News Brilliant New Route in Remote Patagonia at Climbing Ed Douglas Awarded Best Mountaineering Article at Alpinist Monk Life 8B+ for 16 year-old William Bosi at UK Climbing Swiss trio climb three virgin summits in India’s Kashmir Himalaya at Planet…
Here’s the best stuff of the last week from the online climbing world. Gear/Reviews Field Tested Review: Austrialpin Wall Hammer at The Alpine Start Game Changer – Offset Superlight Rocks at Andy-Kirkpatrick.com Massive! 12-Inch Rock Climbing Cam Anchor at Gear Junkie Mammut Eternity Dry 9.8 Rope Review at Splitter Choss Other Articles PLATEAUING ON YOUR…
Here are last week’s great climbing-related news items and articles to get you psyched. The tragic tale of Mt. Everest’s most famous dead body (BBC) Get Inspired: How Jake McManus got off the ground (BBC) Can You Hear Me Now? (Sondry) – An Everest-related article by the widow of Scott Fisher, a climber who died during…
Slab climbing is polarizing among climbers. The majority of folks I climb with hate it. After all, slabs often equal rough falls, bad holds, and lots of run out between clips. But some climbers out there love it for the technical, balancy style that slab climbing requires. Regardless of how you feel, slab climbing isn’t…
Check out this great article at Outside about the routesetters behind big climbing comps and events. Some parts are dumbed down a bit for non-climbers, but it’s still a good read.
This video consists of footage from Jimmy Webb’s 2015 spent bouldering in the Grampians, one of the premier climbing areas of Australia. Webb says that Australia is “some of the best rock i’ve ever touched.” Quite the endorsement.
Back-clipping is when you’re leading a climb and you incorrectly clip the rope into the bottom carabiner. Instead of your end of the rope coming out of the carabiner AWAY from the rock, your end of the rope comes out of the carabiner going TOWARD the rock. That’s bad. Here’s what I mean: Why is…
Big wall climber, big wall speed ascensionist, and BASE jumper Sean “Stanley” Leary died in a BASE jumping accident near Utah’s Zion National Park on March 13. Further details about the circumstances surrounding his death (i.e., the events that led to his death) seem to be unknown. Deaths are not uncommon in either the climbing…
So you’ve got some quickdraws, the quintessential piece of sport climbing gear. Which way should the carabiners on those suckers face? Should they both be facing the same way, or should they face opposite directions? In other words, what should the carabiner gate orientation be? Good questions! My two cents In short, I believe that it’s…
Here are the 10 best climbing videos that were uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the last week. Will Gadd Is One of the World’s Best Ice Climbers…Guess How Old He Is | Sub-Zero, Ep. 4 [3:36] – Will Gadd has been at the forefront of ice climbing for three decades. In this video, he…
Is there a quickdraw on a high first bolt that you want to clip, but you don’t have a stick clip? Then you’d better learn about this handy-dandy rope trick. You grab a long bight of rope and than twirl it, lasso style, close to the gate of the bottom biner on the quickdraw. Aim…
Does it matter what kind of belay device you use when belaying a climber on a trad climb? Is it OK to use a Grigri for belaying trad climbs? Need a Belay Device? Get one today. Well, the general consensus in belaying theory is that it’s best to not use an auto-locking belay device like…
I follow Renan Ozturk on Instagram (@renan_ozturk), and today he posted the following photo:
Here are the 10 best rock climbing videos that were uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the last week.
Protection in the rock climbing world refers to cams, nuts, hexes, and the like, and the world of protection can be further categorized into active and passive protection. The video below gives an overview of active and passive pro: Pieces of active protection have moving parts. Examples include cams, BallNutz, and Big Bros. Passive protection…
Cams are the sexy darlings of the climbing protection world, but don’t forget about nuts (also known as chocks, stoppers, and rocks, the last two of which are the trademarked names of the nuts made by Black Diamond and Wild Country, respectively). They’re cheap, easy to place, easy to visually inspect, and, when placed properly,…
Lead climbing is a thrill. Being above a bolt, pushing for the next hold, knowing if pop off a short free fall awaits. It’s a huge part of the draw to sport climbing. But that thrill becomes fear when a high first bolt or challenging first move means failure equals a ground fall. That’s where…
In a macabre sort of way, climbing falls are fun to watch, as long as no one gets hurt. In the moment, falls can be terrifying, and that is made abundantly clean by this point of view GoPro video of a biiiiig fall in Colorado’s Garden of the Gods.
Here are the 8 best rock climbing videos that were uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the last week.
Trad climbing is my personal favorite type of rock climbing, and placing cams is THE essential skill to know before heading out on a trad lead. The video below is a great introduction on how to place cams: Want another take on it? Check out this video: I know that when I was first learning…
Ever seen a sharp corner of rock and thought “I need to climb that.” If so, you’ve fallen under the spell of arete climbing. But while these edges look juicy, getting to the top can be a challenge and requires some special skills. Climbing arete meaning Arete climbing is a technical style of rock climbing…
If you pick up any guidebook to pretty much any climbing area, the chances are good that you’ll see the word “dihedral” used to describe a climb or part of one. So what is a dihedral, exactly? What is a dihedral? A dihedral is a cliff feature where two planes of rock come together at…
Is your idea of paradise beautiful granite boulders, world-class beaches, and crystal clear water? Then check out the video (17:36 in length) below. It documents some of the great bouldering and stunning Caribbean scenery of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. It definitely looks like a place to add to your rock climbing/bouldering bucket list.
Have you ever thought about how a climbing rope is made? Have you ever seen the core of a climbing rope or played with the sheath and wondered what function those different parts serve? The video below—from the TV series How It’s Made—was filmed at the New England Ropes factory. Note: The climbing rope portion goes up through 2:43….
Here are the 12 best rock climbing videos that were uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the last week.
Wondering what to do with your old climbing rope? Easy. Turn it into a great door mat or small rug! The video below shows what you need to do. You can download and print out the climbing rope rug template (as mentioned in the video) here at the Edelrid website. You’ll also find there a…
All sorts of great climbing content is coming. Stay tuned.