Last Updated on: 31st March 2023, 10:53 am
We all know about spotting in bouldering, but what about sun spotting? That’s what I’m calling the technique that you can see in this video from 0:39 to 0:46. The spotter is holding up a small pad to block the sun and keep it out of the climber’s eyes. Neat little trick, one that I’ve never thought of doing before.
Last Updated on: 31st March 2023, 10:56 am 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…
Last Updated on: 23rd March 2023, 09:54 am I wanted an easy way to track how often I climb, so I printed out a single-page calendar that shows the entire year on it and stuck it to the wall next to my computer. (This is the 2016 calendar I printed, and here’s a 2017 version. I…
Last Updated on: 23rd January 2024, 01:40 pm If you’ve been climbing outdoors for a bit you’ve probably heard the term prusik. A prussik is a knot that climbers used for a few purposes. It can be used for ascending a fixed rope, taking the load off of a rope, and backing up a rappel,…
Last Updated on: 23rd January 2024, 01:41 pm 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…
Last Updated on: 31st March 2023, 11:35 am 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:…
Last Updated on: 31st March 2023, 10:57 am 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…