Climbing
ArchiveClimbing has announced the winners of its annual award for the fastest, highest, and hardest vertical pursuits of last year. Below is a quick listing of the Golden Piton awards for 2010, with links to the full write-ups on…
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia. Cory Richards, Simone Moro, and Denis Urubko, who knocked down the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum II last week on February 2, were hit by an avalanche on their way down to…
For the past two years, we've been hearing rumblings of a new documentary about Adam Ondra, the 18-year-old Czech prodigy widely considered to be the world's strongest sport climber. Besides a handful of clips released online, little information has been released about the as-yet-untitled film.
Steph Davis just posted step-by-step instructions on how to clean cams on the Prana blog. Beginning climbers can easily follow this quick and simple post. If you've been putting off cleaning, now's the time to grab a large…
National Geographic announced on Wednesday that 37-year-old Spanish mountaineer Edurne Pasaban has been named the People's Choice 2011 Adventurer of the Year. In May 2010 Pasaban finished her quest to climb the world's 14…
GII Winter Expedition | Dispatch # 3 | The Cold welcome from GII from story.teller on Vimeo. Alpinists Cory Richards, Simone Moro and Denis Urubko have completed the first winter ascent of Pakistan's Gasherbrum II, according to Climbing.com. At 26,362 feet,…
This guest post is from professional climber Paul Robinson, who is currently in France on a round-the-world bouldering trip. Paul's first ascent of Lucid Dreaming (V16) was featured in the film “The Hardest Moves” at last year's…
The News Team has been hard at work this week, combing the web for the latest headlines from the world outside. Along the way we discovered these little gems, clips of people out doing what they love. Here's the stuff you should click on this week—video edition. If…
Sixteen months after injuring his shoulder during the 2009 American Bouldering Series Nationals, Ethan Pringle made his comeback. He did it in fine style last June, when he repeated Dai Koyamada's Wheel of Life (V16/5.14d), a massive 60-plus move roof problem in Australia's Grampians. Since then, Pringle, 24, has been on…
The Loneliest Road in America gets a little more lonely, swingliners go big in Utah, an epic bore in Alaska, and tailgating: by the numbers. Here's the stuff you should click on this week. Not Your Average Backyard Swing Set: Forget Duran Duran:Playing…
Courtesy of Flickr Alpinists Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards are attempting a first winter ascent of Pakistan's Gasherbrum II, according to…
Having been home from my successful Vinson summit a few weeks now, my attention has shifted from reflection to planning. The next climb is Aconcagua in mid January. There are two major activities at this point: gear review and continued training. This will be the second climb in The…
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced last Wednesday that the National Park Service will waive admission fees on 17 selected dates throughout 2011. The first fee free days will be this weekend, January 15-17, for the…
Guides Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs, Seth Waterfall, Caroline George, Jake Norton, cinematographer Kent Harvey and their clients summited Vinson Massif on Antarctica, 45 years after the first ascent of the mountain. The team called in to…
In 1939, wealthy American adventurer Dudley Wolfe was abandoned high on an unconquered K2, becoming the Savage Mountain's first victim. For more than 60 years, no one knew his story. Enter Jennifer Jordan, author, filmmaker, and…
From the beginning of January up until the year's final weeks, climbing news has been chock-full of bar-raising ascents across all disciplines. We've seen V16 boulders, big wall speed records, and new-school ascents on ice. The sport as a whole has advanced too—climbing may have an Olympic appearance in its…
Standing on the summit of Antarctica’s Mt. Vinson at 16,067’ was one of the highlights of my climbing career. Not only was it one of the most breathtaking views I have ever witnessed from a mountain, the meaning was simply overwhelming. Vinson was the first of my 7 Summits Climb…
Filmed over the past three years and incorporating interviews from more than 50 influential climbers—including Royal Robbins, John Bachar, Lynn Hill, and Tommy Caldwell—The Last Wild Mountain attempts to tell the story of American rock climbing…
Russian BASE jumper Valery Rozov traveled to Antarctica's 9,616-foot Mount Ulvetanna so he could be the first to climb and jump off the rock in temps as low as -22 degrees. Enough said. Via Wend. –Joe Spring…
Mt. McKinley photo courtesy of Unhindered by Talent on Flickr. Ever dream of standing atop one of the Seven Summits, winning a marathon, or swimming across the Atlantic Ocean? So did these guys. But instead of following through, they lied about…
The frozen continent. Photo Courtesy of Flickr Despite -22°F temperatures, a steady band of adventurers has opened the season on Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest peak and one of the Seven Summits. Team Latitude, a Norwegian team, was…
Our weekly roundup of the quirky, bizarre, entertaining, and astounding news from the world outside. Here's the stuff you should click on this week. Now You See It, Now You Don't:Then and Now: Repeat Photography Captures Changing Landscapes (…
What did you miss last month? A lot. Pay attention next time. Or, just check back at the beginning of each month for a round-up of the top 10 blogs from the previous month, like this one. Number 10 (a tie!): Stuff You Should Click On: Week…
A coffee-table photography book of the world’s greatest adventurers and the places they tackled.
The trailer for an upcoming movie about Czech climber Adam Ondra. Adam Ondra climbed his first two V15 boulder problems this week, sending Big Paw and From The Dirt Grows The Flowers in two days during a stopover in Chironico, Switzerland, Climbing Narc is…
Don't worry, it's not that Delicate Arch. Renan Ozturk, Jimmy Chin, and crew discovered a rock in Chad that inspired a similar name. They immediately set out to scale it. With our limited time the team quickly sprung into…
Human remains found near Las Vegas earlier this month are those of John Rosholt, an Arizona climber and professional gambler who has been missing for the past five years, police say. Rosholt, 54, came into prominence in the late 1990s with ascents of hard trad routes like Ruby's Cafe and…
Renan Ozturk, Jimmy Chin, Alex Honnold and a cast of all-star climbers set off earlier this month for Chad. No, the country doesn't conjure up images of the world's most epic climbs, but that's the point. The team flew to the African country to find new routes.
As climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson continue their push to free the long-standing Dawn Wall/Mescalito project on El Capitan this week, anyone with an internet connection has the opportunity to follow climbing history in the making. Since the pair began their attempt…
Dean Potter and Sean Leary set a new speed record for the Nose route of El Capitan on Saturday. The pair climbed the 2900-foot route in two hours, thirty-six minutes, forty-five seconds, just twenty seconds faster than the record set by Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama in 2008. In…
Lucky Chance started getting attention from the mainstream media last year when a video appeared on YouTube of him BASE jumping off the “Death Swing,” a 100-foot-long, clifftop rope swing in Australia's Blue Mountains. Chance, a 27-year-old stuntman, rock…
After ten years of work, British climber Leo Houlding has made the first ascent of The Prophet, a new free route on Yosemite's El Capitan, Deadpoint Mag reports. The Prophet ascends the right side of El Cap, linking up pitches from established routes Bad To…
Flying devils, physics: explained, a record high, a fine wine, and lo-jacked rhinos. We're just getting started. Here's the stuff you should click on this week. “Flying Devils” — Johnny Rooks: 1. National Geographic: 0. How High?Excalibur Billed As The World's…
I was climbing my local favorite, Colorado's Longs Peak earlier this year and noticed a new sign beside the trail. This was near the Diamond, famous for world class big wall climbs from Casual Route, 5.10a to Ariana at 5.12a and more. To be clear I was doing the passive…
Photo of the Himalayas courtesy of ilkerender on Flickr. Joe Puryear fell to his death on Tuesday while climbing Labuche Kang, a 24,170-foot mountain in the Himalayas, the Seattle Times reports. The 37-year old fell 1,500 feet when a cornice…
Chris Sharma has won the Masters Series I Psicobloc, a unique new deep water solo climbing competition held in the Spanish city of Bilbao this weekend, reports Prana. Over 4,000 spectators lined the banks of the Bilbao Estuary to watch Sharma, 29, and over a…
In case you missed 'em, here are the top 10 posts from last month. We dare you not to click on number 5: “Woman Saves Choking Bear”. Number 10: Chrissie Wellington: Riding the Himalayas Number 9: Ironman Champ Chrissie Wellington's…
This year, Reel Rock moved away from its usual feature-oriented format to focus on short films. Co-creators Sender Films and Big UP Productions spent months documenting some of the most talked-about sends and stunts of the past few…
Italy boasts an enduring culture of Alpinism, to-die-for cycling, and hard-core ultrarunning. It's why I planned a trip there this fall. (Yes, there's also…The food! The vino!) I spent a week trekking in Abruzzo, a multi-sport mecca for climbing, trekking, paragliding and mountain biking. It's…
Photo by Didrik Johnck Michael Brown, Erik Weihenmayer, and the Soldiers to the Summit team sent notice that they bagged Lobuche yesterday. It is…
Matt Wilder working Iron Monkey (via ClimbingNarc) Just a few weeks after his surprise second-place finish at the Nor'easter bouldering competition, Brian Kim has made a rare ascent of Eldorado Canyon's hardest trad climb, Iron Monkey (5.14 R),…
By Stephen Regenold The manufacture and sale of artificial rock-climbing holds is a small industry and one of those esoteric tiny areas of dedicated people and passionate companies that makes the outdoors world so neat. An even tinier niche focuses on artificial holds and…
It's a good thing my mom isn't here watching me climb. This is definitely not the safest thing I have ever done.— Eric Larsen, Day 44, Camp 4 Explorer Eric Larsen moved with his team up to…
At 34, Ueli Steck is one of the fastest and most versatile climbers around today. Practically unknown to most Americans, the Swiss alpinist has set speed records on some of the Alps' toughest walls, including the Eiger's infamous north face, and has summited both Gasherbrum II and Makalu.
By Stephen Regenold For virtually any outdoors adventure, the right gear can give you an edge. But in few product categories does this ring as true as it does with lighting. For activities at night, an ill-performing headlamp, flashlight, or other source of…
Climber Daniel Woods has made the second ascent of Jaws II at Rumney, the hardest sport climb in the eastern US, Climbing Narc reports. Originally established by Dave Graham as Jaws (5.14d), Jaws II climbs up a steeply overhanging schist wall in the White Mountains…
In between covering rounds of the UBC Pro Tour at the Nor'easter last weekend, I managed to sneak out and have a look at some of the gear on display in the sponsor village. The exhibitors at the Nor'easter had loads of new equipment to show…
Photo courtesy of Flickr Disaster Airborne Response Teams, a nonprofit, non-governmental rescue unit plans to use its two Cessna 206 planes to improve access to backcountry rescue sites and other emergency scenes in Colorado and the six surrounding states. DARTS will fly emergency first…
Any article about death on a mountain is difficult to write. I am concerned about getting the facts wrong, perhaps offending family and friends. However, it serves a purpose of exploring the reason for incident and reminding everyone that mountains can be deadly. The best source year after year is…
After spending the morning checking out the Nor'easter sponsor village, slacklining, and trying my hand at artificial ice climbing (more on that later), I got the chance to sit down with climber Daniel Woods. Woods, who crushed all six…
Ethan Pringle and Alex Johnson took first place at the Nor'easter, the final Unified Bouldering Championships event of the season, competing for a crowded audience in Lincoln, New Hampshire. The men's division turned unexpectedly competitive after front-runner Daniel Woods failed to top the first problem, dropping the…
The Nor'easter bouldering competition kicked off today with qualifiers at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. After an incredible series of snafus including lost rental car keys, a lost phone, and a broken camera, I made it to the comp just in time to…
On September 12, Stephen Wampler set out to become the first person with Cerebral Palsy to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan. Joining him were two experts…
The Road to the Nor'easter with Sonnie Trotter & Russ Clune from NE2C…
Outside Magazine offers free photo galleries. See the best in outdoor photography, featuring top pictures of climber Alex Puccio.
For Alex Honnold, 2010 was the summer of speed. The 24-year-old climber, who's famous for his hard free-solo ascents, switched gears this summer, blazing up big walls in Yosemite and Squamish and making the first one-day ascent of the 28-pitch sport route…
The Ronnie Dickson Project: Amputee Climbing from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo. Louder Than 11 recently released this featurette they made about Ronnie Dickson, an amputee climber, Evolv…
It's time again for the Reel Rock Film Tour, the annual climbing film fest put together by Big UP Productions and Sender…
As a Boston-area climber, I really appreciate urban crags, those spunky little cliffs and boulderfields tucked in between housing developments and industrial parks. They may not always be the prettiest or the biggest, but for those of us who don’t have a Hueco in our backyard and can’t take off…
Climber Michelle Smith fell and shattered her right leg while climbing the Grand Teton's Valhalla Traverse on August 26, Ungrounded reports. The 29-year old's climbing partner, Stephen Koch, caught her harrowing helicopter rescue on camera. We don't know what's more nerve wracking: the Traverse…
Heuga Can Do Trailer from Larkin Flynn on Vimeo. This past June I had the chance to hang out in Aspen with Mike Marolt—cpa, dad, high altitude skier, and filmmaker. On that Saturday night in…
Urban climber Daniel Goodwin was arrested today after climbing to the top levels of a 58-story building in San Francisco. After scaling the Millenium Tower using suction cups, the 54-year-old Goodwin put up an American flag. On his…
As It Happens from renan ozturk on Vimeo. The good folks over at Vimeo recently chose As It Happens—a climbing series shot by Renan Ozturk and…
When freeskier Kit DesLauriers dropped in at 29,035 feet on Mount Everest in October, she became the first person to ski off the Seven Summits. Kit, her husband, Rob, and photographer Jimmy Chin—whose exclusive images appear here—also became the first Americans to ski…
John Harlin talks to Anthony Cerretani about his quest to climb the mountain that claimed his father's life and his book about the journey: The Eiger Obsession. Read an excerpt from The Eiger Obsession.
In October 2006, Jackson, Wyoming's Kit DesLauriers became the first woman to ski from the top of Everest—and the first person to carve the Seven Summits. In an Outside exclusive, superguide Dave Hahn went along for the seminal schussing. In this podcast, Hahn talks to Anthony Cerretani about the record-breaking…
Montana-based mountaineer Conrad Anker is no stranger to big mountain challenges. At 44, he's made first ascents in Antarctica and the Himalayas; in May 1999, he discovered the frozen body of British climber George Mallory at 27,000 feet on Everest's North Face. But the question remains: Did Mallory and partner…
Poor Eric Hansen. After heading all the way over to Nepal to take a stab at the Way of the Sherpa, he found out that all those wiry, diminutive porters are actually pretty big badasses, and your average dude probably shouldn't attempt to do their thankless job. But it seems…
You were told that Everest base camp is an insult to the true spirit of mountaineering. But why weren't you told about the excellent bars, the butter people, and that friendly playboy bunny from Poland? Kevin Fedarko spent a month at the world's most exclusive party town for his July…
It seems like dramatic, last-minute sends are coming into vogue forrock climbers. First came Paul Robinson's last-day success last weekin Rocklands. Now, Norwegian climber Magnus Midtbø has managed thefirst repeat of the ultra-hard…
Two hikers on a day trip in Canada's Columbia Ice Fields found the body of an American climber who went missing in 1989, MSNBC reports. The body, found in a melting…
“First Ascent: The Series” Trailer from Sender Films on Vimeo. Sender Films has released First Ascent: The Complete Series, a great new collection of climbing videos starring the likes of Dean Potter, Chris Sharma, and Alex Honnold. The entire…
Above, Payne climbs Castaway. Click here to watch a video of Angie Payne's Automator climb. Last week, Angie Payne pushed women’s bouldering to a new level when she made the first female ascent of The Automator (V13) in Rocky Mountain National…
After almost two months of work, climber Paul Robinson has managed to make the second ascent of Monkey Wedding (V15), an until-now unrepeated problem established by Swiss boulderer Fred Nicole in South Africa's Rocklands. According to 27Crags.com, Robinson called Monkey Wedding…
While the rest of America's top boulderers were battling it out at this month's Unified Bouldering Championships in Salt Lake City, Paul Robinson was out in the sand. Robinson, who this March put up the US' second proposed V16, has…
Courtesy of Flickr It is the mountaineering mystery: what happened to George Mallory and Andrew Irvine when they disappeared attempting to summit Mount Everest? A group of scientists from the University of Toronto claim that the pair were lost in a “perfect storm”…
Enzo Oddo, 15, has repeated ChrisSharma's legendary sport route Realization at Ceuse, France, Kairn.com reports. Oddo, of Nice, workedon the route for months, falling several times on the last moves. InJuly, several holds broke near the start of the route, increasing thedifficulty of the climb. First…
We talk with the adventurer about his memoirs, the climbers he admires, and why he believes harder is better.