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News and Info from the Climbing World
- The Mountain World (http://themountainworld.blogspot.com)
The blog of longtime climber Dougald MacDonald, a former editor-in-chief at Rock and Ice and current editor for both the American Alpine Journal and Climbing.com, as well as frequent contributor to Backpacker, Men’s Journal, and Outside Magazines. Lots of cool stuff and links.
- Climbing Magazine (http://www.climbing.com)
Not surprising that one of the most popular climbing magazines has a great website full of interesting information and news. The newsfeed is a good source for recent news on everything from 8000m peaks to bouldering in Hueco, and literally everything in between. Additionally, the site contains a wealth of information on climbing areas all over the world, beautiful photo galleries, numerous videos, and a great section on “tech tips.”
- Alpine Briefs (http://alpinebriefs.wordpress.com)
The Alpine Briefs is an occasional alpine newsletter from two editors of the American Alpine Journal: Kelly Cordes and Dougald MacDonald. It is a cool little thang that features stories from trips both near and far, video clips related to alpine adventures, and other climbing tidbits.
- Climbing Narcissist (http://www.climbingnarc.com)
Not much ice or alpine info here, but the website is a great source for up-to-date information on what’s going on in the rock world, sport, trad, and bouldering included. It regularly features great videos of the world’s best climbers working and sending new projects/routes to stimulate your visual needs when words alone aren’t enough.
- Deadpoint Magazine (http://www.deadpointmag.com)
Again, no real ice or big mountains to speak of here, but the site does contain a lot of recent news from the rock arena, as well as an awesome list of new and updated climbing videos/clips featuring some of the biggest names in “the biz.” Wanna see Paul Robinson crank down in the dirty south, or Sharma pulling hard on some new 5.15badass? This is the place to go.
Gear Information and Reviews
- Andy Kirkpatrick’s Massive List of Gear Articles (http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/gear)
British climber Andy Kirkpatrick is a self-described ‘gear nerd’ and has written a prodigious number of articles and reviews on climbing gear. His website has over 50 articles that cover pretty much everything you might want to know about gear and equipment, ranging from “Getting the right mountain boots,” to “The Truth About Gloves,” and even “Advanced Bootlace Techniques.”
- Psychovertical Gear (http://www.psychovertical.com/?gear)
A perhaps even larger list of gear articles by Andy Kirkpatrick on his older website www.psychovertical.com that includes many of the articles on his new website but also many others that contain useful nuggets of information about stoves, bivy gear, climbing packs, helmets, sleep systems, etc.
- Equipment for Alpinism in the ‘Greater Ranges’ (http://cascadeclimbers.com/alpine/colin-haley-alpinism)
An article by alpinist Colin Haley to “help guide you in equipment decisions for serious alpine climbs on big mountains,” covering everything from cooking systems, to bivy options, to hardware, and ropes. A great overview of the necessary gear to climb big alpine objectives from one of the most adventurous climbers out there today.
- Kelly Cordes on Climbing Gear and Clothing (http://kellycordes.wordpress.com)
Cordes has written a number of interesting entries on climbing gear in his blog, including a very good one on climbing gloves that features commentary from some of the most cutting-edge alpinists today, such as Conrad Anker, Will Gadd, Steve House, Colin Haley, and others. The entries are not categorized, so you might have to do some searching to find them, but they’re worth a little digging around.
- Steve House’s Gear on Nanga Parbat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkmYiwbZWg)
Steve House lays out all the gear he and Vince Anderson used on their ascent of Nanga Parbat’s Rhupal Face, a 14,000 foot wall on one of the highest mountains in the world.
- Steve House’s Clothing on Nanga Parbat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoACZH2N9gE)
One of the world’s best alpinists demonstrates the clothing system used during his ascent of Nanga Parbat’s Rhupal Face, the largest mountain wall in the world.
Some BAMF Climbers that You Should Know About (and their blogs)
Technique
- Andy Kirkpatrick on Climbing Technique (http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/technique)
In addition to his writing on climbing gear, Kirkpatrick has written myriad articles on useful technique tips that cover everything from aid and big-wall climbing, to food and cooking on tiny ledges, including various entries on the tricky art of descending from a route. His website had over 100 articles on technique – get reading and up your knowledge base! His Psychovertical website contains a few articles that aren’t on his new site.
- Climbing Magazine’s “Tech Tips” (http://climbing.com/print/techtips)
A large list of short tips on how to improve your climbing technique from various climbers at Climbing Magazine. Aid, alpine, sport, trad, injury prevention and treatment, training, this list covers it all.
Training
Videos
Badass Expedition Stories and Trip Reports
- Mark Synnott’s expeditions (http://newhampshireclimbing.com/climbing-expeditions.asp)
Exciting and engaging reports from New Hampshire’s very own Mark Synnott on his expeditions around the world, from Baffin Island, to the Karakoram, to Africa and back.
- American Alpine Journal Online (http://aaj.americanalpineclub.org)
Published annually since 1929, the American Alpine Journal is internationally renowned as the finest publication of its kind—the world’s “journal of record” for documenting significant climbs. Now that it is online you can search back to read hundreds of captivating stories from some of the most epic and noteworthy climbs ever done.
Cool Miscellaneous Stuff
- Black Diamond Journal (http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/blog/index/index)
A manufacturer of some of the best climbing gear out there, Black Diamond also has a blog/journal that features reports from their athletes in the field and their engineers in the factory, providing a one-stop-shop for those who want to read about new attempts on unclimbed lines and see how their gear is made and tested.
- The Patagonia Tin Shed (http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/tinshed/index.jsp?slc=en_US&sct=US)
Patagonia makes some sweet gear. They also have a sweet website called “The Tin Shed,” (which derives its names from the original shed out of which Patagonia was based) that features high quality videos, narrated slideshows, and other stories from their athletes all over the world. Highlights include a slideshow of Colin Haley and Rolando Garribotti’s traverse of the Cerro Torre massif in Patagonia, multiple videos from funnymen and badasses Nico Favresse and Sean Villanueva climbing in North America and Patagonia, and a great video by the late, great Johnny Copp on far-away expeditions in distant lands.
- Pimpin and Crimpin (http://www.pimpinandcrimpin.com)
Want a little comedy with your climbing? This website, the product of a handful of climbing dudes and dudettes in Colorado, contains a plethora of funny articles and entries on various topics related to climbing and pretty much makes me piss my pants every time I check it out. Some of my favorites include “Warren Harding’s Twitter Feed,” “The Reign of Time Child,” and “Twelve People You’ve Met Climbing.”
- The Dirtbag Diaries (http://www.dirtbagdiaries.com)
This is a great website that I discovered this past summer. It is the product of climber/writer Fitz Cahall and features a number of podcasts/audio stories about adventure and outdoor experience. The cool thing about the Dirtbag Diaries is that it isn’t just about the famous climbers, skiers, and/or surfers that we see all the time in magazines and videos, but rather the “everyday” guys and gals that are out there crushing and going hard even without the glitzy sponsorships. Perfect for downloading to your iPod to take with you on the go.
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