https://bit.ly/3Uf1wkM "Scarpa’s new Veloce L (for “Lace”) is a super-soft, slightly asymmetrical, moderately down-turned, and very comfortable vegan lace-up designed (or so says Scarpa) for beginner and intermediate climbers who spend most or all of their time at the gym.
I didn’t get the memo.
Four months ago, after just two or three days of indoor bouldering (during which I marveled at the Veloce L’s comfort, sensitivity, and freakishly grippy S72 rubber), I brought them outside. Since then, they’ve been my go-to shoes inside and out. As marketed, they excel on grabby indoor board climbs and smeary modern comp volumes; but they also perform admirably on technical quartzite boulders, and I wore them when I clipped the chains on the two hardest sport routes I’ve sent in the last decade."
https://bit.ly/3Uf1wkM "Scarpa’s new Veloce L (for “Lace”) is a super-soft, slightly asymmetrical, moderately down-turned, and very comfortable vegan lace-up designed (or so says Scarpa) for beginner and intermediate climbers who spend most or all of their time at the gym.
I didn’t get the memo.
Four months ago, after just two or three days of indoor bouldering (during which I marveled at the Veloce L’s comfort, sensitivity, and freakishly grippy S72 rubber), I brought them outside. Since then, they’ve been my go-to shoes inside and out. As marketed, they excel on grabby indoor board climbs and smeary modern comp volumes; but they also perform admirably on technical quartzite boulders, and I wore them when I clipped the chains on the two hardest sport routes I’ve sent in the last decade."
https://bit.ly/3Uf1wkM "Scarpa’s new Veloce L (for “Lace”) is a super-soft, slightly asymmetrical, moderately down-turned, and very comfortable vegan lace-up designed (or so says Scarpa) for beginner and intermediate climbers who spend most or all of their time at the gym.
I didn’t get the memo.
Four months ago, after just two or three days of indoor bouldering (during which I marveled at the Veloce L’s comfort, sensitivity, and freakishly grippy S72 rubber), I brought them outside. Since then, they’ve been my go-to shoes inside and out. As marketed, they excel on grabby indoor board climbs and smeary modern comp volumes; but they also perform admirably on technical quartzite boulders, and I wore them when I clipped the chains on the two hardest sport routes I’ve sent in the last decade."
https://bit.ly/3Uf1wkM "Scarpa’s new Veloce L (for “Lace”) is a super-soft, slightly asymmetrical, moderately down-turned, and very comfortable vegan lace-up designed (or so says Scarpa) for beginner and intermediate climbers who spend most or all of their time at the gym.
I didn’t get the memo.
Four months ago, after just two or three days of indoor bouldering (during which I marveled at the Veloce L’s comfort, sensitivity, and freakishly grippy S72 rubber), I brought them outside. Since then, they’ve been my go-to shoes inside and out. As marketed, they excel on grabby indoor board climbs and smeary modern comp volumes; but they also perform admirably on technical quartzite boulders, and I wore them when I clipped the chains on the two hardest sport routes I’ve sent in the last decade."
This belayer was a sitting duck
Steep multi-pitch rock climbs have a lot going for them: they’re exposed, aesthetic, and often serve a venue for big, clean whippers. But steep rock typically comes with a dearth of comfortable ledges, which means that belayers are lashed tightly to the wall.
On Arco, Italy’s, Zodiac Wall (6b/5.10c A3; 720ft), the professional climber Martin Feistl was trying to make the route’s first free ascent. On the crux sixth pitch, Feistl found a clever free variation that he estimated to be around 8a+ (5.13c). The only problem? The entire crux sequence had no gear.
“It’s not an easy catch from a hanging belay, and [it has] this huge traverse,” Feistl told Climbing, so when he cratered into his belayer, Feistl changed tactics. “We switched from a GriGri to an ATC, which makes the fall longer,” he admits, “but way smoother and more controllable if you’re used to catching bigger falls with an ATC.” That’s because an ATC—or any tube-style belay device—produces more rope slippage when catching a fall. Unlike the immediate braking of a GriGri, an ATC makes it easier to provide “longer” catches, thus avoiding uncomfortable collisions like this one.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend. Thanks to Silvan Metz for the video.
WEEKEND WHIPPER_10_13_2023
For the second week in a row our hats go off to the all-star belayer who prevented a long fall from becoming seriously disastrous. This time around our perilous whip comes from the Grande Grotta crag in Kalymnos.
Mitchell Kelly was feeling confident on his mini project after linking this particular sequence multiple times, so he carelessly pulled up “more rope than was necessarily needed” to clip while balanced on a polished foothold that he hadn’t used during previous attempts.
Kelly’s partner, who is 45 pounds lighter than him, saw his foot pop and immediately reeled in the slack while running backwards. She was nevertheless pulled forward by Kelly’s weight, in line with the start of the route, but no doubt saved him from hitting the deck. Great work!
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend. Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].
NEW ONE! Check out this longform multimedia history of the Stonemasters written by John Long, photos and editing by Dean Fidelman.
https://bit.ly/3FbCutO
WEEKEND WHIPPER_10_06_2023
Kudos to this belayer for turning a legitimately dangerous fall into nothing more than a little internet stardom.
Nikolai Atkinson (climber) and Espen Warat Lien Stegerød (belayer) were climbing at Norway’s Pumpeverket crag in Kristiansand. The area has many beautiful cracks, not the least of which is Sjakk Math (6c/5.11b), a sloping, right-leaning splitter with an exciting traversing sequence.
On Atkinson’s onsight attempt, which Stegerød caught on camera, he makes it through the first low crux before placing a nest of decent gear. Atkinson boulders out right on sloping edges and pauses to place a finger-sized cam. “[But] it was a shallow [placement] in a flaring crack,” he told Climbing. “It was more of a mental-support cam than a good placement.”
No matter, Atkinson thought. He was almost through the crux crimps and could see a “hallelujah jug” just out of reach.
But “on the very last move of the crux” Atkinson fell.
“As his belayer, I saw this massive whipper and tried my best to take in as much slack as I could, and hoped that the cam would hold,” Stegerød said. When it failed, Stegerød sat back hard, saving Atkinson from a vicious collision with the ground.
What did they learn? Stegerød said they’ll be more careful when packing their climbing bags the night before. The pair typically climb with helmets, but coincidentally had both forgotten theirs that day.
As far as protection goes, “It’s easy to say that we need to check the placements first, but you know how the thrill of onsights go.”
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].
whipper!
Who doesn’t like a birthday surprise? This one comes to us courtesy of H., a route developer in Central Oregon who celebrated his 70th birthday last Sunday at a beautiful basalt crag he’d been helping to establish since 2020. H. was hoping to snag a birthday FA of a newly bolted and cleaned 5.10+ called Captain Crux. But alas, said his friend Liz Thelander (who was filming), “mother nature had other plans.”
After climbing smoothly up the first twenty feet of the climb, H. leaned right to place a quickdraw in the third bolt hanger. When he transitioned from pulling down on the hold to applying force in a gaston position, his clipping jug exploded off the wall, sending H. arcing toward the ground alongside a few dozen pounds of jagged basalt. Luckily for him, the hold broke in the direction H. had been weighting it, which meant that the large shards of rock, easily heavy enough to do serious damage to a belayer, fell to the left of the climbing line, allowing the belayer to give a masterful catch and keep H. from a groundfall.
H. didn’t emerge entirely unscathed; the shards of rock cut and bruised his left forearm during their adjacent descents. But after some light bandaging and a snack, H. got back on the climb—this time on TR—to claim a clean ascent on his birthday.
All in all, H.’s experience is a good reminder that even well-cleaned climbs tend to shed rock early in their lives, particularly when that rock is basalt or limestone—so it’s best to wear a helmet.
Stay safe out there!
WEEKEND WHIPPER_09_15_2023
Bad news for anyone rearing to climb “the sickest-looking single-pitch crack climb” first ascensionist Ethan Pringle has ever seen: some of the best holds are prone to snapping.
It was Carlo Traversi’s first lead attempt of Blackbeard’s Tears (5.14c), at The Promontory in Northern California. “I knew the left-hand crimp that I was holding was a bit suspect but it made the first 5.13 crux section flow better for me, so I just went for it,” he told Climbing.
Traversi says that section of Blackbeard’s is about 60 feet up a consistently overhanging wall, so the fall is quite clean. “I actually started laughing right as the rope went tight because I knew I was playing with fire a bit, grabbing the suspect crimp in the first place,” he said.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].
WEEKEND WHIPPER_09_08_2023
Folks, it’s never too early (or late, or repetitive) to be reminded that flipping upside down is one of the worst ways to experience a rock climb. Just ask Michael Leathers, who was trying Incinerator (5.12a) in Holcomb Valley, CA, and flipped upside down trying to latch a distant jug.
Mountain Project describes Incinerator as “super fun and well-protected, this is popular to finish the day or oneself on.” Unfortunately, Leathers seemed to take the latter advice too literally, and flicked his foot behind the rope for a relatively violent short fall. (A softer catch may have helped too, but alas.)
While Leathers was totally fine, we’d recommend he keep it tight during his future dynos.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].
WEEKEND WHIPPER_09_01_2023
Here’s a classic “I told you so” scenario: two climbers, one significantly heavier than the other, partner up. Their route has spaced protection and big falls are likely. The heavier climber offers to lead and the lighter belayer offers to build a ground anchor, to prevent them from being sucked upwards in a fall. The leader demurs—it can’t be that bad! (It could, in fact, be that bad.)
Rachel Pearce teamed up with her climbing partner George for Dwarf in the Toilet (E6 6b/5.12), a mainly gear-protected single pitch. “There’s a bolt below the crux that gives you something to aim for but it definitely still feels airy up there,” she wrote. “George backed off the start because he didn’t want to break his legs when he couldn’t get high gear, but I stepped up and committed to the route and got up to the safety of the bolts.”
Pearce eventually jumped off at the crux so George tied back in for another go, “really going for it” above the bolt. “We had considered a ground anchor, and I did say I told you so!” Pearce said. “George thought it would be OK, being neither too run out or close to the floor, but we didn’t account for the rope running in a perfect line with zero friction and on his first fall we collided because the only gear on the rope is directly under the bolt.”
“There are many things to consider when falling off,” Pearce continued, “and I see lots [of folks] falling further than they expect. Things like how much rope is in the system, how far past the runner [you are], where gear is (any friction from the rope zig-zagging).… Hopefully this video will highlight some things you need to consider if you’re going to take to the air!”
Pearce reported that on George’s next attempt they built a ground anchor with a small amount of slack between it and Pearce: “When he falls off the next time, the catch is clearly a lot harder but at least I don’t get T-boned.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
WEEKEND WHIPPER_08_25_2023
In January 2023 Tyler Karow, Imanol Amundarian, and Cedar Christensen snagged an impressive team free ascent of the Central Tower of Paine’s South African Route (5.12c; 4,000ft) in Patagonia. Theirs was just the second free ascent of the stunning spire.
In this week’s whipper watch Karow project the stunning “laser-cut 5.12c dihedral” high above the glacier. “I spent the day working the enduro corner in full project mode which is something I am not particularly familiar with but very much enjoyed,” he wrote on social media. “I got the pitch dialed but my arms were so pumped that I couldn’t quite put it together.”
Thankfully the gear was (nearly) all bomber, and the falls were clean. Karow redpointed before long.
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, [email protected].
WEEKEND WHIPPER_08_18_2023
It’s that time of the week again: when we watch folks huck themselves on (or off of) their projects. Matt Reeser was working the uber-classic—the most classic, we’d argue—Midnight Lightning (V8), in Yosemite’s Camp 4 boulders.
First climbed by Ron Kauk in 1978, Midnight Lightning begins on some small crimps before a few big moves deposit you below the infamous mantle. Best done with a press-undercling combo, the crux of Midnight Lightning really is trusting your right foot that’s pasted onto the slick Yosemite stone.
The fall is safe, at least, if a bit exciting. Happy Friday.
WEEKEND WHIPPER_08_11_2023
First of all: kudos to Stephen Davis, this week’s whipper, for keeping a cool head while questing onsight above small gear. Speaking from our collective experience at Climbing, we typically tense up when faced with awkward, swinging, and otherwise ledge-filled falls. But Davis was cool as a cucumber on his first attempt of The Link (5.12a) at Ship Rock in North Carolina. When the route jogged hard left below several roofs, he “decided to double up on the last piece since I didn’t know what to expect before getting to a fixed pin.” Davis slotted a small nut then headed left, smearing his feet high against the wall to keep his body tensed.
“I felt alright,” he told Climbing, “not the best position, so when I went to grab a draw and it was on my left side I had to fiddle it around to get it ready. When I was about to clip it I relaxed a bit too much and just slipped.”
Davis assured us that though he appeared to whack his elbow during the fall, he didn’t, and was completely fine. “I went back up and found a much better stance to clip from. I took some much smaller whips while figuring out the beta but then made it through. Feeling confident I’ll get the redpoint next time!”
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend. Thanks to Curtis Baird for the video.
Wild Life
A tight-knit group of dirtbag climbers; a love story; a lifelong passion for conservation. From Oscar® winners Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, and National Geographic Documentary Films, WILD LIFE follows conservationist Kristine Tompkins on an epic love story as wild as the landscapes she has dedicated her life to protecting. In theaters Friday: https://bit.ly/3mn5Dg6
Give a 💩
BREAKING NEWS: it's now best practice to pack out your poop rather than digging a cathole. That's why we've teamed up with Access Fund and EPIC Water Filters . Our “Give a 💩” campaign seeks to raise $21,000 from the climbing community, which will be matched by a $7,000 gift from Epic Water Filters. The money will be used to buy wag bags that will be given away at climbing areas around the country. Donate here: https://bit.ly/407zzue
Neil Gresham 12-Month Training Plan
Check out this comprehensive training plan from professional climbing coach Neil Gresham. This program guides you through the entire year and everyone can do it regardless of age, ability or experience. https://bit.ly/3Yk07Ze
Giving Tuesday
YOU JOIN, WE GIVE! Join Outside+ today and you'll get access to all of CLIMBING's premium content (begone paywall!) while also helping us sustain climbing access, create a healthier planet, and build a more diverse climbing community. For every Outside+ subscription purchased TODAY (11/29), we will DONATE $25 to our 14 Find Your Good nonprofit partners, which include Access Fund, Paradox Sports, Protect Our Winters, and more. https://bit.ly/3gIO6Mj
