Rock Climbing

May 15, 2013, by Josh Cox » No comments yet
The Mangrove Tree

A while back, likely last March based on the date stamp, I read a blog post from Sean McColl about a French Training Camp he participated in. Right away I was intrigued by one of the activities he described as “Mangrove Power” or as my poor French translating from the diagram to the right, “The Mangrove Tree”. At the time I was guest routesetting at a local Lifetime Fitness climbing wall. This wall is actually pretty decent compared to other fitness center walls I’ve seen. They had 9 top-rope set-ups and some pretty good variety of angles. I thought of using this Mangrove Tree concept at that wall for 2 reasons. First, to increase the volume and variety of routes Read More

Apr 9, 2013, by Austin Howell » 1 Comment »
PILE ZE BAGS!!!!!!!

I’m in Nashville Tennessee now, fresh off the best going away “party” I could ever have hoped for, and am sitting here in my hotel room with some time to kill. I’d like to give a shout out to all the great friends I met in Atlanta, and now seems like a good time to put do that and finally write down my favorite climbing story… I was in The Needles of Sylvan Lake (in South Dakota), and the climbing was the scary old-school type of climbing that I love. Manky pitons, scant pro, and the only use for my #5 Camalot was as a counterweight to keep the sling I’d draped over a knob from blowing away in the Read More

Apr 4, 2013, by Robert Fogle » 2 Comments »
Rob And Rob

Besides sharing the same first name Rob Robinson and myself both share a passion for climbing that has driven, shaped, and defined our lives. I spent a day with Rob at his home crag ( The Tennessee Wall ) climbing routes that he had been the first one to ascend many years ago. This posting will tell the story of my Easter Weekend in 2013, It will not be a short one and will include pictures, an interview with Rob, and a perspective into my controversial world of ” just fucking going for it “. The weekend started with me making plans to climb with Charlotte, NC local Joe Disciullo. Joe is a very experienced traditional climber with many years under Read More

Mar 5, 2013, by Erica Lineberry » 1 Comment »
Here’s What You Can Learn From a Rock Climber…

The writer in me loves metaphors and analogies, which is one reason why I love writing about climbing. Time and time again I’ve been able to apply concepts from the rock climbing world to my life as a mother, wife, and friend. What a lot of non-climbers don’t realize is that there are actually several different disciplines, or styles, of climbing – some of us may have an end goal to climb Mt. Everest, whereas others of us may aspire to touch every piece of local rock that we can. Each discipline has a different set of values, ethics, and goals, and the following is a concise attempt to summarize what life lessons can be gleaned from each… The Mountaineer: Read More

Feb 22, 2013, by Josh Cox » No comments yet
Lessons Learned: Routesetters Clinic

A month ago, I was invited to participate in a 3-week routesetting clinic for prospective new routesetters at our local Climbing Gym Franchise. It was a tremendous experience. I learned a ton about movement, mindset, and my own climbing. There are lessons to be learned in every experience and in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” And so is born the first in series of posts, Lessons Learned. Lesson from Week #1 – K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Setters What I learned first is that not every route/boulder needs to be comp style or gimmicky. My personality tends toward the analytical side (as if you haven’t picked up on that already). When I look at Read More

Feb 21, 2013, by Erica Lineberry » No comments yet
Central NC Guidebook Update – and Sneak Peek!

After turning in a giant lump of manuscript to Earthbound Publishing at the end of the summer last year, my work on the guidebook has been pretty sporadic the past few months. Mostly I’ve just tweaking a few revisions here and there and wrapping up some interviews. However there has still been one large item on my punch list that had remained unchecked for a long time, mostly due to logistics…The North Face. Not the jacket company (although one of those would have come in handy!), but the North Face of Stone Mountain. For most climbers, it’s always been something to gawk at on the way the ever-popular South Face. The rock is steeper, colder, and more polished than Read More

Feb 17, 2013, by Austin Howell » No comments yet
The New Normal

Six. Weeks. Six Weeks. Six weeks gone, carving a living out of the sky itself, defying the ire of gravity by the hour, and cursing the sun’s lazy attitude. That fool has a bad habit of quitting before we’re finished. I guess it sounds rather interesting when you word it like that, but to me it’s just another day, and another dollar. Another cell tower climbed, rigged, and ready. Except for this day. This day is Friday. And not just any Friday, this Friday I get to go home. Ugh, I get to go home? now? Who’s idea was this? Right. Mine. fool. I’ve been up since 5am, we just put in a 12.5 hour day, and the schedule says Read More

Feb 7, 2013, by Austin Howell » 6 Comments »
Not your typical pro-climber

I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional climber, traveling the country, living out of the back of my truck, and climbing in whatever crag I happen to find in my vicinity, but I truly understood that I wasn’t strong enough to pull it off… and I have never been so happy to be wrong! 6:30 AM Time to load up in the truck and pick up the rest of the crew. Don’t be late. You will be left behind. If you don’t feel like climbing today we don’t need you. It’s bitterly cold, damp, and dark, but as many have said before me: “this IS what we came here for… right?” 7:30AM Everybody is in the truck, it’s time Read More

Feb 3, 2013, by Erica Lineberry » No comments yet
3 Ways to TRY HARDER So You Can CLIMB HARDER!

This just in: If you try harder, you can climb harder! At first glance, this might seem glaringly obvious, but it was rather eye-opening for me a few weeks ago after my hubby (tactfully) pointed out that it looked like I “gave up before I even tried” on a route that was giving me trouble at the New River Gorge. That statement prompted a very reflective and enlightening discussion on the drive home that caused me to develop a new mantra for pushing my limits on the rock. And though simple, I’ve already seen improvements from it, so it seemed worth sharing! Basically it all boils down to the mantra of TRY TRY TRY… TRY SMARTER: After replaying my efforts Read More

From the Rim: