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Above & Beyond
Feature articles found only on Climbing.com
A collection of climbing stories from climbers around the world. To submit your story to the Above and Beyond section, please send your story and photos to luke.laeser@gmail.com |
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 Homage to the Lowball
Words by Justin Roth - The lowball boulder problem is perhaps the most derided of rock climbs. On a boldness scale, it lies somewhere between toproping in the gym and standing on a chair to change a light bulb. No one makes films about lowballs, or writes books about them -- how many lowballs have you seen in the photo galleries of this magazine? They are uninspiring. They get picked last for the kickball team. There is no glory in the lowball.  Climb Take Action Seven Summits - Entry 1: Mt. Rainier via Emmons Glacier May 30-June 4, 2008
After eight months of preparation and anticipation, Mt. Rainier (14,410 feet) was finally here. Led by Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI), I was off for a six-day expedition skills seminar on Mt. Rainier for my last formal training before setting foot on the highest peak in Europe, Russia’s Mt. Elbrus.  Everest Seeds Arrive Home to Winchester Public School
It was top security. They arrived in a hulking grey Brinks truck escorted by three OPP cruisers, emergency lights flashing and sirens heralding their return. Armed guards descended from the armoured car, cradling their precious cargo sealed in a blue security bag.  Behind the scenes of Andy Parkin - "A Life in Adaptation"
“A Life in Adaptation” - looks at the life of the Sheffield lad who found himself naturally drawn to the nearby moorland crags. There he encountered his first ‘real’ rock climbers. Inspired, he dedicated all of his attention to climbing, funding what became a nomadic existence through a variety of climbing-related jobs, anything that would get him to the crags. WATCH THE TRAILER  Yosemite, Rainier and Denali Weather Forecasts
Updated 6/26/08 - By Michael Fagin, lead forecaster for West Coast Weather, EverestWeather.com - West Coast weekend forecast and live weather cams for Mt Rainier, Denali and Yosemite.  A Week in the Bugaboos
by Luke Laeser - Mike Brumbaugh and I finally made a trip to the infamous Bugaboo Range within the mighty Canadian Rockies at the end of July, 2007. Mikey’s been a good friend since we met sport climbing at Rifle in Colorado and we’d been talking about taking a trip up to this fantastic British Columbian spot after years of drooling over photos.  Alpine Madness - Maxime Turgeon's Complete Report From a Month in Alaska
Trip report and photos by Maxime Turgeon - Everything is calm. I can’t tell were I am; all the sensations of my body are gone except for a warm feeling all over. No more pain, no more sore muscles. Slowly I feel pressure building up in my bladder, and then my numb limbs come back to life. The pressure is soon too great, and my arm starts searching for the zipper pull.  Hong Kong - Pearl of the Orient
By Wong Ho Fai and Jonn Benedict Lu - Hong Kong is Asia's financial hub for international commerce, and gateway to the burgeoning economic superpower that is China. Although Hong Kong is only 1,104 sq km in size, the entire gamut of tropical climbing activities are available; sport, traditional, multi-pitch, bouldering, and of course buildering.  AMONGST THE CHAOS - Education Elevated's Trek to Mount Everest
In 2006, a seed was planted, has sprout in 2007, and now in 2008, blossomed into reality. Pem Sherpa had a heartfelt idea to change to world, one child at a time by helping the children’s schools in Nepal. Pem and Moni Sherpa are native Nepalese, who live in the Chyangba Village, near Mount Everest. This is his story of how he met an amazing woman who has taken an idea and made it into a reality.  Mt. Everest Weather Report - AAI reaches the summit!
Updated 5/25/08 — stimated summit conditions on Everest at 6 pm Nepal time. -22 C, 35 knots with stronger gusts from the southwest. Cloudy. Daily weather reports by Michael Fagin of Weather Services and dispatches from AlpineAscents.com, MountainGuides.com, and Project-Himalaya.com.  Fried Chicken on Chicken Island
Björn Alber - Photos by Frank Shröter - Sketchy, stoned boatmen that don’t appear on time, no water, bolt glue that doesn’t work, diving to retrieve lost bolts… A lot of work went into setting up the first sport climb on this Krabi, Thailand landmark.  The Stigma: Part III
This compelling story comes to us from a climber you might know who prefers to remain anonymous — My uncle by marriage was an alcoholic. I recall as a kid visiting my Aunt’s house where he’d be stretched out on the sofa. We looked at him from the distance as if he was an alien, and I don’t ever remember exchanging dialogue with him.  The Seduction: Part II
This compelling story comes to us from a climber you might know who prefers to remain anonymous — I have a bottle of alcohol in front of me. It’s vodka. Clean, clear, pure, cheap. I know how it will feel as it glides down my throat. I know how my head will turn off, my anxiety lessen, my senses numb to what has become all-unimportant in my life which is everything.  Ground Zero: Part I
This compelling story comes to us from a climber you might know who prefers to remain anonymous — I came to bouncing around in my car. It felt like I was crossing a field, but I had no idea where I was or what was happening. I only knew I was bouncing around in my car. I came to a stop in a stupor.  Sard in a Can: Part IV
Dispatches from the Island of Sardinia by Bruce Willey - The best thing about a hanging belay on a multi-pitch climb is the promise of a nice, semi-spacious belay ledge above. A place where you can kick off your shoes, have a sip of water, look around. That, and the hope that when you’re swinging leads with your partner, your pitch ends at one.  Sard in a Can: Part III
Dispatches from the Island of Sardinia by Bruce Willey - Defining Flow is a dubious if uncertain enterprise. It’s supposed to happen when you’re not paying attention, when you’re deep in the throes of say painting water lilies, blowing an Ornette Coleman riff from the mistral winds in your lungs and igniting a thousand fires.  Sard in a Can: Part II
Dispatches from the Island of Sardinia by Bruce Willey - Every time I turn around I catch the missus reading the Sardegna guidebook. Later in bed, she marks off climbs we have done today, highlighting climbs we are going to do tomorrow, and climbs we will never get around to doing.  Sard in a Can: Part I
Dispatches from the Island of Sardinia by Bruce Willey - Overlooking the orange groves and pastures just outside Quirra it becomes clear: we sound like sheep. The quick draws tinkle like the sheep bells, and after a week of climbing we begin to feel as though we are blending into the Mediterranean landscape.  Lisa Rands on The Mandala
On January 18, 2008, Lisa Rands nabbed the first female ascent of The Mandala (V12; FA Chris Sharma, 2000), in Bishop, California. The tall, overhung prow was for decades dismissed as too futuristic and to this day remains one of the most coveted and storied problems in American bouldering.  DO NOT LET FEAR AFFECT YOUR CLIMBING
Sometimes, fear and anxiety can get the best of us in our climbing. The key is to know how to manage that fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that a climber can use to help manage their fears and every day anxieties. |
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