How did we let this gumby malapropism leak out of the gym and into the wild?
Andrew Bisharat
Andrew Bisharat is a writer and climber based in western Colorado. He is the publisher of Evening Sends and the co-host of The RunOut podcast.
Can You Climb for the Wrong Reasons?
After climbing all 14 8,000-meter peaks, with oxygen, in about three months—a climbing record of some significance—Kristin Harila said that she’s probably “done with climbing now.” What’s next? She says she’ll be parlaying her stint as a mountaineer into professional...
Five Years Later, Something Beautiful Happened
I had the strangest and most sublime experience today on a bike ride I do near my house. It’s a 25-mile loop past a beautiful reservoir that was framed by a shock of fall colors, unbelievably bright yellows and reds, down a steep craggy notch, and through some ranches...
A Summit Paradox: Making Sense of the Messner Mess
The Guinness Book of World Records has weighed in on an important piece of climbing history: Reinhold Messner is not the first person to climb all 14 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen, they say. Now, many climbers, myself included, are treating this announcement as if...
Will Climbing Gyms Survive the Lawsuits?
Like every writer, I have a pile of unfinished ideas. One of them is a half-finished script I wrote for a parody skit in which Alex Honnold faces a fear he has about using the auto-belay in the gym. The build up includes an interview with Honnold musing, in his...
The Simple Life of an Injured Bastard
And why comps are the best thing happening in climbing right now
The Overton Window of Kneebars, Beta, and Grades
I recently heard Alex Honnold’s discussion with Bill Ramsey about knee-bars and the perennial question of their legitimacy on the Climbing Gold podcast. I thought this was an interesting conversation, following on the heels of some discourse I’ve hosted here on...
The Problem With Personal Grades
The phrase “personal grades” has become a household term in the last year, mostly thanks to a popular website that has been jamming facile, wrongheaded ideas about climbing down our throats for the last decade. As far as I can tell, a “personal grade” describes a...
Stop Shaming Rich Adventurers for Escaping their Boring Wealthy Lives
Adventure is just self-care for the rich. But for some reason, our pathological quest to escape boredom is a problem for other people! Rude!
Help Keep Ontario Climbing Open
Ontario climbing is under threat from some new regulations and access issues that are hostile to climbers. Here’s how you can help.
Breaking the Wilderness Bell Jar
A recent editorial called “Mountains in Wilderness Don’t Need Hardware” hit some syndicated op-ed news feed and many failing local newspapers in the West and “online journals” in the outdoor/adventure space, all of whom seem to have at least partly given up on the...
The 686 Magic Line Climbing Pants are the best
I’ve been searching for the best men’s climbing pants for years. The 686 Magic Line Climbing Pants are it.