In 2018, injuries sustained from slicing avocados sent an estimated 24 Americans per day to the hospital. Most of these injuries were to the hand. Climbers like avocados. Climbers need to use their hands. A fundamental relationship exists here, and before you roll your eyes and decry me as being hyperbolic (yet again), please consider how the act of slicing an avocado relates to how we manage risk in both climbing and in life (which affects our ability to climb).
Read MoreOur 2020 Essay Contest (longe essay category), Jackson Wetherill of Helena, Montana reflects on his first major climbing trip on his own, as an adult, during the summer and fall of 2020.
Read Morealpha climbing founder and owner Aaron Hjelt visited Cuba for 10 days in early 2019 to explore the climbing, experience the culture, and meet the local climbing community. Here is a reflection of his trip. This is part 1 of 2 posts Aaron will publish about the trip. The second will be devoted to the planning and logistics of a climbing trip to Cuba.
Read MoreDuring our 2.5 week stay in Richea, Greece, we were befriended by a 69 year-old farmer, story teller, and cook. Spending mornings with Gus was one of the highlights of the trip.
Read MoreBy alpha climber Quinn Harper. I sat with legs wrapped around a tufa half way up the route, choking on smoke, trying to harness the power to make a few more moves, but I tossed and lowered off into the jungle below. I walked out smelling like smoke, frustrated, and humbled. I repeated in my head a new phrase I had been given: “If it doesn’t go to the tick list, at least it will go to the forearms.”
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