Climbing April - Gear Guide 2016

ONE OF THE BIGGEST PERKS of my job is access to Climbing’ complete 46-year archive, a full 342 issues of obsessive passion, wild personalities, harebrained ideas, monster epics, blinding Lycra, and incredible accomplishments. The older issues contain an indescribable enthusiasm that shows up on every page, an electric energy the reader can feel, because she’s a climber too, she’s been there, she’s experienced that—she gets it. Over the past several years, this magazine shifted to the pragmatic side of things by focusing on the how-to information, practical knowledge, and actionable advice that is so necessary for the rapidly growing number of climbers. And we did it in a way that made climbing accessible to everyone—as it should be. But in making that shift, we lost sight of something more fundamental to…

UNSOLICITED BETA While rereading the May 2014 issue from my pile of mags, I found the story on how to keep crags from getting abused by the recent explosion of new climbers interesting [“The Mentorship Gap”; tinyurl.com/j3nvppn]. I’m one of the old crew, fortunate enough to enjoy rock climbing and the outdoors as it was designed for decades now. While I agree that the problems of abuse of natural areas are not new, and some older climbers have poor habits, I can’t grasp how that can compare to the exponential number of climbers that are going to fall out of the gym onto crags now. Most of those folks don’t have an ounce of foresight to understand how their actions impact not only the present, but the future. Again, exponentially. I also…

I was at my local climbing gym on a Tuesday afternoon. The facility was relatively quiet, with the exception of a couple toproping in the corner. It was easy to see that this was their first time climbing. As I was about to lower my partner, I heard eight awful words: “Honey, let me take your photo up there!” I turned to see the belayer move her left hand onto the brake strand so she could take out her phone with her right. Then, while trying to strike a pose, the climber slipped o his foothold. In the moment of panic that ensued, the belayer dropped her phone and let go of the brake with her left hand while grabbing the rope with her right. She managed to catch him…

MEGHAN CURRY’S RESUME includes time spent over a microscope, a masters degree in entomology, and months living the climbing bum lifestyle out of her car. It wasn’t until her sixth big wall that she thought to combine her passions. Having delved into the world of entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, Meghan embarked on a quest to solo Mescalito (VI 5.9 A3+) on El Cap while subsisting on a primarily bug diet. We spoke to Meghan about her experience. So, why eat bugs on a big wall? Raising awareness. There’s quite a bit of food now available that uses edible insects, and it’s something people, especially climbers, can integrate into their diet. I think climbers are going to be a pretty sympathetic group of folks to the edible insect movement. We’re naturally…

1 TWIST Raw nylon filaments are batched and twisted into strands of yarn. The number of strands and the tightness and direction of the twists, for both the core and the sheath, help shape the rope’s dynamic properties. 2 CONDITION To minimize shrinkage and set the dynamic properties of the nylon, yarns are conditioned in a large pressure cooker with precisely calibrated temperature and humidity. Conditioning also cures chemical treatments added to the fibers. 3 WIND The conditioned core yarns are twisted into bundles, and the bundles are combined to form the rope’s core. Sheath yarns are dyed and then wound onto bobbins to prepare for braiding. 4 BRAID Bobbins of sheath strands in various colors are mounted to the braiding machine. As the groups of bobbins jiggle back and forth and rotate around the machine, the…

Static Elongation. A 1-meter strand of rope is loaded with 80kg. To pass, it cannot stretch more than 10% (12% for half ropes). Diameter. A strand of rope loaded with 10kg must measure within 0.2mm of the manufacturer’s stated diameter. Sheath Slippage. The sample rope is pulled 2 meters through a device that applies pressure to both sides—the sheath cannot slip more than 20mm, relative to the core, after the fifth pull. Middle Mark. If the middle of the rope is marked, the mark must be within 1 meter of the real middle. Water Repellency. A rope sample is placed in running water for 15 minutes on a test table and then drained. The sample must not increase in weight by more than 5%. Knotability. This is no longer part of the UIAA or CE…