Better late than never, here is November’s climbing magazine rundown. In addition to the usual suspects I included a recap of what was in the latest issue of Alpinist, a magazine I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading these past couple of years.
Rock & Ice # 190 – December 2010
Rock & Ice # 190 - December 2010
What’s on the cover:
Climbing on Colorado’s remote Crystal Tower – Photo by Keith Ladzinski
Featured Articles:
- Tower of the Damned, Climbing the Crystal Tower by Jeff Jackson
- Land of Dreams and Nightmares by Nathan Smith – Rock climbing and bouldering in Mongolia
- Thin Red Lines by Blake Herrington – Defying the Red Rock Bolt Ban
- Shutterbugs – A photo essay from the 2010 Rock & Ice Photo Camp
Other Notables:
- Russ Clune talks about why Fat City Direct at the Gunks, NY is his favorite 5.10
- Crossroads – Whitney Boland “recounts how getting caught in a flash flood gave her a new perspective on her life”
- Ask the Coach – How to mentally train for climbing and how to train power
- Ask Gear Guy – Tips for when to replace slings and quickdraws
- Ask Dr. J – Returning to climbing after a broken back and other back strengthening exercises
- What I’ve Learned – Interview with filmmaker Chuck Fryberger
- Tuesday Night Bouldering looks at Project FAIL
- Reviews of the books Skyscraperman, Expresso Lessons and With Bare Hands
- Field Tested reviews of the Wild Country Rock Lite helmet, the RAB Xenon Jacket and the La Sportiva Katana Lace Rock Shoe
My Pick:
Blake Herrington’s article about the new routes going up in Red Rocks despite a bolting ban was certainly interesting to read and Nathan Smith’s story from Mongolia was pretty cool as well.
Climbing #290 – November 2010
Climbing #290 - November 2010
What’s on the cover:
Climbers near the summit of Chopicalqui in Peru – Photo by Alexandre Buisse
Featured Articles:
- Angels of Mont Blanc by Neil Brodie – Follow the world’s busiest mountain rescue team on Mont Blanc
- Wing and a Prayer by Martin Gutmann – A story about Maurice Wilson’s ill-fated 1933 attempt on Mt. Everest
- Trouble With Me by Nick Bullock – Bullock epics on the sea cliffs of North Wales
- Reader Epics
Other Notables:
- Hot Flashes from Lincoln Lake and Greenland
- Off The Wall – Climbing in Iraq and rebuilding the Snowbird Hut in Alaska
- Ten Things you didn’t know about the Yosemite Search & Rescue team
- Players Profile of Anthony Love
- Tech tips on retreating in storms and rescue insurance
- Classic Climbs – Black Dike (WI4/5 M3) on New Hampshire’s Cannon Cliff
- Mileage – Adventure bouldering in Columbia, CA
- Perspective piece on Kurt Albert
My Pick:
As an Everest history buff I have a soft spot for anything about the “old days” on Mt. Everest, so Martin Gutmann’s article about Maurice Wilson’s ill-fated attempt to climb the Big E back in 1933 was a must read for me.
Alpinist 32 – Autumn 2010
What’s on the cover:
Robert Jasper on Monte Sarmiento’s west summit – Photo by Ralf Gantzhorn
Featured Articles:
- Earth, Stone and Sky by Peter Beal – Peter seeks “a different kind of transcendence” in the hills of Utah
- Inexplorado by Ralf Gantzhorn – Gantzhorn travels to the remote peak of Monte Sarmiento
- Scared by Colin Haley – A moving piece by Haley about “fear, loss and persistent desire”
- Searching For Namibia by Majka Burhardt – Burhardt strives for “a deeper connection between cultural understanding and vertical adventure” in Namibia
- On The Trails Of Glaciers by Fabiano Ventura – Ventura traveled to the Karakorum in Pakistan to recreate old photos from early 1900’s, showing how severely many of the glaciers are shrinking
Other Notables:
- Letters about the Cerro Torre controversy
- First Ascent – Doug Chabot draws inspiration fr0m Alex Lowe to finish a project
- Full Value – Phil Broscovak experiences one of his “wildest wild hairs” attempting a first winter ascent in Colorado’s Black Canyon
- Local Hero – Blake Herrington profiles Cascades local Jens Holsten
My Pick:
As usual Alpinist delivers a ton of content, something that I found quite difficult to summarize here. It really is a must read if you have any interest in the type of traditional rock climbing or alpine type stories they cover.
From this current issue Colin Haley’s story about his new route on Mt. Foraker and the type of risks he is taking was really quite moving. Definitely check that out.
Urban Climber #44 – November 2010
Urban Climber #44 - November 201
What’s on the cover:
Pete Vintoniv taking a whipper in Nevada – Photo by Andrew Burr
Featured Articles:
- Scandinavian Summer – 3 friends on a dream trip across Norway and Sweden
- Escape Route – Matt Segal and company escape the crowds of Colorado and explore the bouldering in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains
- Can You Call Yourself a Climber – The “ultimate test of climbing knowledge”.
Other Notables:
- Profiles of Armin Buchroithner, Neely Quinn, Jonny Hork, Phil Schaal, Jeremy Collins and Jacinda Hunter
- 411 on 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell
- Staying fit for climbing through “proper protein intake”
- Plastic Paradise – Denver Bouldering Club
My Pick:
Well, for whatever reason my copy of Urban Climber never arrived by the time I wrote this summary so I can’t comment much on the issue. I did page through it at the gym and the Sawtooths bouldering article looked cool and the climbing quiz had a few questions that even I didn’t know the answer to.
Narc I agree the article on Maurice Wilson was probably the most interesting piece I’ve read in the past couple years. I rarely read that mountianeering crap, but this was really fascinating. Almost as good as the Outside spread from a couple months ago. 😉
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2 cents:
I’m impressed with Climbing’s new direction. Their last two issues have been really motivating and fun to read–history, adventure, average joe, and mega projects all in a single issue. Also, the attitude has toned-down a lot from the cooler-than-you hardcore dude bro ethos that seemed to ooze from the previous editor-ship. Climbing seems now much more community oriented.
Rock & Ice is always a pleasure to read, but it’s actually been a little dry since the Lost Yosemite issue. The writing has become too overwrought– too 1st year MFA writing student, too self-serious sometimes. However, that Red Rocks article was great.
Urban Climber is like Us Weekly, Star or People for the professional climbing personality circuit (the Boulder in-crowd?). Cool.
And Alpinist really does fall into a category of capital-L Literature. Mountaineering is the only sport with a literary tradition, and Alpinist carries this torch with aplomb.
By the way: One of the farmers in the movie
‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ is reading an Alpinist magazine. Classic.
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Great thoughts Neil, I agree with just about everything you said.
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Also of note in Alpinist:
LP Menard discusses Cap Trinite (the El Cap of Quebec)
Ed Webster’s Namesake on Women in Love
Katie Lambert (of first female ascent of Peace fame) vignette on recovery
Clint Helander on death
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Hey, quick question:
What does “direct” or “direct finish,” as in “Fat City Direct,” mean? I’ve never been able to find a definition for that term.
Thx!
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I can’t speak to the route mentioned here but usually this is how it might work for something to get the “direct” name. The “original” line takes the easiest way up a wall and veers off at an angle at some point to avoid a difficult section. The “direct” version would then be the line that goes straight up instead of diverting. Does that make sense?
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Like Paul Robinson’s Mandala Direct Assis? It’s the Sharma Mandala route that begins with a sit start (assis?) and finishes directly up the prow rather than around and out (direct?).
Thanks for the question jjj; and the answer Narc. Some climbing knowledge is starting to conjeal now…
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Bingo
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Yes, that makes sense. Thanks!
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The current issue of Gripped is pretty good, with a thoughtful article about parenthood by Thomasina Pidgeon.
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I’ve always wanted to check out Gripped but I’m not sure my brain can handle reading another climbing magazine at this point…
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