Metolius Ultralight Power Cams: A Perfect Rack-Up Buddy
I just returned from a rock-climbing trip to northern Patagonia’s Bariloche, where we visited the new areas of La Buitrera and Roca Parada, a thousand-foot tower in the middle of the Patagonian pampa near Esquel. The new ultra-light Metolius Power Cams were our weapons of choice for all small cracks. Aside from being extremely light, the cams performed just as well on Patagonian granite as they did on andesite and sandstone. They are easy to place, have great range and holding power (5-10 kN, varying with size), and tested well in real life on numerous pitches, including a slippery 5.10c high off the deck.
“In the Cracks there were Bats and Spiders of Giant Sizes”
Until today, I thought the Russians, exemplified by Odintsov’s “Russian Big Walls Project”, were completely unstoppable. Even though Rocky did eventually beat Ivan Drago in the fourth installment of that regrettable series of films, I think we all sort of knew that in reality, the giant Russian would have kicked Stallone’s ass. So, why did my belief in the unstoppable Russians end today? Let’s read a few sentences from a recent trip report posted on mountain.ru.
Interview: Mike Robertson on His Eiffel Tower Protest Solo
There are a multitude of reasons we climb–more often than not they are expressed in pithy, sound-bite phrases like Mallory’s “Because it’s there.” Within, Mike Robertson offers a reason more satisfying.
New Utah Ice Climbing Resource
I would like to announce the launch of IceClimbingUtah.com, a new resource that will aggregate ice conditions across Utah…
Zen and Zero
This Hunter Thompson-esque trip from California to Costa Rica features five landlocked Austrians on a surf pilgrimage.
Mountain Hardwear Spire 2 Tent: Rugged and Lightweight
Lightweight at about 4.5 pounds. Watertight. Tough, durable, double-walled. It was too good to be true… on the whole, Mountain Hardwear’s Spire 2 lightweight expedition tent fit all the specs I could hope for here in the Bugaboos, where rugged weather comes standard.