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Siebe Vanhee and Tommy Caldwell have completed an unprecedented 24-hour free ascent of the South African Route on the East Face of the Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia.

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Užnik is battling skin and conditions on the iconic V17 boulder in Finland
The post Nicolai Užnik Making Quick Progress on Burden of Dreams V17 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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Nouveau blog :
Une dégaine neuve peut-elle casser à la première utilisation ?

#climbing #escalade #caf #rockclimbing #alpi

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The inaugural event in London features 16 world-class athletes, including competition GOAT Janja Garnbret and Olympic gold medalist Toby Roberts.
The post How to watch some of the world’s best climbers compete in the first-ever Pro Climbing League comp this weekend appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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Building An Interactive Climbing Wall https://hackaday.com/2026/02/25/building-an-interactive-climbing-wall/
#HackadayColumns #MiscHacks #Climbing #Climbingwall #Led

Climbing is a cool sport. With that said, like everything, it’s even better if you integrate lots of glowing colorful LEDs. To that end, [Superbender] worked up this fun climbing …read more

The pair achieved a free ascent of the South African Route, a 1,200-metre 5.12c on Central Tower of Paine
The post Tommy Caldwell and Siebe Vanhee Make History with Huge Patagonia Climb appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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(94) A Year Ago, a Historic Recovery on K2 ️ #mountains #highestmountain #climbing #himalayas - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kyG2DWiMCdI

Erin McNiece and Sam Butterworth claimed the senior female and male lead climbing titles at the 2026 British Lead Championships in Manchester

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It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, that Geoff Hill had chopped up frozen human waste—overflowing from a 200-liter barrel. He was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia (UBC), studying the effects of climate change in the Canadian Arctic. The university had arranged a deal with the Inuit whose land he was standing on. The students could conduct research there, but they could not leave any trace, including human waste—hence the chopping.
All around him, the Arctic gleamed in shades of dense ice, the ocean a penetrating blue. Below the tundra, in a hole, out of sight, was where the research team kept the thing no one ever talks about: a frozen bucket of human waste, a.k.a. a “sht barrel,” as Hill often calls it. Tucked away. Put elsewhere.
And that’s the trouble. In a wilderness like the Arctic, there is no elsewhere.
As a climber who fell in love with alpine rock, Hill has spent much time on the road driving toward his next climbing destination. He learned quickly that what he loved most was swimming through a 5.10 hand crack high on a steep, sunny wall. That lifelong thirst for high-country granite would bring him to many wild places, including Mt. Barrill in the Ruth Gorge, El Cap, the Bugaboos, and Mont Blanc’s aiguilles. An epic during an alpine climb in the Canadian Rockies in 2004 spurred him to start reading Accidents in North American Climbing, and he would continue engaging with the AAC throughout his climbing career—for the rescue benefit, community, and research grants that would, in turn, help catalyze his calling.
His passion for these alpine landscapes was boundless, but Hill’s educational path in environmental science was bringing him up against the reality of outdoor recreation’s environmental impact. He wanted to do something about it.
Hill began with driving, launching the Biodiesel Project at UBC, which added sodium hydroxide and methanol to a vat of recycled cooking oil to create an alternative to diesel. “It was fun and dangerous in the beginning,” he recalls. “The pH is crazy. Like, if it splashed in your eye, for sure it would have dissolved a hole in your eyeball.” But it worked. He would fuel up his 1993 Volkswagen Jetta with this biofuel and hit the road to Canmore, Squamish, and even Yosemite. He would later teach some Yosemite rangers how to run their own trucks on biofuel from their waste kitchen grease.
Called by the mountains, Hill toyed with becoming an ACMG Guide (the AMGA equivalent in Canada), but when he failed his exam, he realized his heart wasn’t in it and that he’d rather serve the mountain environment itself—not clients.
Funded by Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (and an AAC Research Grant), Hill started ringing up the rangers and national park personnel he’d worked with during his previous studies and guide training. He wanted to study the alpine environment in a way that would produce practical results: What did they need help with?
Again and again, the National Park Service spoke to the problem of human waste management. Tara Vessella, who runs the backcountry program in Rocky Mountain National Park, spoke of the ongoing struggle to find new land for pit toilets. As Hill recalls her saying, “I cannot find a spot in the forest to put a new pit toilet because every time I dig a hole in the ground, I find old sht.” The pit-toilet model, so ubiquitous in the United States, wasn’t sustainable for backcountry landscapes with such intense visitation numbers. So Hill, recalling his frozen-waste-chopping days, embarked on a PhD that would make everyone else’s “business” into his business.
Humans expel feces and urine daily—what we term “waste” when it’s not well integrated into the ecosystem, especially our poop. Yet when we look at the terms more commonly used for animal poop—dung, scat, droppings, guano—the “waste” subtext is absent, revealing a bias toward thinking that human excrement is dysfunctionally related to the natural environment. But Geoff Hill believes it doesn’t have to be that way.
The science is pretty straightforward: Human urine (and all mammal urine, for that matter) is excellent plant fertilizer. Meanwhile, human poop is food for invertebrates and microorganisms—in fact, in the process of eating mammal poop, microorganisms produce rich organic matter that makes for fertile soil.

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As we step into 2026, I want to begin with gratitude. The support you provide the American Alpine Club through your membership and donations enables us to deliver meaningful work to climbers across the country. Your commitment strengthens the AAC and ensures that we can continue to serve our members.
Climbing is built on connection: the bond between partners, the shared experience at the crag or on an expedition, and the knowledge passed from one generation to the next. This year, we are deepening our focus on uniting climbers and celebrating the culture that gives meaning to our time on rock, ice, and alpine terrain. We are building programming that strengthens members’ connections and creates more opportunities to gather, learn, and celebrate climbing. We look forward to sharing more in the coming months as we build toward 2027 and our 125th anniversary.
Across the country, our lodging facilities remain places where friendships are formed, knowledge is shared, and adventures begin. We continue to deliver critical publications and media, including The American Alpine Journal, Accidents in North American Climbing, monthly Prescription videos, the American Alpine Club Podcast and The Cutting Edge. Our core member benefits, including rescue and medical benefits, discounts, and access to our world-class library, reflect our commitment to supporting climbers wherever their journeys take them.
The AAC plays a unique role in sustaining and strengthening climbing. We maintain the record of climbing so it continues to inform and inspire climbers today. We create moments of connection where people see themselves reflected. And we remain committed to being a sustainable and adaptable organization prepared to meet the evolving needs of our members.
Inside these pages, you will see the AAC’s charge reflected: a commitment to learning, the power of member contributions, and the meaningful journeys climbers undertake around the world. In this edition of The Guidebook, you will find:
Each of these contributions reflects a core part of our mission: supporting climbers, learning from experience, honoring our history, and strengthening the connections that define this community.
Thank you for being part of this effort. I am grateful for your continued support and look forward to the work ahead.
Ben Gabriel
AAC Executive Director

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"My 42nd route above [5.14d] but my very first slab above [5.11d]," says Rogora of her send of Adam Ondra's Niobe
The post Before This 5.14d Slab Send, Laura Rogora’s Hardest Was 5.11d appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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Certain models between 2017 and 2021 are affected, see below for serial numbers
The post Petzl Issues Recall for Some Nomic and Ergonomic Ice Axes appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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The Pencil is a classic WI6 found in the heart of the Canadian Rockies
The post One of North America’s Most Famous Ice Climbs is Formed appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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New 750-metre 5.12d climbs smooth slabs and steep corners up a granite wall in Cochamó Valley
The post New Yosemite-Sized Route Climbed in South America appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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Ice climbing festival to make chilly debut in Sault Ste. Marie area
Ice Fest will bring climbers of all levels to the rarely explored Gros Cap Bluffs, as well as Searchmont, for a weekend of ice climbing, instructional clinics and live music.
#festival #climbing #ice #SaultSteMarie #GrosCapBluffs #Searchmont
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/ice-climbing-festival-sault-9.7102951?cmp=rss