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The 50th annual Banff Mountain Festival takes place this fall at the Banff Centre
The post Banff Mountain Festival Announces 2025 Book Award Winners appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
The 50th annual Banff Mountain Festival takes place this fall at the Banff Centre
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
Want to learn some #CraftyRopeTricks for using trees as climbing anchors? The deep dive series on tree anchors covers general principles, and rigging systems for rappel, top rope, and multi pitch climbing.
Premium Article available
Want to learn some #CraftyRopeTricks for using trees as climbing anchors? This deep-dive series on tree anchors covers general principles, and rigging systems for rappel, top rope, and multi pitch climbing.
Alpinesavvy (www.alpinesavvy.com)
Megos concludes his Arco trip with an ascent of Ghisolfi’s Beginning 5.15a
The post Alex Megos Climbs a Stefano Ghisolfi 5.15a in Arco appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Megos concludes his Arco trip with an ascent of Ghisolfi’s Beginning 5.15a
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
A preview of our upcoming two part episode with Sonnie Trotter. Plus a poem “Climbing Romeo and Juliet” by Cliff Cash. Photo of Sonnie on Cobra Crack, Squamish by Paul Bride
After falling in love with Paradise Wall in 2023, she came back to send the wall's king line Spirit Quest 5.14d
The post Quinn Mason Makes First Female Ascent of One of Canada’s Hardest Climbs appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
After falling in love with Paradise Wall in 2023, she came back to send the wall's king line Spirit Quest 5.14d
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
Be sure to keep safety in mind heading into the mid-fall cragging season
The post Five Reasons to Wear a Rock Climbing Helmet appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Be sure to keep safety in mind heading into the mid-fall cragging season
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
Learn about avalanches, use the available online resources, and be prepared for thin ice
The post Eight Early Season Ice Climbing Tips to Keep You Alive appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Learn about avalanches, use the available online resources, and be prepared for thin ice
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
After Raboutou's recent move to Paris, she spent a day out bouldering with fellow Olympic climber Zélia Avezou
The post Brooke Raboutou Sends V13 in Fontainebleau appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
After Raboutou's recent move to Paris, she spent a day out bouldering with fellow Olympic climber Zélia Avezou
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
The new Apex 4 has automatic route detection, five climbing modes, and fall detection
The post New Coros Apex 4 Watch is Perfect for Rock Climbers appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
The new Apex 4 has automatic route detection, five climbing modes, and fall detection
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
Jim Morrison is the first person to ski the entire north side of Everest, linking the Hornbein Couloir with the Japanese Couloir
The post History Made as American Skis North Side of Mount Everest appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Jim Morrison is the first person to ski the entire north side of Everest, linking the Hornbein Couloir with the Japanese Couloir
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
His tick of Pink Patatas 5.15a is one of many hard sends by the climber this fall
The post Jorge Díaz-Rullo Sends an Alex Megos 5.15a That’s Half Boulder Problem, Half Sport Route appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
His tick of Pink Patatas 5.15a is one of many hard sends by the climber this fall
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
It is with great sorrow that we honor the passing of AAC member Balin Miller (23), who died in a climbing accident in Yosemite in October 2025. Miller was an astonishing rising star, dedicated to the sport and exceedingly bold as an ice climber. He was an AAC member for four years, and received the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant (MFFG) multiple times, which awards climbers age 25 and younger with funds to explore remote areas and seek out climbs more difficult than they might ordinarily be able to do. The AAC featured one of his MFFG-funded trips to Canada in our publication, Guidebook XII. In the pages of “Mountain Sense,” you will get a glimpse of this stalwart ice climber who had a goofy side.
Miller was known for his audacious solos, like his solo of Fitz Roy, and the infamous Reality Bath in Canada—until Miller’s ascent, unrepeated since it was first put up by Mark Twight and Randy Rackliff in 1988. Though he was best known for these solos, he also regularly roped up with partners he trusted, accomplishing notable climbs like the Harvard Route on Mt. Huntington, Deprivation on Mt. Hunter, and the Ragni Route on Cerro Torre.
Before he passed, Miller had been working on a story for the 2026 AAJ about his 2025 summer season in Alaska. One highlight achievement of that summer was his historic solo of the Slovak Direct (M6 WI 6 A2; 9,000ft) on Denali (Mt. McKinley). The AAJ will be publishing his story posthumously to honor his legacy, accomplished in such a short life.
While we honor Balin’s life and accomplishments here, more than anything, we are left with a somber realization of the pain experienced by those who are grieving him. Our thoughts are with Balin’s family and friends, and all who shared a rope and a laugh with him.
If you or another climbing in your life have been impacted by the loss of a loved one in the mountains or in a climbing accident, you can get support. The AAC’s Climbing Grief Fund offers funding for climbers to seek therapy to start their journey through grief and loss.
Learn more about how to apply to get funding for therapy services, below. Or, access our directory of knowledgeable climbing and outdoor-sports-oriented therapists.
It is with great sorrow that we honor the passing of AAC member Balin Miller (23), who died in a climbing accident in Yosemite in October 2025. Miller was an astonishing rising star, dedicated to the sport and exceedingly bold as an ice climber. He was an AAC member for four years, and received the
American Alpine Club (americanalpineclub.org)
It’s Rocktober and across the continent climbers are sending their projects. This month we remind you that mishaps in “safe” genres like sport climbing can have serious consequences. This accident occurred in 2019 and was only reported this year. However, in the newly published 2025 ANAC, we feature several similar groundfall accidents.
As you’ll also see below, we’re also featuring a human factors post-accident analysis that reveals some recurrent themes and behavior patterns. These are introduced in an article written by Dr. Valerie Karr.
On June 22, 2019 B, a male climber was leading Where Egos Dare (5.12a) as a cool-down after a long session. The four-bolt route was easy enough to run a quick lap and as a result B, “didn't take it seriously and was climbing very arrogantly… without careful consideration of the consequences.” Besides being short and punchy, the route also has several hard clips that put the leader within groundfall range.
B was, “…cooling down after a hard day of projecting. At the third bolt I pulled a bunch of slack to clip and my foot popped.” He had placed his foot carelessly on a bad part of the hold when it slipped. He had an arm full of slack and, “…decked straight on my butt.” He suffered lumbar compression fractures and fractured sacrum. “I was mere inches away from a shelf that, that had I impacted with my lumbar spine, I would've undoubtedly been paralyzed.” Though in serious pain, he, “walked out under my own steam. Likely due to adrenaline.”
B fell approximately 15 feet. A pit/trough below Where Egos Dare created a ledge that one could hit in a fall. He had stick clipped the first bolt but, “Had I stick clipped the third, this accident wouldn't have happened. Back then I considered it ‘cheating’ to clip more than the first, which in retrospect is silly.”
He adds, “Sport climbing is flippin’ dangerous! For all the sketchy gear routes I've done in my life it was a 35' tall 12a sport climb that nearly cost me the ability to walk. Unfortunately, I don't think most sport climbers have a clue about this.”
Finally, the fallen climber said, “I’d add that one should climb more carefully. Because this route was well below my redpoint level I didn't take it seriously. Ultimately, I put my foot to the right of the actual foothold and that is what did me in. Luckily, I'm physically 100% now, but it was such a close call that I definitely have residual psychological effects. My wife still has trouble belaying me despite it not being her fault. I think the psychological impacts of such accidents cannot be overstated.”
(Source: Anonymous Climber.)
This groundfall is a classic case of risk normalization in which repeated exposure to hazards without consequence, lowers the perception of danger. Over time, shortcuts—clipping from poor stances, eschewing procedures like a higher stick clip, and a casual approach to moderate climbing—diminish the perceived hazards of consequential terrain. On the day of his accident, B admitted he was climbing “carelessly,” on a warm-down route that was well within his ability. Other distracting factors contributed to an atmosphere of informality and distractions at the base of the crag that compounded a sense of invulnerability.
B’s narrative also reveals how cultural values within climbing can magnify risk through what he called the “purity ethics.”Beyond simple overconfidence, B acknowledged an internalized idea that stick clipping beyond the first bolt was “cheating.” This belief overrode pragmatic risk assessment. Only after his accident did he reframe those values, prioritizing safety over style with an understanding that it’s “all contrived anyway.”
(Source: Dr. Valerie Karr.)
It’s Rocktober and across the continent climbers are sending their projects. This month we remind you that mishaps in “safe” genres like sport climbing can have serious consequences. This accident occurred in 2019 and was only reported this year. However, in the newly published 2025 ANAC , we featu
American Alpine Club (americanalpineclub.org)
In a single day, she climbed two 5.14b routes, one of which was an onsight, and FA'd a 5.14d on her second go
The post Laura Rogora Opens a 5.14d in Italy appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
In a single day, she climbed two 5.14b routes, one of which was an onsight, and FA'd a 5.14d on her second go
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
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