-
Frequently Asked Questions, Community Guidelines, and more
-
Discussion about general climbing topics. A great place to talk about gear, technique, and the climbing community!
-
Discussion about the OpenBeta website, forums, and community
-
Share stories and pictures from your climbing trips!
-
News and media
Share or browse articles, videos, and news about climbing from around the web
-
Discussion about OpenBeta (and related projects) development
-
Kendal Mountain Festival 2025 Announces its First Ticket Release
Kendal Mountain Festival is releasing its first round of tickets for the 2025 event, which this year takes place 20-23 November. The highly-anticipated celebration of adventure, culture, nature and exploration brings thousands of people annuall...
-
The World’s First V15 Flash
Yannick Flohé recently made history with his first-go ascent of Foundation's Edge V15
The post The World’s First V15 Flash appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
The World's First V15 Flash - Gripped Magazine
Yannick Flohé recently made history with his first-go ascent of Foundation's Edge V15
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
-
Event Horizon Is Canada’s First V16
Located in Squamish, Andy Lamb made the first ascent of the problem
The post Event Horizon Is Canada’s First V16 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Event Horizon Is Canada's First V16 - Gripped Magazine
Located in Squamish, Andy Lamb made the first ascent of the problem
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
-
2025 American Alpine Club Gala Awards
Discover their incredible stories, then join us for the 2025 American Alpine Club Gala to hear more!
Brooke Raboutou grew up in Boulder, CO, where she began climbing at age two. At 11, Raboutou sent Welcome to Tijuana (5.14b) in Rodellar, Spain, becoming the youngest person to climb the route. From 2020 to 2022, Raboutou pushed bouldering grades, sending Muscle Car (V14), The Atomator (V13), The Shining (V12/13), The Wheel of Chaos (V13), Doppelgänger Poltergeist (V13), Jade (V14), Euro Trash (V12/8a+), Low Low (V13/8b) Trieste (V14), Heritage (V13), La Proue (V13), Lur (V14), Evil Backwards (V13). Raboutou was the first American to qualify for the Olympics, and during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she finished 5th.
In October 2023, Raboutou sent Box Therapy in Rocky Mountain National Park and promptly downgraded it from V16 to V15. In 2024, Raboutou won silver in the combined bouldering and lead competition at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in climbing. In April 2025, Raboutou sent Excalibur (5.15c), becoming the first woman to send the grade.
Outdoor Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of national advocacy organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, the Mountaineers, the American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, the Colorado Mountain Club, and the Surfrider Foundation. For more than ten years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. Its work has helped to permanently protect 40 million acres of public land, secure $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and convert more than 100,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates. Adam Cramer will be accepting the award on behalf of Outdoor Alliance. He is the founding Executive Director and present CEO of Outdoor Alliance. During his time as CEO, Adam has brought new sensibilities to conservation work that have resulted in hundreds of thousands more acres of protected landscapes, improved management for outdoor recreation, and thousands of outdoor enthusiasts awakened to conservation and advocacy work. He is an avid whitewater kayaker and mountain biker, but is always on the lookout for a good skatepark.
For 52 years, Jack Tackle has focused on alpine climbing, particularly first ascents, in the Himalayas, South America, and Alaska. Jack Tackle is best known for his climbing in Alaska. He has done 35 separate trips, combining both attempts and successes since 1976, and completed 17 significant first ascents in Alaska’s various ranges. Tackle is a past Board member of the AAC (nine years) and served as Treasurer of the AAC from 2009-2012. He has been a member of the AAC since 1978. He presently serves on the Pinnacle and Grand Teton Climber Ranch committees and is the chairman of the AAC Cutting Edge Grant committee. For 30 years, Tackle was an independent sales rep for outdoor brands, including Patagonia, Black Diamond Equipment, and Vasque Footwear. In addition, Tackle guided for Exum Mountain Guides in the Tetons for 40 years, from 1982 to 2022.
Michael Wejchert began climbing as a scared ten-year-old in a swami belt. Now a scared thirty-nine-year-old, rock and ice climbing remain his overriding passion. He began writing about climbing in high school and hasn't stopped. In 2013, he won the Waterman Fund Essay Contest for a piece called Epigoni, Revisited, about a failed attempt to climb Mount Deborah in the Hayes Range of Alaska. His first book, Hidden Mountains, won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2023. His essays and features have appeared in virtually every North American climbing magazine and major media outlets: Alpinist, Ascent, Rock & Ice, Appalachia, and the New York Times, to name a few. He is a proud contributing editor at the new Summit Journal. He lives just down the road from Cathedral Ledge, New England's finest trad cliff.
As an undersized kid who wanted to be a cowboy, Kelly Cordes never dreamed that climbing would define his life. But he stumbled upon an obsession that took him to places of unimaginable beauty and infused his world with meaning. He established challenging alpine routes in Alaska, Peru, Patagonia, and Pakista...
2025 American Alpine Club Gala Awards — American Alpine Club
MEET THE AWARDEES Discover their incredible stories, then join us for the 2025 American Alpine Club Gala to hear more!
American Alpine Club (americanalpineclub.org)
-
First-Ever Lead World Cup in Madrid This Weekend
Here's who's competing and how you can livestream the event on Friday and Saturday
The post First-Ever Lead World Cup in Madrid This Weekend appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
First-Ever Lead World Cup in Madrid This Weekend - Gripped Magazine
Here's who's competing and how you can livestream the event on Friday and Saturday
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
-
Climbing Tips: Do This, Not That (Part 6)
Five bite sized, quick tips of best practices. In this post: 1) “boosting” a low anchor, 2) rope pull tip for a traversing rappel, 3) how a redirect increases anchor loading, 4) why you don't need an overhand knot on a tied loop anchor, and 5) how to set up a lower with a Grigri.
Premium Article available
Climbing Tips: Do This, Not That (Part 6) — Alpinesavvy
Five bite sized, quick tips of best practices. In this post: 1) “boosting” a low anchor, 2) rope pull tip for a traversing rappel, 3) how a redirect increases anchor loading, 4) why you don't need an overhand knot on a tied loop anchor, and 5) how to set up a lower with a Grigri.
Alpinesavvy (www.alpinesavvy.com)
-
Denali Climbing Season Concludes for 2025
Nearly 1,000 climbers attempted North America's tallest peak this winter, with about 35 per cent reaching the summit
The post Denali Climbing Season Concludes for 2025 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Denali Climbing Season Concludes for 2025 - Gripped Magazine
Nearly 1,000 climbers attempted North America's tallest peak this winter, with about 35 per cent reaching the summit
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
-
Hard Crack Climbing Boulders at Rocklands
Enjoy a free hour-long film just released by the Wideboyz
The post Hard Crack Climbing Boulders at Rocklands appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
Hard Crack Climbing Boulders at Rocklands - Gripped Magazine
Enjoy a free hour-long film just released by the Wideboyz
Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)
-
Seventeen Times Alive by Dakota Walz
Screams are a colorful thing. Each one has its own distinct message. An anger, a joy, a pain. The nature of each rings clear somewhere deep in our instincts. From the sound alone, you can practically see the scrunched nose and raised upper lip of a shout delivered in loud fury. Yet slightly muffled as…
Seventeen Times Alive by Dakota Walz
Dakota Walz reflects on near death experiences — climbing and otherwise — in his piece for The Climbing Zine, Volume 17, now available.
The Climbing Zine (climbingzine.com)
-
Seo and Anraku take gold at Chamonix: McNeice podiums (again) with bronze
Chaehyun Seo and Sorato Anraku took the top spots in the Chamonix Lead World Cup over the weekend whilst Erin McNeice podiumed with a bronze.
-
SCC Access Win: Little Brushy
Southeastern Climbers Coalition and Access Fund Partner with The Lyme Timber Company to secure an Access Agreement for Little Brushy Climbing Area CHATTANOOGA, TN, July 14, 2025 – Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC), the local climbing coalition, and Access Fund, the national advocacy organization for sustainable access and conservation of climbing landscapes, are thrilled to announce […]
Welcome to the OpenBeta Forums!
Our goal is to provide a friendly, welcoming, helpful online community of people passionate about climbing. Remember to follow the Community Guidelines, and have fun!