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Fifteen meters up Rutabaga, a moderate 5.9 splitter at the base of Squamish, BC’s Stawamus Chief, stretches a traverse between cracks. The move crosses jugs and offers fine, slabby feet, but still, I find it exhilarating. In fact, for reasons related only slantwise to climbing, it is exactly the sort of move that I seek… https://climbingzine.com/a-knot-like-infinity-by-north-bennett/

Ring the bells in elegy For the last engine Of the last Saturn On (semi) permanent loan From the buddy of the last dirtbag To struggle off rock You were bitching the other day That the artists weren’t starving anymore That the spirit was no longer willing to suffer for it maybe, But the flesh… https://climbingzine.com/elegy-for-the-apparent-last-true-dirtbag-a-poem/

The Dirtbag is Dead, the second version by The Dead Dirtbag, Mike Handzlik. Stickers are available to order now. Shirts and hoodies coming soon. (Including our first ever tie die.) Order stickers here: https://shop.climbingzine.com/collections/stickers https://climbingzine.com/the-dirtbag-is-dead-2/

In 2016 at the International Climbers’ Festival in Lander, Wyoming, we held a “love letter to climbing” contest. Ana Ally was the winner, this is her letter. Enjoy.  Banner photo of the author by Scott Keating Climbing, my love. As I sit here, I struggle to find the right words to describe you. I am about… https://climbingzine.com/love-letter-climbing-ana-ally/

Think back over your climbing career. I bet you’ll find a climb—or two—that define you. These won’t be your hardest sends necessarily. They will be the beautiful ones, the scary ones, the ones that came into your life at just the right time. The ones that tested you, that possessed you, that shaped your character… https://climbingzine.com/texas-tower-redux-by-josh-smith/

Jimmie Dunn is perhaps the first person who envisioned single-pitch climbing in Indian Creek. In the mid-1970s, he walked up to an unclimbed Supercrack and thought, This place is going to be great for training someday. I was first introduced to Jimmie by Stewart Green, who is seen in this photo bouldering in the Fringe… https://climbingzine.com/the-last-pitch-from-volume-25/

If I close my eyes and never awaken  A thousand adventures I hope to have taken Some with family and some with friends All of them undoubtedly cherished in the end  So don’t sit inside and cry, “boohoo”  Feelin’ sorry for me and feelin’ like poo Instead get yourself where there are no crowds Look… https://climbingzine.com/dans-poem-by-dan-escalante/

Joshua Tree National Park is a refuge. I don’t know if I’d decided this by then, sitting folded into the crook of Cyclops Rock, but I felt it. The stone bench was smooth, from water and wind and hands and feet and seats, narrow enough to let our legs dangle over the edge, leaning back… https://climbingzine.com/icons-danger-desert-medicine-birch-malotky/

We are running a sale on our back issues (Volumes 12 – 24) , to score 50% off, good through this weekend. Here’s the link to use: https://shop.climbingzine.com/discount/NEWSLETTER50ZINES https://climbingzine.com/score-50-off-on-back-issues/

“There’s someone on that off-width you wanted to do.”   I pause—midstride—and look up to see someone hanging out halfway up the climb I was hoping to get on. I push my scratched Dollar Store sunglasses up over my head and use my hand to shield my eyes instead. The day is already hot, and… https://climbingzine.com/so-you-got-your-knee-stuck-by-kaya-lindsay/

I am continually amazed and supported by the collectors of The Climbing Zine. Over 15 years of publishing there have been plenty of ups and downs, but the support of the climbing community has always been constant. I am an artist first and a businessperson second, so I’ve learned, and continue to learn lessons, often… https://climbingzine.com/sell-out-the-zine-volume-25-and-zine-collecting/

Let me die on the rock Doesn’t matter which one Something sunny and remote Away from the dummies and remotes   by Luke Mehall, publisher of The Climbing Zine. Photo by Jake Burchmore, published in Volume 22    Not that I’m not a dummy too I’m just a different kind of fool The artist living… https://climbingzine.com/let-me-die-on-the-rock-a-poem-by-luke-mehall/

It’s a dingy bar. Dark and musty. Where, I’m not exactly sure, but there is a feeling of sadness that radiates on every level. The light trickling through dusty, half-drawn shades is not telling of any particular time of day, perhaps evening. Weak rays of sunlight barely cut through the haze that lingers at the… https://climbingzine.com/hypoxic-dreams-by-vic-zeilman/

Luke Mehall reads “The Dirtbags Aren’t Dead, They’re Just In Mexico” published in the new issue of The Climbing Zine, Volume 25, now available. Photo by Ivan Ioza https://shop.climbingzine.com/ Our sponsors for Season 6:  Kilter: http://settercloset.com (email holds@kiltergrips.com for more information) Scarpa: www.scarpa.com Mountain Project / OnX: https://www.mountainproject.com/ Osprey: https://www.osprey.com/ Black Diamond: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/ https://climbingzine.com/the-dirtbags-arent-dead-theyre-just-in-mexico/

I guess you could call it a town. It’s open three or four months per year. Driving east, hues of dark green, azure, and gold flicker along the extended cracks on the windshield. A serpentine road curves through pine forests and atop steep inclines, tracing edges of valleys, the rim of the lake. by Alexa… https://climbingzine.com/old-lady-tuolumne-alexa-flower/

600 pages of The Climbing Zine, including two rare zines (Volume 12 and 13) Score one while you can! Old School Bundle Sale Volumes 12 – 17 + Sticker https://climbingzine.com/old-school-zine-bundle-just-posted-volumes-12-17/

I know he knows. Adam Lawton is proud. In every group of adventurers, there is a leader, and every great leader must be a visionary. Adam dreamed the dreams for the entire crew. He found excitement in little breakthroughs, like the time I got a job dishwashing at Crossroads Cafe in Joshua Tree—he couldn’t have… https://climbingzine.com/silent-partners-luke-mehall/

It’s rare to be told by an editor that you can write whatever you want, but that’s how this essay got started.  Since the seed was planted, the publication with said editor didn’t come to fruition, but I wrote out this piece, and I want to share it.  by Luke Mehall, publisher of The Climbing… https://climbingzine.com/4-20-99-to-infinity-by-luke-mehall/

The teenage Federale slings his machine gun over his shoulder and bends toward my bag. Cocaine? he asks. Marijuana? I have a stash of weed stuffed in an ibuprofen container in the outside zipper of my backpack. No, I say. Josh stands behind me. He doesn’t know about the stash. This? the youth asks. He… https://climbingzine.com/basaseachi-matt-spohn/

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