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Score a Climbing Zine subscription using the discount link below. Good for 50% off your first year, and the other half is covered by an anonymous donor. We have 25 total available, with 11 left. https://shop.climbingzine.com/discount/JULYFIFTY https://climbingzine.com/50-off-climbing-zine-subscription-supported-by-anonymous-donor/

And as you journey into outerspace May the angels help to lead the way May the prayers that our families made Shine up on your soul to keep you safe —Scarface, “Smile”   It was a splitter summer day in Boulder, Colorado, with blue skies above and beautiful people all around. I was sitting across… https://climbingzine.com/smile-introduction-from-volume-25-by-luke-mehall/

Banner photo: The author on her winter project, Crystal Dawn (5.13d), Red Rocks, Nevada by Max Barlerin  Waiting for a storm to go or the sun to come, or the doubt to go or new shoes to come, or the pump to go or a move to stick, or the snow to snow or waiting… https://climbingzine.com/projecting-is-just-waiting-by-brittany-goris-a-poem/

To kick off Luke’s summer climbing road trip, he stopped in Moab, Utah for this conversation with Mary Eden, also known as the Trad Princess. Our sponsors for Season 7:  Kilter: http://settercloset.com (email holds@kiltergrips.com for more information) Scarpa: www.scarpa.com Osprey: https://www.osprey.com/ Subscribe/ score some books/clothes/stickers: https://shop.climbingzine.com/ photo by Spencer McKay https://climbingzine.com/dont-be-a-trad-princess-with-mary-eden/

The reflection targets my disfigurement. If only the borders of this mirror could protect the rest of the world from my hideousness. My life’s insignificance rampages through my thoughts like an atrociously loud party that never ends. Nothing I do is good enough. I want to expunge my existence on a daily basis. Not even… https://climbingzine.com/fill-void-shay-skinner/

Acknowledging the roots and conceptualizations of the outdoor activities that we so passionately pursue enriches our participation and ties us to the land, as well as to one another. When we view our industry through a historical lens, we inevitably hear about John Muir, Sir Edmund Hillary, Royal Robbins, and other giants of outdoor recreation.… https://climbingzine.com/navajo-rising-by-aaron-mike/

You can do it, climber girl. No matter what they say You may not be as tall You may not be as strong You may not feel as seen But you have bravery that they can never know You have a tenacity unlike anything they’ve ever seen You have heart, you have courage, and you… https://climbingzine.com/climber-girl-by-kaya-lindsay/

Back in May, while hanging out in El Cap Meadow, I overheard a friend talking about Leah’s goal to climb The Nose naked, and instantly I wanted to be a part of that climb. A couple weeks later, sure enough, we set off at 4:38 a.m. After about ten minutes of climbing, I pretty much… https://climbingzine.com/off-route-naked-nose-day-jonathan-fleury/

The Factory Bouldering Gym in Orange, California, was by no means small, but it felt small that day. In addition to us thirty-one routesetters, there were about thirty or so people that were siphoning in for their late-afternoon sessions. The judges had just passed out our results and were preparing to announce the winners and… https://climbingzine.com/show-up-as-you-are-the-rise-of-a-routesetter-by-devin-dabney/

For Sara Rosecrans, banner photo of Sara by Meg LaHatte   Give me the words to describe the blue I see when my eyes are barely cracked.   Give me the tools to plaster my body to the desert wall and watch for centuries as the world is eroded into new meaning.   Give me… https://climbingzine.com/a-new-set-of-eyes-by-turner-wyatt-a-poem-for-sara-rosecrans/

Score 50% off any of our paperback titles. Use the link below. Discount is applied at checkout. Applies to all of our Climbing Zine Books and Luke Mehall’s titles. https://shop.climbingzine.com/discount/NEWSLETTER50BOOKS https://climbingzine.com/50-off-paperback-book-sale/

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goerte I grew up in the traditions of western science and puritan pragmatism. Success is earned through work, luck is the sum of preparation, a penny saved is a penny earned. Claims that the universe provides if… https://climbingzine.com/flirting-with-the-nose-in-a-day-in-the-valley-of-stone/

I was tempted to stop climbing altogether. At the very least, I wanted to quit off-width. I lost a lot of enthusiasm for wide climbing and felt like my naïve, hopeful “gumby” phase was over. That phase is special to me because being new at something was all about the experience, everything is awesome, and… https://climbingzine.com/wide-tour-by-mary-eden-a-second-excerpt-from-volume-25/

At some point in my early to midtwenties, I came to the conclusion that life is not about rock climbing. There’s just too much other crazy shit happening every day on this beautiful clump of space dust. The older I get, however, the more I realize that climbing is most certainly about life. At the… https://climbingzine.com/going-alone-vic-zeilman/

The beauty is in the simplicity. A hunger fed by nature, a modern way of experiencing nature. We were driven out there for different reasons—some of us introduced to rock climbing at a young age, in a responsible manner. For others, including myself, it was trial by fire. note: this is an excerpt from American… https://climbingzine.com/climbing-mount-analogue-an-excerpt-from-american-climber/

I won’t say that I’m afraid of heights, but to be standing on the edge of anything looking down more than 50 feet or so gives me a funny feeling in the abdomen from just below the sternum all the way down to where the feeling translates into a moderate concern about bladder control. It’s… https://climbingzine.com/holding-the-rock-together/

Curled into the bench seat like astronauts they hurtled through the dark, stars hanging low outside the dust-dimmed beam of her headlights, his eyes twinned planets in her mirror. This poem is published in Volume 23. Art by Rhiannon Williams Rambling conversation, comfortable strangers, that strange intimacy of predawn, those trickling hours that bathe any… https://climbingzine.com/tides-by-sarah-carr-a-poem/

Another conversation where Luke is the guest. This episode is from the “Dirtbag Rich” podcast, hosted by Blake Boles. Our sponsors for Season 7:  Kilter: http://settercloset.com (email holds@kiltergrips.com for more information) Scarpa: www.scarpa.com Osprey: https://www.osprey.com/ Subscribe/ score some books/clothes/stickers: https://shop.climbingzine.com/ photo by Jake Burchmore https://climbingzine.com/dirtbag-rich-and-the-american-dream-with-blake-boles/

“You’re on belay, Mom.”  “What does that mean?” she replied.  “You’re safe, Mom. Climb when ready.” Over the last five-plus years of her life, before she passed away from complications caused by dementia, we’d often say, “You’re safe, Mom,” in an effort to calm a growing sense of restlessness and panic. Story by D Scott… https://climbingzine.com/youre-safe-mom-climb-when-ready-by-d-scott-borden/

It’s the same story the crow told me It’s the only one he knows Like the morning sun you’ll come And like the wind you’ll go   —Grateful Dead, “Uncle John’s Band”   Hunched over, I begin to carve the plaque for the climb I’ve been obsessing over for the last five years. In that… https://climbingzine.com/the-art-of-the-plaque-by-luke-mehall/