A continually growing collection of covershots, from many great photographers and adventurers, that graced UCMAG's homepage over the last year. Images from Photopost, Photo Galleries, Events, Extended Features, First Burn and more. I would like to thank all of our dedicated contributors and uploaders for making UrbanClimberMag.com what it is today. Please contact me if you'd like to have your photos and stories featured here. —Luke Laeser, Online Editor
ABS 11 National Championships - Alexandria, Virginia Photos by Steve Woods - On February 12-14, 2010, Alex Puccio and Daniel Woods finished on top at the ABS 11 National Championships at Sportrock in Alexandria, Virginia. Matt Bosley finished second with Robert D’Anastasio grabbing the third spot. For the women, Alex Johnson finished second and Francesca Metcalf claimed third. The top three men and women made the U.S. bouldering team for 2010. See www.absnationals.org for full results.
2009 PSYCHEDELIA at The Spot Gym Photos by Adam Bove - The craziest, most unique and bizarre climbing event of the year went down on Saturday, October 24th, at The Spot Bouldering Gym in Boulder, Colorado. Event number two of the fifth annual PSYCHEDELIA is more than just a bouldering comp — it's a black-light, dance around, pre-halloween, climb-for-all rave, with a costume contest and creative finals problems on glow-in-the-dark holds, complete with awesome raffles, free food from Wahoo's Fish Tacos as well as free beer from Avery Brewing Company. Don't miss next year! For more info visit: TheSpotGym.com
The Special Sandstone in Arkansas University of Arkansas student Alex Brady lives no more than two hours away from an immense amount of amazing sandstone. While the sport climbing in the area can be very good, it's not the main feature of the area. His goal is to show both avid climbers and people who know almost nothing about the sport just how remarkable the bouldering in Northwest Arkansas is. The quantity of bouldering that has been developed is minute compared to the area’s potential. Shown in this gallery are photos from areas located in Northwest Arkansas like: Lake Lincoln, Area 74, Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, the Desoto Boulders, the Ozark Bouldering Gym and at the 2008 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell competition. Visit Alex Brady's photostream on Flickr.com for more.
The AscenDance Project By Isabel von Rittberg / www.ascendanceproject.com - AscenDance Project is a new company founded in January of 2006 by German born performance artist and rock climber Isabel von Rittberg to create work that explores the aesthetics of climbing. Performing entirely without the use of ropes, their work exhibits strength and grace enhanced by the effects of gravity on the dancers and their ability to overcome it. Using a 24 ft long and 12 ft high climbing wall, AscenDance artists move through three dimensions, using time and space as inconsistent and unpredictable variables. AscenDance Project integrates the technical precision and strength of climbing with expressive movement and music to create a new kind of aerial performance on a vertical stage. Von Rittberg’s aspiration is to create a sense of detachment and lightness, to offer a completely new stage perspective and to appeal to a collective appreciation of rhythm and movement.
A photographic journey around the world Photos by David Balcells - During the last five years I have enjoyed several climbing trips surrounded by good friends and with the camera always in hand. This gallery gathers the best pictures taken during these trips. The photos try to capture not only the bouldering action, but also the local culture and landscape in places like: Albarracin, Spain; Fontainebleau, France; Sukothai, Thailand; Bishop, California; Hampi, India and more.
Photos by Peter Franzen - Everyone knows Bishop by now — The Buttermilks, the volcanic tablelands, the late-night campfires at the Pit, a bag of pastries from Schat's Bakery on the way through town. I had the good fortune to make the 14-hour drive from Oregon twice this winter, each time with a small group of good friends. From Trozell, whose trip marked her first time bouldering and her first climbing road trip, to Morgan, who's ever-growing to-do list still didn't get any shorter despite some truly inspiring effort. Each trip to the east side of the Sierras is a special one, and I always hope to capture a little bit of that in my photos when I head down there.
Bloqueando 2009 - Valle De Las Rocas, Bolivia Since 2007 this bouldering gathering has been the ultimate event for Bolivian climbers with a good mix of exciting problems, friendship and a party environment. Bloqueando is the vanguard of climbing competitions in Bolivia and is silently becoming Latin America's most important climbing event. The Valley of the Rocks is located 750 km South of La Paz and 150 km away from the city of Uyuni. This place has been described by French boulder specialists as the El Dorado of bouldering areas.<
Senya Iaryguine 8/4/2008, at Foster Falls, Tennesee on Bottled up Warrior (5.12c). PHOTO: Stephen Stratton
From Colorado to Spain with Love Photos by Cameron Maier - Cameron Maier is based in Colorado's Front Range calling Estes Park, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs all home for different parts of the year. These images were shot in various parts of Colorado like Rocky Mountain National Park and other blocs scattered around the Boulder area. Also shown are few photos from a recent trip to the limestone of northeastern Spain featuring Dave Graham and Jon Cardwell. With Maier's photography he seeks out action, vibrant natural light and tries to capture the personalities of his friends on and off the rock as wells as just the rocks in their natural environments.
UCMAG's PHOTOPOST — Upload to a grip of categories like: Bouldering, Sport Climbing, Buildering, Trad Climbing, Climber Art, Down For Life, Thursday Session, Meat Locker, The 411, Plastic Paradise ... you get the idea. Upload your photos and if we like 'em we'll hook you up with some gear.
CITY LIFE:10 TOP AMERICAN CLIMBING CITIESBy now, everyone’s heard of the little diehard climbing towns that just can’t be beat: Chattanooga, TN; North Conway, NH; Bishop, CA . . . the list goes on. Small, with loads of rock in their backyards, these spots are great road-trip stops. Heck, you could even live in ‘em . . . if climbing’s your No. 1 priority in life, you can work from home, you’ve go a fat roll of Benjamins, or you’re lucky enough to score a job in the outdoor industry . . . .
Chris Lindner - Pro Blog 4 - Last week I left Las Vegas for Lander, Wyoming to go to the International Climbers’ Festival which is in it’s 15th annual year in here in Lander. I was invited to introduce the “SPRAY” DVD which premiered during the opening ceremonies as well as to teach clinics during the festival.
The Connection Quick, finish this statement: Climbing is… It’s hard, right? There's no right or wrong answer, but it probably feels as if someone just asked you for the meaning of life. I mean you’ve thought about it, but you never really THOUGHT about it. That little blank forces you to consider on a personal, maybe even a spiritual level, why you have such a shatterproof, inseparable connection to this entity called rock climbing.
UCMAG's PHOTOPOST — Upload to a grip of categories like: Bouldering, Sport Climbing, Buildering, Trad Climbing, Climber Art, Down For Life, Thursday Session, Meat Locker, The 411, Plastic Paradise ... you get the idea. Upload your photos and if we like 'em we'll hook you up with some gear.
Cuba: Fear Me, Fear Me Not Words by Mike Brumbaugh > Photos by Andrew Burr - Cuba. This one small island nation stirs up a distinct mental picture in nearly everyone’s mind. We’ve all heard the stories, but it seems as though nobody has actually been there. It’s like the sweet forbidden fruit, so close (only 90 miles from Florida) and yet so far away. For Americans, there is one consistent theme in all discussions about traveling to Cuba: Fear.
a href="http://www.urbanclimbermag.com/photo-video/photos/colorado_bouldering_-_rmnp_and_mt_evans" target="_blank">Colorado Bouldering - RMNP and Mt. Evans Photos by Emanuel Moosburger - On August 7th 2008 I started a four week trip to visit my friend Daniel Woods in Colorado for some summertime bouldering in Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Evans. Shown in this gallery are photos of Riddles in the Park and The Hobbit at Upper Chaos Canyon, The Automator and Tommy's Arete in Lower Chaos Canyon, No More Greener Grass at Mt. Evans, some wildlife in the park, plus a few shots of the beatiful alpine landscape. Special thanks to Steve and Carol Woods!
Escape from New York - Part 1 My boyfriend and I were your typical young "urban climbers", more or less: living in Brooklyn, working in Manhattan, staying out too late on the weekends and trying to catch as many hours outdoors at the crag as we could. Nevertheless, we were never really that satisfied. One day, as we sat rehashing all the unpleasant details of our respective days (pushy commuters, long work hours, train problems, etc.), I had an idea: why didn’t we leave?
Escape From New York - Part 2 We had been in Tennessee for several days at this point, exploring the many varied ways to climb rock in the Chattanooga area. After our day bouldering at Little Rock City and a much needed rest day, we headed straight out to the Tennessee Wall. The T-Wall is a convenient 30 minutes or so from Chattanooga, but far enough outside the city to feel remote. It features gorgeous views of the Tennessee River Gorge from the base of the crag, and even better views when you get up on a route.
This FIRST BURN is all yours Check out UCMAG's FIRST BURN department for a grip of worldy bouldering images from pro-photogs like: Martin Paldan, Brian Solano, Damon Corso, Ryan Wedemyer, Lucas Marshall, Daniel Gambino, Justin Roth, Dylan Chouinard-Peck and more.
IMS Bouldercup - Brixen, Italy Photos by Franz Walter - On November 3-8, 2009, the International Mountain Summit kicked off a week activities and presentations dedicated to everything about mountains and alpine sports in the Italian town of Bressanone/Brixen in the South Tyrol. Mountaineering legends like Reinhold Messner and Chris Bonington, plus a number of other world famous climbing celebrities attended the summit like: Steve House, Ines Papert, Peter Habeler, Hans Kammerlander, Stephan Siegrist, Simone Moro and Stefan Glowacz. Next to top-notch presentations a bouldering competition also took place complete with world cup competitors Kilian Fischhuber, Anna Stöhr, Jonas Baumann and Daniel Woods.
FRY DAYS Adventures in Utah’s Remote, desolate, and radioactive Fry Canyon Fry Canyon, a tributary of the larger White Canyon, sits 300 miles southeast of Salt Lake City in San Juan County, a short drive from Lake Powell. It’s a slot canyon, 20 feet wide and 150 feet tall in points, with depths upwards of 500 feet in the broader sections. Shown here Adam Holmes reflects on Pier 49 (V5) at the Fry Canyon Boulders. Photo by Andrew Burr / AndrewBurr.com
FUTURE GYMS By Justin Roth from UCMAG #34 - NOVEMBER 2009 The next generation of climbing gyms is bigger, better, cooler, more professional... and it's changing the face of climbing as we know it IN THE BEGINNING, there was only rock; no one climbed on plastic. Off-rock climbing training consisted of gymnastics-style strength exercises like pull-ups, front levers, and iron crosses. A few brave souls constructed homemade training apparati, most of which would sooner tweak a tendon or rip a flapper than up one’s climbing ability. Then, in the 1980s, people started to dream of ways to climb when it was too cold, wet, or dark to get out on rock. “My friends and I built a wall in a storage unit,” recalls Jeff Pederson, co-owner and manager of the Momentum Climbing Gym, in Sandy, Utah. “We got tired of starting over every spring, being out of shape.” In the winter, Pederson and his friends heated their storage-unit woody with a kerosene heater. “We’d climb in there until we were choking,” he recalls.
The Guatemalan - Gabriel Moch’s North American Boulderering Journey At 23 years old Gabriel Moch has reached an impressive level as the second Latin American climber to send The Mandala (V12) at the Buttermilk Boulders, near Bishop California. Moch was born in Guatemala, raised in Brazil and began climbing at the age of ripe age 16. After only two years on the rock he sent Morfina (5.13a) at Cerra do Cipo, in Brazil and helped develop a bouldering area near Sao Paulo called Valinhos with over 300 problems varying from V0-V10 where he made the first ascent of many of them.
Bouldering in France, Germany and Switzerland Photos by Georg Lenz / www.lenzfoto.de - Bouldering naturally offers better working (shooting) conditions compared to roped climbing, but the German photographer Georg Lenz also enjoys that too. Shown here is a collection of problems (and climbers) from the European boulderfields of: Laurenzofels, near Alsace, France; Pfalz, near Wolfsburg, Germany; Magic Wood, near Averstal, Switzerland; and Ticino in the Verzasca Valley, Switzerland.
The 2009 Gravity Brawl Photos by NE2C / Leland Marshall - This year's Gravity Brawl (May 29-30, 2009, at the New Jersey Rock Gym in Fairfield, NJ) presented by Native Eyewear and proudced by NE2C, to summarize, was legendary. And, in case you haven't heard, the Mammut Bouldering Championships' Gravity Brawl is one of the best comps of the year — maybe ever! With bright lights and an awesome stage the top 10 men and women crushed it on Saturday night for a $5,000 cash purse. Finals problems 1 and 4 were sponsored by ETCH, and 2 and 3 by Climb-It. Full results and more info at: boulderingchampionships.com
Gritstone Action at UK's Wimberry Rocks Shown here Ben Heason makes a repeat of a Kevin Thaw's Order of the Phoenix (E8 6c) at Wimberry Rocks, UK. On Saturday, September 26, 2009 another great gritstone project bit the dust courtesy of Miles Gibson who is one of the UK's strongest underground climbers. Weighing in at E9 7a this route is now one of the hardest routes on grit. Miles’ route, Dangermouse (E9 7a or 5.13b X) tackles the amazing overhanging prow below the classic Sick Bay Shuffle at the intimidating and fortress like bastion of gritstone that is Wimberry Rocks. Several hours after Miles sent his project, his belayer Ben Heason, again no stranger to hard grit, sent one of Kevin's earlier creations, a super committing route named Order Of The Phoenix (E8 6c or 5.13 X). Originally graded E9 (but has settled in at E8) Ben commented that, “It looked like a nice line and seemed the cleanest of the harder routes up there. Kevin gave the route E9 6c but I didn’t find that out until after I’d first tried it, that it had been downgraded to E8. Still, with fantastic moves up a beautiful sustained arête I thought I’d persevere.”
2008 Triple Crown presented by Marmot - Hound Ears - Photo Gallery Photos by Brian Burnaham - More than 450 climbers seized the once-a-year opportunity to explore Hound Ears—the blocks are on private land and are closed to climbing throughout the rest of the year. Fund-raising efforts, including a post-comp raffle, raised $7,000 to support the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition’s purchase of the Laurel Knob climbing area.
Hound Ears, NC - 2009 Triple Crown Bouldering Series Photos by Jeff Zimmerman - On October 3rd, 2009, hundreds of climbers converged at the Hound Ears boulders near Boone for their once a year chance to climb on one of North Carolina's choicest boulderfields. Jimmy Webb scored the win in the Men's Open category this year and Sasha DiGuilian was victorious the Women's Open. Visit triplecrownbouldering.org to see the full results. The next event will be held at Horse Pens-40 in Steele, AL on November 7th, and will conclude at the Stone Fort in Chattanooga, TN on December 5th.
HORSE PENS 40 BOULDERING Photos by Dan Brayack and Jeff Wales - Sculpted by the ravages of time, Horse Pens 40 is home to acres of bulbous faces, blunt prows, delicate slabs, crimpy overhangs, and water grooves. The owners, Mike and Gina Schultz, are models for southern hospitality. Horse Pens 40 provides the maximum amount of problems for the least amount of effort. With hundreds of lines from V3-V5 and the same amount from V6-V8, Horse Pens 40 is a boulderers dream come true. Check out the new guidebook by Adam Henry from Greener Grass Publishing at www.GreenerGrassPublishing.com.
Road Trippin’ with Paul Robinson - Part 2 Trip report and photos by Alexandra S. Kahn - It is Thursday, July 16th and our fourth day in Humboldt County, California. Monday we left San Francisco after a delicious breakfast at a local spot called the Herbivore. The trip up north was over 300 miles so it was nice to finally get out of the car and see the beautiful Pacific ocean before us. We drove into what we thought was a parking lot but it turned out to be a sacred ground and we were told to leave. Read part 1.
The Iron Man of Pirates Cove. Corona del Mar, CA. http://forums.urbanclimbermag.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=68&size=big&cat=
Escape from New York - Part 4 Our first stop in Arizona was Jack's Canyon. Jack's lies east of Flagstaff by about an hour, and features hundreds of well-protected sport routes on clean, white limestone. The canyon itself is ideal, since it doesn’t seem to get used by anyone but climbers and is fairly far off the main roads. Once you get down to the bottom, the trail winds past various walls with routes that range from the super steep to moderate, with everything in between. Another bonus, there are tons of free campsites right at the head of the trail into the canyon, which are secluded feeling thanks to scrubby tree growth throughout. Read Part 1, Read Part 2, Read Part 3, Read Part 4
The Legend of Litz and the Lilly Boulders Let me tell you about the day I met James Litz. For two years, I’d made the Lilly Boulders, a collection of 25 sandstone blocs in Tennessee’s Obed Wild and Scenic River (a national park), my personal playground. I worked there as a National Park Ranger, living in nearby Wartburg. I climbed and put up problems daily. Then one day, a gangly 125-pound high school kid from Kingsport, Tennessee, strolled into the Park Visitor Center while I was on duty and introduced himself.
GRIP — Ayo Sopeju competing at the Tour De Bloc 5: Eastern Regionals, Canada's National Bouldering Series in Toronto, Ontario — tourdebloc.com. Photo courtesy of UCMAG's PhotoPost:forums.urbanclimbermag.com/photopost
Jeremy Nathan Photography Living and working in Southern Ontario, Canada, Jeremy Nathan is a photographer whos work covers landscapes, rock climbing and the climbers of Canada. As the official photographer of the MEC Tour De Bloc, Jeremy uses his camera to convey a sense of strength, determination and the community of competition climbing with a signature style. Shown here are some photos from Canada's MEC Tour De Bloc series and some limestone from Ontario's Niagara Glen. Visit: jeremynathan.com to see more of his ongoing work.
Happy Holidays From Urban Climber Everyone! Santa Claus (aka Jany Mitges) topropes with some christmas lights at Climbers Rock in Burlington, Ontario. Living and working in Southern Ontario, Canada, Jeremy Nathan is a photographer whos work covers landscapes, rock climbing and the climbers of Canada.
PHOTOPOST - Shannon Moore getting some mileage at the Bachar Boulders; and Eric Lang on Way Lake's Ugly Duckling, a cool V9 requiring a serious finger lock with a crazy drop knee, all before the lip encounter. Photos by John Vallejo.
Photos by John Evans At 46, John Evans has been shooting at a professional level for the last 10 years. In that time, he’s “jugged up some of the hardest sport routes on Earth.” Originally from Vermont, Evans now lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, identical twin boys, and dog, and works as Marketing Director for Petzl North America.
Fantastical Fontainebleau Photos by Jorg Kemner - During Easter weekend 2009 the youth club of Amsterdam's climbing gym De Klimmuur Centraal spent three days in the forest of Fontainebleau to experience the magic everyone is always talking about. The weather was pretty darn good and most of the rain that did fall, fell at night. The forest was a bit crowded at some areas, but luckily there are more than enough boulders for everyone. Because I twisted my ankle a week before departure, there would be no climbing for me therefore I had all the time in the world to take photos. So this gallery captures the Amsterdam youngsters as well as a few other climbers.
Photos by James Q Martin - These images were captured during a late-fall getaway to the island of Kalymnos, Greece, one of the Dodecanese islands and known to climbers as a limestone paradise. The island is home to more than 800 single-pitch routes, with the climbing season best suited for spring and fall. Easy approaches, beautiful views, and seaside crags attract climbers from all over the globe.
Lee Means - Pro Blog 5 Howdy folks! I’ve been incredibly busy with work and life in general. I’ve been in my new home for 2 month now. Moving is a hectic thing, and not fun. But it’s been exciting as this is my first new home. I say “new” but it is really a 108-year-old cottage located here in Chattanooga, TN. Shown here: Lee flashing Short Cake (V6) at Laurel Falls, Dayton, TN.
Lead Climbing World Cup - Barcelona, Spain Photos by Lukasz Warzecha - Czech superstar Adam Ondra took another victory at the World Cup Lead Competition in Barcelona, Spain, on August 8-9, 2009. Julian Puigblanque came second with the Japanese Sachi Amma on the third place. For the women Maja Vidmar took the victory with Angela Eiter and Jain Kim tieing for second place. The competition took place in the Palau St Jordi, one of the buildings from the 1992 Olympic village complex.
Lee Means - Pro Blog 6 1/06/09 - Wow! So here it is! It’s a New Year! What a year 2008 was. I celebrated my birthday December 31st. Marking this my tenth year of trying to rock climb. Its humbling to think that a decade ago I bought myself a chalk bag, slipped on my New Balance running shoes (with the tread worn off the bottoms), and started scampering up chossy cracks and 5.6 climbs too high off the deck for me to know any better.
The Longest Climb - Part 2 So… its all actually really, properly, happening. For real. The wheels are turning, the wagons rolling and any other getting started type metaphors you can think off. I’m sure anyone reading this by now will be aware of the challenge Tom and I are taking on – unless by some random, freak occurrence of coincidence you have just landed on this blog by chance, in all the billions of pages on the internet. Should that be the case may I suggest you read the previous entry from Tom and the other info surrounding our little (or actually not so little) endeavour. A re-introduction for lead climbing at our climbing session on Tuesday 3rd Nov 2009. I've lead climbed before - a loooooooooooooong time ago. Must be at least 18 months - which is my round about way of saying that I was crapola!!! Just terrible.
DWS: The Mallorca Experience Photos by Chris Weidner - Over three weeks in September, five North Face team members (Emily Harrington, Alex Honnold, James Pearson, Matt Segal and Cedar Wright), two photographers (Tim Kemple and Patrick Bagley), and eight other climbers (Sam Elias, Emily Brazenall, Beck Kloss, Matt Bird, George Taylor, Cerian Lewis, Emma Coombes and myself) rallied to the Spanish island of Mallorca that sits just east of the mainland in the Mediterranean Sea. On any given day there were between seven and twelve of us sharing a house, partying, and trying not to fall. The 20 to 60-foot limestone sea cliffs were our boulders, and the Med was our crash pad. Every climbing day involved salty air, humid rock, spoogy shoes, and extra chalk — plus an extraordinary dose of fear. Read more at DailyCamera.com.
