Testing Out New Gear: The Sportiva TX3 Approach Shoes
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RANT, RAVE or SHARE TO BOB?
The 6 am Climbing Gym Crew:
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Between 6 and 8pm, the Seattle Vertical world gym is packed. Belayers stand shoulder to shoulder, and climbers line up behind popular routes. In the lead climbing areas, people pull ropes quickly and jog to the next bolt line to avoid a long wait. It’s a high-energy scene, but it comes with a lot of time waiting. It’s easy to spend 2 hours and only get on a handful of routes.
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Loose jams: spring thoughts from the rocks
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Two short years ago, I went into the summer with a rack consisting of sport draws, hexes, nuts, and two lonely cams. It was a good time—perhaps the first time I’d call myself a climber instead of just someone who climbed
Read MoreAmidst war, climbing inspires youth in Afghanistan
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In a school gymnasium in Kabul, though, I’m sitting with a group of children, imagining a different world. Girls in brightly colored tunics and headscarves are eyeing a 30 foot high climbing wall with considerable doubt. “When I come back in 10 years,” I say, “Who will be my mountain guide? Who will take me climbing?” A teenager raises her hand. She lives in Kabul, but has a family home in the countryside nearby, and she tells me she’ll be the first female to stand on top of the mountains around her village.
Read MoreFlash Foxy Write up
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I had a very different trip report composed—one that went through the blow by blow of our planning and disaster, that covered our constant revision throughout the weekend and tried to capture our humor and joy—but it meandered several pages and didn’t really get to the heart of the festival. So here’s a second attempt at why the Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing Festival felt so essential to me.
Read MoreHow to survive a seemingly never-ending northwest winter→
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