This past Sunday I visited Pawtuckaway State Park. It had been a week since my last excursion there, but it felt much longer. My friends intended to go bouldering, braving the inch of ice and foot of snow covering every rock in the park. Normally I’d be psyched, but the idea of not being able…
Author: Liz Haas
What You Should Know About Girls and Camping
First of all, yes, girls do camp. Not all females are innately afraid of nature and believe that a Marriott in the woods is camping. Some of us actually enjoy sleeping in tents, even for a week or more at a time. However, before you embark on a camping trip with a girl there are…
Seven Reasons Why Dirtbags are Awesome
They do what the rest of us simply talk about doing: They climb all the time. When was the last time you took a week off to go on a climbing trip? When was the second to last time you took a week off? How many times between those two trips did you talk about…
Should You Go Climbing? A Flowchart Guide to the Weather
Originally published February 28, 2015, on coffeetapeibuprofenclimb.blogspot.com.
Valentine’s Day: What to Get Your Special Climbing Someone
So Valentine’s Day is a week away, and you still aren’t sure what to get your favorite belayer/spotter/partner who means a little bit more to you than just making sure you don’t die falling off your project. I’ve got you. GIFTS FOR HER: She’s awesome. You’ve hiked a few approaches, sent some routes, met up…
Training to Beat the Winter Climbing Blues (and Stay Strong for Spring)
Climbing in the winter in New England is a test of how many frigid approaches you can walk to icy, unclimbable top outs before you become discouraged. It can be difficult to stay psyched when it’s 15 degrees out and your project is under two feet of snow. All those approaches lugging crash pads and extra layers…
Leading…Trad
My first time leading sport was memorable, a long 5.8 at Rumney with plenty of jugs and rope drag. There were solid hand and foot holds, something I rarely encountered bouldering at P-way, so I really was more focused on not back-clipping than being scared of falling. Leading trad for the first time was not…
Post Dawn Wall Predictions
Because you haven’t heard enough about the Dawn Wall in the past three weeks…Here are some of my post Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson free-climb FA predictions: Adam Ondra will book a flight to California ASAP to try to onsight the Dawn Wall. Kevin Jorgeson will incorporate skin strengthening exercises into training for subsequent projects….
The Art of Giving Beta
“I understand that your beta works for you, and you’re going with it even if you’ve fallen from that same spot 32 times.” – Chris Kalous on the Enormocast Knowing the beta can make or break a send. How are you supposed to find the magical hidden side-pull-bucket tucked away behind the arete onsight? Unless you’re…
Horseshoe Canyon Ranch
I spent the past two weeks climbing in Jasper, Arkansas, with Tommy and Tristan. Despite rain followed by sub-zero temperatures, difficulty finding gas stations at 3 a.m., and having entire walls missing from the guidebook, we managed to tick off a few of the over 400 routes. Welcome to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch (HCR) where camping…
The Climber’s Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas my partner sent to me: A Golden Retriever puppy On the second day of Christmas my partner sent to me: Two portaledges And a Golden Retriever puppy On the third day of Christmas my partner sent to me: Three rope bags Two portaledges And a Golden Retriever puppy On the fourth day of Christmas my partner sent to me: Four ATCs Three rope bags Two portal edges A Golden Retriever…
Fall 2014 Season Recap
It’s officially winter according to the calendar (and has been since before Thanksgiving according to the number of layers I’ve been wearing), so I figured I’d give a fall season recap before kicking off the winter season with a two-week trip south. First off, here are some notable sends by (every-man) people that are not me…
Coffee. Tape. Climb. 