I dislike rowing. I’m not a fan of most things cardio, especially those involving going nowhere on a machine indoors. I typically write them off as “boring” and “pointless.” However, I’ve determined that rowing once a week is probably the best indoor cardio cross-training exercise for my climbing. Thus, you’ll find me sweating out 5K…
Category: Essays
(Not) Sleeping in the Airport IS “Worth It”
There are very few things I’ll stay up half the night for. There are even fewer things I’ll get up early for. However, sometimes not sleeping, or sleeping in far from ideal locations, is worth the adventure it leads you to. Let me explain: I need my 8+ hours of sleep most nights to be alert…
Sports Cragging: A Definition You’ll Want to Know
You’ve probably heard of “cragging.” You’ve also most likely heard of sport climbing. However, most climbers are unfamiliar with the term “sports cragging.” As the name implies, sports cragging refers to a ground-up effort to ascend a bolted cliff in as many ways (also known as lines) as possible. At first, this practice might look identical to sport…
The End of the Day Brew Life
It’s the end of a long day, and your arms are tired and sunburnt. You got up at 5:30 a.m. to drive to the crag, shook your way up the warm-up due to over-caffeination, gave your project five unsuccessful but solid burns, and then decided to climb “fun” routes for the rest of the day. It’s…
This Season’s Must Have: Off-White Gym Capris
Spring is here, and off-white is the new black when it comes to gym attire. No more chalk hand prints on your black yoga pants: light-weight, light-colored capris are here to keep you easy breezy beautiful for the season. Think I’m joking? I’m actually wearing my favorite pair right now. Here’s why: I love weekday morning gym sessions,…
(Trying to) Dress Like a Non-Dirtbag
“Look at you all showered this morning,” I greeted my friend Corey for our before-work session at the Boulder Rock Club. “Oh I haven’t showered,” was his sleepy reply. “Your hair’s just that greasy?” Fell out of my mouth. “Good, because I haven’t washed my hair in four days. And it shows.” This conversation might be somewhat…
To the Women’s Climbing Community: A Note of Support, Encouragement, and Challenge
“Hi, I’m Jess,” she said before gliding her way up my project. Thirty-five seconds later she was smiling down from the topout. “The heel-hook beta is the way to go,” she shouted down to me. She was right. Her beta was amazing, her hair was flowing, and her technique was flawless. Why didn’t I get her…
New Year’s Resolutions That Have Nothing To Do With Climbing Performance or Strict Training Plans (And Why They’re Important)
2017 is less than a week away, and you know what that means: Getting to work on your “New Year’s resolutions.” Now you might be thinking, Please no, not another piece on New Year’s resolutions: They’re cliché, quickly abandoned, and I hate them. That is true of many performance- and training-focused goals.* However, I promise I…
Polite Woodland Defecation
I’m pretty good at pooping. I also like to stay hydrated. Between the two, I often find myself having to use the “outdoor facilities” while climbing, hiking, and camping. Now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the proper method for defecating in the wilderness: Walk 200+ feet from any trails, campsites, crags, notable boulders, water sources, and…
Pulling Plastic in Berlin: The Best Indoor and “Outdoor” Climbing in the City
Berlin isn’t known for its fantastic highballs, limestone tufas, splitter hand cracks, or really any other type of outdoor climbing beyond a bit of illegal buildering. There isn’t any good climbing directly outside of the city either. The Frankenjura is over four hours away by car, the Alps are a 10-hour bus ride south, and…
“Training” to Feel Good About Yourself vs. Training to Actually Get Better
I’ll admit: I’ve been doing a lot of “training to feel good about myself” for the past eight weeks. And by “a lot,” I mean doing something about four days a week for at least 10 minutes. Despite the fact that I’ve broken a sweat a few times, these sessions haven’t led to sore muscles or…
Explaining Climbing to Your Mother
My mother is fantastic. She has always been incredibly supportive of my fondness for scaling rocks, even when she didn’t understand quite what I was doing. She bought me my first pair of shoes, my first chalk bag, and my first harness for my 19th birthday without knowing anything more than that I’d joined the…
Coffee. Tape. Climb. 