Climbing Ethics - Preparing for your first Lead Class

By Aubrey Wingo

Many people, when they first walk into the gym get to witness lead climbing for the first time. They see the attentive belaying, the active communication and of course the thrilling whippers. In our facility, if you enjoy rope climbing, many of you make it a goal to get better as quickly as possible just so you can join the "rope elite" and learn to lead as well. However, lead climbing shouldn't be just rushed into; sure, you can probably elvis-leg your way through the route, but wouldn't you enjoy being able to walk up to a route and the difficulty of the climb wasn't a factor? You have enough to worry about in between clipping, leg placement, and those wonderful falls. This article is to teach and prepare you for taking your first lead class, or possibly, making you take a second look at yourself and your climbing to ask yourself if you are prepared. I spoke to our three lead instructors, Dean, Doug, and Alex, to get their insights on the subject as well.

Climbing in the Media - Going Mainstream

By Aubrey Wingo

Many of you have probably come to notice rock climbing not only when you walk into the gym, or check your Facebook feed. It's on your TV, it's in advertising, even in your educational sources! This is a fun array of different images and videos that you might not have seen, but show how popular our sport is becoming.

Climbing Ethics - Grading Pt.II

By Aubrey Wingo

In our last article on Climbing Ethics, I discussed grading in the rock climbing community and how it got started, how it is determined, and how important (or to some, not important) it really is.  In this part of the grading article continued, we are going to open up a world of controversy, involving downgrading, grade inflation, and how the pros react to an ever changing climbing world.  Now, unlike the previous article, this particular feature doesn’t focus on the grade controversies of your local gym or disagreeing about the newly downgrade problem that you had sent and are angrily looking for the reasonings behind such a decision.  This is about the big dogs; the Grahams, the Woods, the Ondras of the world and how their power, not only in their strengths, but the power of their influence upon the world of climbing.  There are hundred of examples that we can discuss over the past decade during the peak development of bouldering and sport climbing but we are going to go over some of the highlights and the most talked about.

Climbing Ethics - A Story About Grading Pt.I

By Aubrey Wingo

I’ve always been hesitant on tackling an article with so much conversation, prevalence, even argument, but grading and its usage holds so much weight in the climbing world.  For some climbers, the grade is the determining factor of what their goals are for that day and for others, it is out of sight, out of mind.  This article will be presented in two parts. The first section, this article, will go over the history of grading, the importance of grading, and how a grade is determined. Part two will focus more on what’s going on in the climbing world and how grading is involved, such as downgrading, first ascents, other controversies.

Climbing Ethics - Dating in The Climbing Community

By Aubrey Wingo

You are a climber. You are strong and adventurous. You are always looking for new projects but take failure pretty hard. You are conversational with everyone but independent in your goals. Overall, you sound like a pretty well-rounded person. Now imagine that you are dating yourself, with obviously some differing character traits, but in general, this is what one should prepare for in the climbing community. Among my own personal observations, a little Internet research, and a poll I took with 34 respondents in our community, take the time to read if you are planning on dating a wall crawler.

The Best of the Best Articles of 2012

By The Crimp Chronicles Staff

We at The Crimp Chronicles are proud to have been serving you with amazing articles for over a year now. And just in case you missed some of them in 2012, or would like to revisit some, we have collected the most popular articles for each of our columns below. Thank you for being such loyal readers and we can't wait to write for you in 2013!

Climbing Ethics - A History of Chalk

By Aubrey Wingo

You’re in the gym and you throw on your shoes and harness. You read your route, tie in, make sure that your belayer is good to go and chalk up. It’s one of the steps that many of us have in our procedure that almost becomes second nature. I, myself, find that even if I’m not getting right back on the wall, I’ll chalk up anyway, sometimes completely nonsensically. The white handed climber is a common site in the gym and outside but the question is does everyone realize what chalk is used for and where it came from? Do we even need it? This article will zone into the use of the chalk, its history and how we can become better ethical climbers when using it.

Ethics - Climbing Ethics with the Pros

 

By Aubrey Wingo

In my previous articles on climbing ethics, I have babbled on and on about practices that should be applied inside the gym and outside at the crag. Some of you might agree or disagree with me on certain topics, but these are based on my own personal opinions that I have constructed through my own climbing experiences and education. As Southeastern First Ascensionist Chris Sierzant explains, “Climbing is a growing sport with various degrees of ethics. Everyone has their opinion of right and wrong.”

Ethics - Outdoor Ethics While Rope Climbing

By Aubrey Wingo

In my previous article, Introduction to Outdoor Ethics, we focused on generic but extremely important topics such as Leave No Trace, chalk use, camping and walking through trails. This article will concentrate on ethical practices while visiting areas specific to sport and traditional climbing.

Ethics - Introduction to Outdoor Climbing Ethics

By Aubrey Wingo

Alright Crimp Chronicles followers, it’s time for another issue of Climbing Ethics. In this particular segment, we are going to venture away from Aiguille and the ethics in our own gyms, or any indoor climbing gym. We are going to travel to an outdoor climbing location, and you can pick whatever climbing area is special to you. The ethics are typically the same.

Ethics - The Dos And Don'ts of Climbing Part II

By Aubrey Wingo

Hello again, Crimp Chronicle readers! We had such a wonderful wave of positive feedback on our previous Climbing Ethics article that I felt the need to use your suggestions, and ones of my own, and keep the ball rolling to continue educating you. When you are out in the climbing gym, think of these topics and ask yourself: Am I this guy/girl? Be proactive and be respectful. If you read these and feel like commenting, feel free to do so below and I will respond as soon as I can.

Ethics - The Dos and Don’ts of Rock Climbing

By Aubrey Wingo

Aiguille is a very friendly community; everyone typically knows everyone and we are always welcoming new people. Together, we are all learning and developing physically and mentally in one of the fastest growing sports in the world. And like any sport, there are courtesies and standards one should follow to be a well respected member of the climbing community. For example, when you play golf, you are not supposed to talk while the golfer is teeing off. Below are some of the words of advice I would give to any new climber trying to learn the sport and how not irritate others more immerse in the sport already.