As fuel prices continue their inevitable climb towards $5/gallon, cost is a factor that will likely play more and more of a deciding role in where to recreate for the weekend. Analyzing it a bit further, if it costs us $200 roundtrip to head to the Creek, that same amount would cover the gas for about ten weekends’ worth of climbing at the local crags. Suddenly, shooting out to Maple Canyon for two days becomes way less appealing. If I’m throwing down that much for fuel, I want to be able to spend more than a couple nights at a given location.

In the past, Peter Beal has touched on a common problem that affects many climbers, in that they tend to think that the backyard climbing is never as cool as the cliff that’s further away. Perhaps higher gas prices signal that it’s time for everyone to starting appreciating what they DO have in their neck of the woods. Maybe the crags aren’t world class (most of ours aren’t, but we do have Rifle ), but I bet whatever it is, there’s some fun stuff to do there.

Maybe this is only a temporary thing, but since fuel is a finite resource, it’s a fair bet it’s only a sign of things to come. And who knows, at some point perhaps it will simply be cheaper to move close to your favorite crag, rather than spend countless hours (and dollars) commuting back and forth.

What about you? Have you changed your road tripping habits due to the price of gas? If so, where are you spending more of your time?

Evolv Captain

These are the Cadillac of the bunch, big and comfy. More about the approach and less suited to actual climbing, the Captains are the ticket if you have a lot of miles to pound out to get to your objective, especially if you’ll be carrying a heavy pack. The TRAX rubber lugged sole was hands down the most secure in mud and wet trails, and the full shank does a great job of protecting your feet from whatever bumpy and pointy things you might be walking over. Also, these kicks wont stand out like clown shoes if you have a fancy dinner to run off to afterward. The fit is ideal for medium to wider feet. $120. More info here.

Five Ten Warhawks

Easily the most stylish of the group, the Warhawks are a fun shoe that feature a half Stealth sole, which gives unbelievable traction on rocky surfaces. Ideal for places like Clear Creek Canyon, Red Rocks or Moab, where you might find yourself scrambling over a lot of exposed rock, the Stealth Mystique rubber does not disappoint. They’re fairly low profile, and fold up easily to stash in your pack, or hang off your harness on the way up. With my narrow foot, they weren’t precise enough for anything too technical, but those with wide feet should give these a look, as the fit would be ideal for them. $119.95. More info here.

La Sportiva Vertical K

The lightest shoe of the group, at a mere seven ounces, this is for the crowd that cuts every bit of weight on big missions up long routes. Being fairly minimalist, it’s not going to last as long as the others, but if light is right, then this just might be your path to enlightenment. The MorphoDynamic™ Injection Molded EVA midsole offers enough support to keep your foot cushioned on rocky trails, and the sticky rubber outsole provides decent grip. There are clip in loops on the back, or you can easily stuff them into your pack, either way you’re likely to forget you’re carrying them. And while the Vertical K’s are not really intended for technical climbing, they performed well on the rugged desert trails in Red Rocks, which are often no more than glorified gullies, full of various sized rocks. The fit is ideal for medium feet, and they run a touch small, we suggest going up a Euro half size when ordering. $115. More info here.

Patagonia Cragmaster

An all arounder offering solid climbing performance, don’t let the retro look fool you, as this shoe is all business. The laces come all the way down to the front of the toe box, allowing for a precise fit. This was a feature often lacking in other models that can truly compromise how well a shoe climbs. The Vibram® IdroGrip New Boulder climbing rubber is incredibly sticky, so much so in fact Patagonia cautions against wearing them indoors, as you’re likely to leave rubber marks on floors. A supportive midsole and injection molded arch shank provide all day comfort, and the leather upper gives the shoe excellent durability. For those on budget, they are designed to be resoled, which of course also fits in with Patagonia’s environmental responsibility values. The fit is ideal for narrow to medium width feet. $155. More info here.

Scarpa Gecko Guide

The most technical of the models we tested, this is the one to get if you’ll actually be climbing in your approach shoes. It handled 5.10 hand cracks in Indian Creek and 5.8 trad routes with ease, thanks to a solid edging platform, narrow toe profile and the Vibram sticky dot rubber. Equally adept at hiking over long distances, these are the quiver of one for those who want a shoe that can climb as well as they do. The fit is on the snug side, and are ideal for a normal to narrow foot. (Editors note: This year’s model features a different sole, optimized for both hiking and climbing.) $189. More info here.

Disclaimer: Wait! Do you really need to buy more new stuff? If so, these products are worth a look. In the spirit of full disclosure, this product was provided to SplitterChoss.com for the purpose of reviewing. Don’t worry, though, our integrity can’t be bought!

When it comes to developing sport climbs, everyone loves to be a critic, but few actually put the work in to create something of their own, and as such, it’s easy to write people off when they don’t like something you’ve done with a climb. However, there are three big mistakes that can detract from the overall experience of climb, all of which are avoidable or easy to correct.

#1 – Anchors in the Wrong Place

We’ve all been there, chillin’ at a good stance, the last bolt below your feet, the anchor just out of reach, guarded by climbing that’s a little more exciting than you were hoping for. Or maybe you end up following the line of weakness out left, only to be forced into an awkward sequence back right to the chains. This seems to mostly be a relic from an older time, when climbers had the notion that you had to push a route as high as possible, regardless of what that meant for the climbing. Unfortunately, this sometimes results in hard-to-clip anchors, or cruxes that are out of character with the rest of the route, and chances are the climb would be much more fun if the anchors were at that good stance, instead of adding some contrived difficulty. But I guess that’s why they call it a first ascent. You get there first, you decide on the method of ascent. Regardless, if the FA, or community, will consent to it, it’s pretty easy to put the anchor in a better spot.

#2 – Bolts in the Wrong Place

Maybe second only to a hard-to-clip anchor on the suckiness scale are hard-to-clip bolts. Sometimes bolts are placed high to keep you off a ledge, and sometimes it’s a reality of climbing on choss that bolts just can’t go where you want them to. But sometimes bolts are simply in the wrong place, like the middle of a crux. But that’s OK, because the good news is it’s easy to pull it out, patch the hole, and place it where it should be! Taking the time to correct these mistakes makes the route that much better, and not doing so is just lazy. I recently straightened out the bolt line on a long sport climb that is destined to become popular, and the end result is a much better route that might be the best of it’s grade in the area. Had I left it in its original state, people would have probably commented that it was a good route, but too bad the bolting sucked!

#3 – Not Enough Cleaning

In the excitement of opening up a new climb, it’s easy to want to rush through the process, get it bolted so it’s ready for the public, and move on to the next thing. But there’s nothing worse than climbing a route that hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned, whether it be too much dirt on the holds, or loose blocks that weren’t trundled. Brushing sucks, and going home at the end of the day with so much funk in your eyes that you can’t see straight is never fun, but people will appreciate a climb so much more if its buffed out as much as possible before you open it to the public. And I’ll usually approach anything that looks loose on a new climb with an added degree of caution, but it sure would be nice to know that the developer gave it their all to clean anything dangerous off the climb.

Those are the big ones I can think of, did I miss anything?

Hayden Kennedy’s presentation kicked of the first night in style, and it was great to see so much support for he and Jason Kruk’s decision to return Cerro Torre to it’s former glory as one of the most difficult and beautiful peaks in the world. His presentation was funny and insightful, and the standing ovation at the end put a smile on everyone’s face.

There was a powerful moment from the film Shattered that really stuck with me. Directed by Tyler Stableford and featuring Steve House, as the piece draws to a close, Steve is soloing an ice route in the San Juans, and talks about the nineteen people he has shared a rope with who are now dead. He asks himself: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is this the wrong place. Is this the wrong time? Will I know?” Wow.

Racing the End was one of my favorite films of the weekend, despite the fact that I’m not a road biker. An incredibly high energy romp, it showcased an “undgerground” event in LA were a group of riders stage an early morning (4AM) race on the closed-to-traffic LA marathon course. For this group of cyclists, it’s a rare opportunity to speed through the LA streets without getting run over by traffic The event has grown to draw folks from all over, and you could feel the enthusiasm dripping off the screen. So cool.

Tony Alva is the man. He spoke about his path from rockstar-dom, to finding real meaning in his life, and being five and a half years sober. He travels around, skating with underprivileged kids in big cities and Native American reservations, using his talents to bring joy and hope to a group of people who often have so little of both. A true inspiration.

As always, the friends from far and wide that come together are amazing, as well as all the new faces we met over the course of the weekend. If there was a recurring theme, it’s that passion is worth pursuing, and is crucial to living a life of meaning and purpose. Thank you to everyone at 5Point for inspiring that passion in all of us.

And for those who weren’t there, don’t worry, there’s always next year!

Dave Pegg, of Wolverine Publishing, has been visiting Maple for years, and saw the need for a current book. When I asked him about the process, he had this to say:

“I’ve been climbing regularly at Maple since 1998. I’ve seen it grow in popularity and seen a lot of new areas developed. I felt it desperately needed a new guidebook – the last print guide was published in 1999 – and is now 13 years out of date! On just about every trip I’ve made to Maple in the last few years I’ve been encouraged by visitors and locals alike to produce a guide. I held off for several years as I heard Darren Knezek from Provo was working on one and had almost finished. Several years went by and it never appeared.

The new guide was a team effort. I know Maple well from all the trips I’ve made over the years. My friends in Salt Lake City and Ogden, who know the harder climbing in Maple inside out, and were active in developing The Compound, provided all their information. I was also incredibly lucky to hook up with co-authors Josh Holmes, a local from Mayfield, Utah, who has been climbing in Maple for years, and Sibylle Hechtel from Silverthorne, Colorado, who undertook the task of climbing and checking Maple’s easier pitches – the area has lots of great climbs in the 5.5-5.8 range. Sibylle was able to write engagingly and provide insights for the easier climbs. With this team and community support, I knew we could put out a quality, accurate and much-needed guide.”

Maple Canyon Rock Climbs is everything you’ve come to expect from Wolverine books, and it’s easy to get lost in the pages, reading and plotting your next assault on the cobble choss paradise. The photos are top notch, showcasing a broad range of climbs, from a little kid on a 5.8, to Chris Sharma onsighting 5.14b. The photo topos are easy to read and make finding a specific route a breeze. Without knowing the names, I was able to instantly pick out the routes I’d done on previous trips. The overview maps are simple and easy to orient to, and give a great idea of how close the different crags are to each other.

There’s really nothing bad to say about this book, though one thing might stand out upon first glance. A couple of the areas seem to have more than a few of routes listed as “Name Unknown.” When I asked Dave about it, this was his response:

“I’d rather be accurate than wrong, so we called these Name Unknown (routes at the Matrix and The Frontera and Trash Compactor fall into this category). Other routes labelled “Name Unknown” are truly “Name Forgotten”. Bill Boyle was the primary developer of routes in Maple Canyon. He developed Northgate and Southgate, for example, and we talked with Bill and got his old topos, and he’ll genuinely tell you he either didn’t name these things or if he did he has truly forgotten what he originally called them (Bill has probably put up more than 100 routes in Maple so it’s understandable). Some of the more popular Name Forgotten routes have acquired names over the years, like “Scoops” at Southgate, a name somebody made up, but it has caught on and is commonly used so that’s what we went with in the guidebook.”

The grades in Maple have been known to be all over the place, with some places coming in soft (Minimum) and others fairly stiff (Box Canyon). This book attempts to get everything about where it should be, and generally falls in line with the consensus you’ll find on Mountain Project. Also, as a way to give back to the community, for every copy sold the publisher will donate 50 cents to the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance ($5 per copy during the pre-order period.)

One last thing of note, the print book is also available as an e-pub for your iPod, iPhone, Kindle, latest gizomo I have no idea about, etc. I downloaded a version to my iPod touch, and was duly impressed. It’s simpler than the apps Wolverine has put out for places like Joshua Tree and the Red, but I think that adds to its appeal. Being the firs time I’ve used an iBook, I was psyched to see you can easily search through it, add bookmarks, notes, etc. Those who think print is dead will be happy to have this option, and I’ve also heard it looks amazing on an iPad, which I don’t doubt.

This is a great book, and finally gives this amazing climbing area the guidebook it has long deserved. I’ve already spent many hours sitting on the toilet drooling over all the routes. Guess I better go make that camping reservation!

Maple Canyon Rock Climbs retails for $24.95 and is available for purchase from Wolverine Publishing. Be sure to like the Facebook page to get updates, new route info, etc.

I was five feet from the chains on route that only a few months earlier had been very intimidating for me to climb. But this was my smoothest send yet. I felt at ease, and moves that once were hard flowed with little effort. Then something happened. I didn’t fall or give up, I stuttered. In that moment of hesitation, I heard my belayer (and loving husband) yell up from the ground, “Aren’t you proud that I’m not giving you beta?”

If you’ve ever climbed with me before, you know that one of my biggest pet peeves is people yelling beta while I’m climbing. On the ground, you can tell me whatever you want, but when I get on route, I really do like to figure things out on my own. (A rarity in these parts, especially at the place that rhymes with “stifle.”) And if I want a little help, don’t worry, I’ll ask for it!

BJ, my primary climbing partner, knows that I’m not a fan of the spray. His analytical brain struggles with this, and it’s incredibly hard for him to navigate my opposition for beta, as he has one of those photographic memories that can recite the exact moves that he watched a random stranger do on his warm up two months ago. Plus, he has a genuine desire to see me succeed, so any hesitation on my part and he wants to unveil the deep secrets of the route to me.

My resistance to beta isn’t because I’m agro, don’t want to mess up my on-sight or don’t appreciate a little advice. Quite simply, other peoples’ beta generally just doesn’t work for me. I am short, and climb fairly statically. I also rarely remember beta, unless a route is really challenging for me. I will most likely climb a route that I’ve done before, even one I’ve done many times before, completely different each time.

But here’s the catch: I am a people pleaser. I want to make the people giving me beta feel included and show them that their suggestions are valued, so I will do whatever unnatural, crappy move for me to bring their beta to fruition.

So when BJ was feeling so elated that he hadn’t given me beta and yelled, “Aren’t you proud that I’m not giving you beta,” my mind translated that as, “BJ isn’t giving me beta, but if he was giving me beta he would tell me to go to the chalked hold out right. BJ and Lynn always go to the ticked hold up and right. Oh, no…how do I get my hand to the chalked hold out right, my hands are left and so are my feet. BJ would get to the chalked hold….shoot! I’m pumped! TAKE!”

Damn, and just like that, my perfect send was over. In a split second I went from completely focused to flustrated (a word my mother coined which combines both flustered and frustrated). As loud as I could I yelled a hefty, ”Take”. And as I sat in my harness, staring at the bolt in front of me, I started to understand that my frustration in that moment was simple. As a people pleaser, I was a slave to whatever beta was being yelled up at me, no matter how much it was wrong for my style of climbing. I didn’t un-send the route that day because I was weak or unfocused, I didn’t send the route because I’m a people pleaser.

How about you? Do you like getting beta, or would you prefer to figure it out yourself? Let us know in the comments!

Tracy Wilson is trying to reform her habits this season, but has a long way to go. If you happen to yell beta to her, don’t be surprised if does a figure four to try and reach the hold that is “right there”.

Special thanks to La Sportiva, Patagonia and Metolius for providing the prizes that we can giveaway!

UPDATE: Winners have been drawn and notified, thanks for playing everyone, stay tuned for more contests coming soon!

*(Actually, there is one other thing: watching a climber taking falls and slamming hard into the wall because their belayer doesn’t have a clue how to give a soft catch, instead of jumping they dig in and brace themselves like they are preparing to take a hit from an NFL linebacker.)

At a scientific level, warming up dilates blood vessels, which allows blood to flow more freely to your muscles, and they are going to need all the oxygen they can get if you plan on getting on something challenging that day. It also gets connective tissue ready to take the loads you want to put on them.

Some people mistakenly state that they don’t like to warmup, because once they get done with it, they are too tired to climb anything else. Chances are, they are going about it wrong, and climbing on routes far too difficult to be considered “a warm up.” According to climbing coach and sensei Justen Sjong, who I’ve been fortunate to have a session with, the first route you do should be so easy that as soon as you lower off, you can take a TR lap on it right away, correcting any mistakes you made the first time up, and putting yourself in the proper mind set and flow for the day. If the first route is too hard to do a second lap on without taking a rest in between, then it’s not a proper warm up.

Numerous training books out there cover the topic of warming up, from the Self Coached Climber, to SCFTRTRTFCS. The SCC guys say you should start on a route that is 2 to 4 number grades below your redpoint goal for the day. So if you are aiming for 12a, that might mean your first route is a 5.8 or 5.9. Andrew Bisharat says your last warm up should be about a number grade below your project level, his recommend progression for someone working 12b would be something like 10a, 10d, 11b. He also notes that your last warm up should get you somewhat pumped, not to the point of failure, but you should have to try on this one.

And then comes a crucial part, take some rest! I usually wait about twenty to thirty minutes after warming up before getting on anything harder. This gives my body a chance to recover fully from the warm up and be ready to try hard!

Obviously, there is a bit of a fine art to the process, but that’s part of the game. I also find it key to remember that it’s just a warm up, which is especially helpful when vising areas where you aren’t familiar with the climbs and/or grades. If you get on something too hard, don’t be afraid to pull on draws or hang and lower off to do something else. Nothing will ruin your day more than a flash pump, and nothing will ruin your season more than an injury because you rushed or omitted a warmup and your body wasn’t yet ready for the stresses you wanted to put on it.

We’ve always kept our dog on a leash in the Rifle, even the famous Nicklepup, who was arguably the best crag dog in history. The place is already overrun with dogs running into the road and playing chicken with the huge trucks that race up and down the canyon on any given weekend. As such, we’ve always tried to do our part to keep climbers in good graces with the City of Rifle, who might be the best land managers ever when it comes to climbing areas.

Rifle is also notorious for having a bunch of kids running around, along with, in recent years, more and more babies being brought to the cliff. Add to that the already volatile mix of dogs off leash, throw in some big egos, and you’ve got the potential for a blow up of epic proportions, not to mention a six car pile up in the creek.

Thunderpup, being young, gets stressed when she’s on a leash as she wants to be able to go up and sniff everything, so Rifle, I continued my line of reasoning, just can’t be any fun for her. Contrast that with where we’d been that day, where she could roam free, exploring as she liked, or sleeping at the base when she got tired. Tracy agreed, and from here on out, you probably wont see us with our pup in Rifle. I’m not saying everyone should follow suit, but an hour playing fetch in the yard afterwards would probably be a lot more fun than being chained to a tree in the Ruckman cave, surrounded by an army of unsupervised groms.

And for pretty much every other local crag, she’ll get to run up and down the trail, sniff trees, and do whatever it is that makes dogs happy outside, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t involve a crowded canyon, screaming kids and a leash.

I used to have a nemesis, but he had no online presence aside from leaving poorly written, inflammatory comments, and all I got out of it was a headache and less hope for mankind. Once I figured out his real name and where he lived, he thankfully fell off the scene. But back to task at hand, I’ll have to do some research on the editors of the other magazines, maybe there’s one that would be my ideal nemesis. In case you’re interested in the job, here’s a list of qualifications. That person would have to:

• Hate sport climbing, dogs, stick clips, bolts, permadraws, Indian Creek, parties, laughing, anything fun really.
•  Believe only certain people should be allowed to climb at certain crags. The more elitist the better, ideally they’ll have a whole binder full of secret crag beta.
• Think guidebooks and beta ruin climbing areas.
• Be crusty as hell, the more they complain about the way things were, the better. And they have to hate crowds for sure.
• Believe that their view is the only legitimate one, and why can’t everyone else see this?

Forget trying to come up with fun promotions or give stuff away, this strategy has the potential to really bring in the big numbers. Now I all I’ve got to do is find the right sucker editor to pick a fight with…