Cold Weather Rock Climbing Tricks

It doesn't matter what kind of rock climbing you're into, at some point you're probably going to find yourself climbing in chilly weather. From boulderers waiting for perfect "sending temps" for their project, to alpine climbers on a rock route in the mountains and everyone in between, being out in the cold is a fact of life.

It's fairly straightforward to keep most of our body parts warm, except for our feet when they're in rock shoes. Snug fitting rock shoes offer pretty much no insulation, and also slightly reduce circulation by their tight fit. While I will occasionally wear a thin pair of socks in my rock shoes this is a sacrifice in performance. Besides, many of my shoes are too tight to wear with a sock.

One simple (and free!) solution I've come upon is to tuck the shoes into my layers when I'm not wearing them. At the boulders or at the crag, this means putting them in my jacket before I start climbing and in between laps. In an alpine setting, tucking them into my layers is the first step of the transition from hiking to climbing at the base of the route. Puffy jackets with internal "drop-in" style pockets are perfect for this. To get them even closer to the warmth coming off your torso, tuck them into the layers which are themselves tucked into your harness.

Kevin getting ready to boot up at the base of the Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo Spire.

While assisting Arc'teryx athlete Leslie Timms with a clinic on a cool spring day a few years ago we discussed this technique. She referred to it as "shoe-boob" because of the way it looks when your layers are zipped up with your shoes in there. I think that's a great name.

How To Write A Public Comment

Over the last year and a half I've been receiving a lot of emails from non-profits about public lands. Many of these emails have been about what's going on with public land in southern Utah, a place I love to climb.

Some of the time I delete the emails after briefly scanning them. Sometimes I read the email and take the most minimal action I can on the issue. I am not proud of either of those responses. Increasingly I've been thinking that the amount of time it takes to dig into the issue enough to understand and respond productively is pretty small given the amount of time I spend enjoying myself in these places. In less time than it would take for most readers of this blog to earn the money for a lift ticket at a major ski area, I can do something lot more effective than clicking on a box to send a form letter.

Sometimes the emails are just news, but sometimes they're calls for public comments. In two days the public comment period for the management plan for the new Indian Creek monument (in place of Bears Ears) ends. McKenzie Long recently wrote a great how-to guide to writing a public comment. Read it here. It's aimed at what's going on with Bears Ears right now, but some of the beta could certainly be applied to public comments generally.

Lightweight Manifesto

I stumbled across Camp's Lightweight Manifesto the other day.  It's copied below. There's some good food for thought here. Any carpenter, mechanic, or surgeon knows that there's a distinct advantage to using the right tools for the job. Those of us traveling in the mountains can benefit from adopting a similar mindset.


If there is one thing we can do with any piece of equipment to improve its performance, it is to make it lighter. This is a universal truth and it is a driving force at CAMP where we start with purpose-built designs and then trim the fat for a result that has become the world’s lightest line of equipment for climbers, mountaineers, alpinists and ski mountaineers. In the mountains, we are obliged to be prepared for whatever may come our way. This means we cannot skimp on our selections when we choose the right tools for the adventure. Very few mountain adventures require less than 10 pieces of dedicated equipment when we include what we wear, what we eat, how we drink and how we transport it all. A single piece of gear may seem trivial. But a factor of 10 is not trivial at all and this is only for the smallest adventures. 

Now we go deeper into the wilderness, higher in the mountains, or we up the ante with new levels of difficulty. The importance of lightweight increases exponentially. Instead of 10 pieces of gear, we now have 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 or more. Even an average rack for sport climbing has more than 20 carabiners. The impact of weight compounds and this is why lightweight is so important. Weight is directly correlated with performance.

We go into the mountains in pursuit of adventure. It is a place where we can come close to the edge of what is possible and from these experiences we are ultimately able to push where the edge exists. This is when we know we’ve made it. A paradigm shift occurs when a discovery or technology fundamentally changes the course of life as we know it. The same progression occurs when mountain athletes make the firm commitment to purpose-built, lightweight gear. One-size-fits-all gear does not fit with meaningful adventures, it inhibits them. It is only when we shed the baggage that we can understand what is really possible. We experience this in life on a daily basis and yet we continue to perpetuate the notion that we can use the same gear for different adventures with very different demands.

It is our human responsibility to become the best we can become and as mountain athletes, it is our responsibility to pursue adventure in the most meaningful ways. We will never do this while we are carrying unnecessary baggage. We will be held back, we will not maximize our enjoyment, we will not achieve our best results, and we will increasingly put ourselves in harm’s way if we do not come prepared. 

Preparedness is the consequence of an entire system that combines mind, body and spirit with all the other stuff we need to get the job done. If the job has anything to do with human mobility, the system must not be weighed down with unnecessary bulk or weight. It must be optimized to get the job done with the highest level of efficiency.

Innovations in materials, technologies, designs and manufacturing have met with fierce competition in the outdoor industry to marvelous effect. But marketing still remains a powerful force. We believe the message is very often entirely wrong. Go anywhere, do anything gear is a fallacy. What is real is that purpose-built gear will serve its purpose and the greater efficiency with which it can achieve that purpose, the better will be the result.

For the highest level of enjoyment, for top-level results, for pushing our limits (wherever they may be), we urge every mountain athlete to make the shift to purpose-built lightweight gear and we encourage them to do it with urgency. The next level awaits.


You can view the manifesto on Camp's website. I am not sponsored by Camp.

Backcountry Water Strategies

Running out of water is no big deal if it's the end of the day and there is only a short walk between you and the car. It is a big deal if you're partway through a route that's taking longer than you expected, or if you hope to recover quickly and send again tomorrow.

While creeks and lakes aren't usually readily available on alpine routes, snow is often not far away in most major mountain ranges. Even here in the sunny Sierra snow lingers in nooks and crannies throughout the summer. I've topped up my water supply from a melting snow patch on top of Mount Darwin even as late as the end of August.

If you've got a stove and fuel turning that snow into water is easy. It was above freezing on top of Mount Darwin that day in August, so I just set my bottle upright on the ground under the edge of the snow patch where it could catch the drip. Sometimes it's a bit trickier than that. In May Mik and I were descending from an ascent of the Freezy Nuts Couloir on Werewolf Tower in the Ruth Gorge. The climb had taken a bit longer than expected and Mik had run out of water. Just to be clear, he's tougher than I am and could have easily just continued down and drank his fill when we were back at camp. However, there was no need for him to remain thirsty.

We had paused for a break in the downclimbing at a flat spot below a small rock band. The rock band was running with water from snow melting above, but it was just a thin film of liquid. A simple trick allowed us to fill Mik's empty bottle with about a liter of water in just a few minutes. He pressed a dyneema sling onto the wet rock. This conducted water directly into his bottle.

Obviously this was a fairly hands-on operation. If we had more time, wanted to collect more water, or wanted to multitask we could have placed some gear in the rock, clipped the sling to it, and set the bottle upright in the snow with the end of the sling inside. Quickdraws or a cordelette could also be used for this task, and could be clipped to each other if more length is required.

Thoughts On Alpine Climbing

I just read a really good blog post on the Outdoor Research website. "Want To Climb In Patagonia? Read This First" had some great ideas that I imagine were applicable to the first-timer down there (I've never been) but I think are relevant to anybody early in their alpine career.

How Do Your Slings Look?

Getting the most life out of your climbing gear is not only a smart financial decision, but it's also good for the environment. The materials our stuff is made of (various metals and petroleum products) have a high environmental cost. That being said, pushing our equipment beyond what it was designed for is kinda dumb.

It's not the end of the world for clothing or camping gear, but taking the equipment we use to protect us in the event of a fall out of it's intended application (or beyond it's intended lifespan) can have serious consequences. When climbers (myself included) look at a worn out piece of gear and say, "oh, it's fine" that's a great example of poor decision making. That decision is usually not based on any actual scientific data. Instead it's most often based on some combination of laziness, a short sighted need for that piece of equipment, and frugality.

What brings all this to mind is a study I recently came across from The German Alpine Club. Every time we go climbing (unless it's bouldering) we're using slings (runners, quickdraws, etc) of some kind. They don't last forever. This study took a look at the strength of sling material as it ages, and if there is any correlation between a haggard appearance and a loss of strength. Pretty interesting reading.

I am not a scientist and have no science background. I'm pretty sure that for something to become accepted science it takes more than one study. That being said, the above paper presents information that is waaaay more fact based than guessing and hoping for the best. If you're interested in a bit more reading on sling material selection and use (or just have some time to kill at work) check out this article from Rock And Ice magazine and this video and article from DMM. Both look at appropriate applications for plain nylon and dyneema slings and quickdraws. There are more links at the bottom of the DMM article if you really want to fall down the rabbit hole.

Third Pillar Of Dana - Leave No Trace on the approach

The Third Pillar of Dana has one of the better approaches in the Sierra. It's easy to follow, fairly direct, and really pretty. 

This climbers path travels around Tioga Lake and winds through the woods before following a creek up into Glacier Canyon. Eventually it wanders through a lovely alpine meadow dotted with granite boulders and disappears a few minutes before climbers reach the top of the route. In the summer wildflowers add all sorts of color to the whole thing. 

In many places this path is an aesthetically pleasing single track. However, around 10,500 feet (I'm guessing at this altitude from memory and the map, not a gps waypoint), the path passes through several marshy areas and in a few places is starting to become wide and messy.

"Travel and camp on durable surfaces" is a basic Leave No Trace principle. In the case of the Third Pillar approach this should be fairly easy; just walk right in the middle of the path. The human impact is already there, and this durable surface (bare ground) can take the abuse. 

What's going wrong in this area around 10,500 feet is that us climbers are not walking in the middle of the trail. When we get to these marshy sections we skirt around the edges, killing the plants there and slowly widening the way. Why are we doing this? It's wet and muddy there. 

What should be a narrow path....

That's right, I'm calling out my fellow climbers for being afraid to get their shoes a little wet or muddy. It seems odd that a group of humans that will live in their cars for months on end, forgo showers, and purposely put themselves in physically and mentally challenging situations are unwilling to get their approach shoes dirty, but that's the explanation for the unnecessary impact. We might feel badass when we're romping up the last pitch of The Third Pillar, but we can't manage to do the right thing when faced with a few feet of muddy trail. Not so tough after all. 

If a call out won't work, how about the reality of the situation? I've been lucky enough to climb The Third Pillar of Dana twice so far this summer, once while guiding and once with my wife. I wore a different pair approach shoes each time and each time I tried walking directly through the muddy sections of the path. I took the photos below just after. Not so bad, right? The mud barely made it past the rands. 

"But what if my approach shoes have mesh on them and some of that muddy water makes its way in" you ask. This is a mountain range known for its fair weather. If you walk right through the mud and your feet get a little wet and dirty, fear not gentle reader, they'll dry out in the warm California sunshine and light winds that you'll get over the rest of your day of climbing. 

Choosing The Right Boots For Alpine Climbing

Recently, I was having an email conversation with a client about what boots he should get for his trip. By the time the conversation was over I realized I had written some fairly useful information about alpine climbing boots, which could be handy for anyone planning a trip. This blog post grew from that seed.

Of all the gear we bring with us on an alpine climb, boots are one of the most important pieces. It's much easier to make do with the wrong jacket or harness. Having the wrong boots can stop a climb in it's tracks, and it's worth doing the research and trying on as many as possible to find the perfect pair for your route.

I use Scarpa and La Sportiva as examples here because I'm most familiar with their products. This is because they are the most widely available in the U.S. and they also fit my feet well. There are a lot of other good boot companies out there, including Kayland, Zamberlan, Asolo, Lowa, Boreal, and Salewa. It's all about what fits.

"Shank" is a term that historically has referred to a metal bar or plate running the length of the boot sole to add stiffness. "Full shank" boots are very stiff longitudinally and are appropriate for water ice and steep alpine ice climbing. "3/4 shank" boots are softer fore-to-aft and hike and climb rock better than boots with a full shank but do not climb water ice or steep alpine ice very well. These days manufacturers create that stiffness with different materials, but we still use the terms to refer to the performance characteristics of the boots.

What follows is a list of the basic types of mountain boots, with pros and cons, and examples of models in italics. 

My high mileage La Sportiva Trango S Evo. The "red boot" is the classic three season climbing boot. One size 42.5 boot weighs 740g or 26.1oz.

Three Season: La Sportiva Trango Cube, Trango S Evo (the red boots); Scarpa Charmoz Pro. Uninsulated, 3/4 shank. Appropriate for use in the summer, on warmer spring and fall trips depending on conditions, and on shorter/less steep alpine ice. Lots of ankle mobility and very light. Climbs rock relatively well, does okay on moderate alpine ice. Not very good for water ice or steep, sustained alpine ice. Compatible with strap-on and "semi-auto" crampon bindings. The red boots changed the paradigm for this category and led the way in current lightweight developments. 

La Sportiva Trango Extreme Evo Light GTX, a single boot with a long name.

La Sportiva Nepal Evo Women's single boot. One size 39.5 boot weighs 970g or 34.4oz.

Single Boots: La Sportiva Nepal Cube, Nepal Evo, Trango Extreme Evo Lt (the silver boots); Scarpa Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc Pro and Rebel Pro. Insulated, full shank. Appropriate for use on winter day trips and sustained steep alpine or water ice. Can be used for winter overnights (I've used them for a 5 day trip) but keeping your feet dry becomes big challenge as the trip goes on. Wet feet are cold feet. The silver boots and Rebel Pro are at the lighter end of this category. Both weigh less but have less support and less insulation (particularly the Rebels) than other single boots. Single boots are what folks are using for most winter climbing in the lower 48 and lower altitude Canada, and for sustained summer ice in The Sierra and Cascades. Compatible with all crampon bindings. 

The toe area of a three season boot (left) and single boot (right). Note the prominent reinforced lip or "welt" on the single boot. This is for fully automatic crampon bindings, the kind with the wire in front. All single, 1.5, and double mountain boots have a welt in the front. If your mountain boot doesn't, it's not good for ice climbing.

1.5 Boots: This is a new category in the last 5 years or so. Insulated, full shank. It's a single boot with an integrated gaiter that covers the whole thing. Performs like a single boot, but warmer. Kind of a niche boot. Might be a bit easier to dry out on overnights. Will keep your feet warm year-round in the lower 48 and lower altitude Canada; and lower altitude Alaska after mid-May if you're careful. A bit warm for lower 48 in the summer. Compatible with all crampon bindings. La Sportiva Batura; Scarpa Phantom Guide.

La Sportiva Spantik, a double boot.

Double Boots: Insulated, full shank, with a removable liner. You can take the liner into your sleeping bag at night and dry it out. This lets you have dry (and therefore warm) feet day after day. Sometimes called "6000 meter boots", which refers to the sort of altitudes they're used at. Heavy. Stiff uppers don't handle rock or mixed climbing as well, though the Phantom 6000's are alright. Appropriate for really cold conditions and long trips, Alaska and higher altitude Canada. Compatible with all crampon bindings. La Sportiva Baruntse and Spantik; Scarpa Phantom 6000.

So what to get? For folks who are involved in any outdoor pursuit (climbing, backpacking, mountain and road biking, skiing and snowboarding, paddling) at any even remotely serious level the idea of a "quiver of one" for gear doesn't work. There's no perfect boot for everything, and the more things you do the more true that becomes. A pair of double boots will keep your feet warm and dry in the gnarliest conditions this continent has to offer, but wearing them on a summer ascent of Mount Rainer's Disappointment Cleaver or Polemonium Peak's V-Notch Couloir will have you hating life. On the other hand, spend a few days at any water ice crag in the lower 48 and you're bound to see some poor soul trying to climb steep ice in three season boots.

The only alpine climbers who own one pair of boots are those who haven't bought their second pair yet. Those who own two pairs usually either own a pair of three season boots and a pair of singles, or a pair of single boots and a pair of doubles.

Fit is the most important selection criteria. Weight comes second. If gear shops near you carry several different models, rejoice. If not, several online retailers offer free return shipping. Order a few different models, wear them around the house for a week, and then decide. You can't try on too many different pairs. Aftermarket insoles (like Superfeet) can do wonders for improving fit. The liners of double boots can be thermo-formed (or "cooked") to your feet at a good ski shop, look for the most grizzled boot-fitter on staff. Some climbing shops (like Mammoth Mountaineering) also offer this service.

Alpine climbing is a gear intensive sport. All that gear costs money. If you don't want to buy a lot of gear, you have other choices from the climbing buffet. Bouldering and sport climbing are both great ways to enjoy the vertical realm with a lot less equipment. If you still want to go to the mountains, get the right boots for your trip. They last a long time and have a reasonable resale value if you end up deciding that alpine climbing is not for you.

Taping For Crack Climbing

I'm smack in the middle of my yearly October rock climbing vacation (or Roctober, best spoken like an enthusiastic classic rock DJ). I've been climbing and catching up with friends old and new at some great locations, including Red Rocks, Zion, Indian Creek, and The Black Canyon.

I'm also learning a lot. As usual I'll spend the most time in Indian Creek this Roctober; I'm writing this from Moab's excellent public library. Indian Creek always teaches me a lot about crack climbing and trying hard. Another thing I'm learning on this visit is how to tape my hands.

Taping wasn't really something I saw climbers doing a lot when I was learning to climb in New Hampshire. Over the years I tried making tape gloves a few times, but they always took a long time to make, never lasted more than a pitch or two, and usually made the climbing harder. Climbing on the sometimes sharp rock of Joshua Tree taught me that "milking" the jams always led to bleeding and that it was best to put the hands or fingers (or more) in the crack and accept the jam for what it was. I still rarely use tape. After a few weeks in the Creek I usually have my share of gobies, but they've never been a huge problem.

I recognize that I am in the minority here. For most climbers, crack movement does not come naturally, and taped hands are a very effective "training wheel" when learning different sizes. I've come to see that as a guide it benefits me and my clients if I know a great taping method. I did some research before Roctober began and was looking for a method that didn't take a lot of time or tape, was easy to remember, and didn't change the size of my hand too much. This last one was a problem I've always had with the reusable tape glove.

The best method and tutorial I've found was by crack master (or mistress?) Steph Davis. She writes about  it on her blog, and is in a great instructional video. She advocates for 1.5" wide tape, but I've had good success with 1". As with learning anything new, practice is important, and the best place to practice might not be at the crag right when it's your turn to climb. She's also spot on with her recommendation of the Mueller Europtape. It can be found at climbing shops here in Moab and also at Eastside Sports in Bishop. If your local shop doesn't carry it, they should.

Confidence Gap with Sheldon Kerr

Verticulture, the Outdoor Research blog, published a really cool article/interview with friend and badass mountain guide Sheldon Kerr. Sheldon talks about the disparity women feel between competence and confidence in their skill levels, specifically in outdoor sports. She discusses five tactics to boost confidence in the mountains, and probably most any other place. Oh yeah, these tricks will work for guys too.

Repairing Holes in Packs and Pants

I can rarely escape a season of ice climbing without some damage to my climbing pants. Crampons are not kind to soft shell gear (or hard shell gear for that matter). Jackets and backpacks receive similar rough treatment from rough alpine granite in the summer.

Some duct tape fixes the damage on the spot, but usually doesn't last and often leaves behind some adhesive. Tenacious Tape will last quite a bit longer (including multiple trips through the laundry) but isn't particularly abrasion or cut resistant. 

The best long-term fix I've discovered is Seam Grip. It comes in a 1oz. tube and can be found at any halfway decent gear shop.

Ape Indecies

Climbers spend a lot of time obsessing over small things. What's the hardest way to climb up this cliff when we can just walk up the back? Which are better, shoes with a pointed toe or shoes with a blunt toe? This carabiner is one gram lighter than all others, is it worth five dollars more?

Another small thing we think about is reach. The length of one's arm is something that normal folk rarely consider. To climbers, for whom reach can be of the utmost importance, it is quite serious. They have developed a method of expressing arm length relative to height. It is called The Ape Index. Here's how to calculate yours:

Measure your height, no cheating. Measure your arm span, from middle fingertip to middle fingertip. Subtract height from arm span and you have a positive or negative number that is your Ape Index.

For example, my arm span is 73.25 inches. My height is 70.5 inches. 73.25 minus 70.5 is +2.75, my Ape Index. The positive or negative sign is usually included for clarity. Also of note is the fact that in Canada my Ape Index would be much higher because of the metric system. Large positive numbers are desired.

Ape Index would only connote climbing advantage if all other things were equal, which is never the case. Let's look at Josh. He's 0.75 of an inch taller than me, but with a paltry Ape Index of +0.25. My reach is nearly two inches greater than Josh's. However, Josh's footwork is superior to mine and he can therefore climb harder.