Gripped: The Climbing Magazine February/March 2025 Vol 27 Issue 1

If you’ve never taken a whipper—a clean fall where you feel like you got some airtime and were whipped around on the end of the rope—then you’re missing out. There may be no better feeling in the world of rock climbing then accepting that you’re off the rock and trusting that the rope will catch you, that you clipped the quickdraws and that your belayer is paying attention. And while I’ve seen a lot of big whippers, I’ve only taken a few unplanned ones. I say unplanned because every spring when rock season rolls around, I head out to a local crag with a steep cave, near Canmore, and take some big falls. It’s not so much practice as it is to get my head back into the game for…

The North Face Terra Peak Jacket $290 This is a do-anything vest that looks good, will keep you very warm and is trim enough to fit under a hardshell. There’s a handy interior phone pocket and it stows easily into the chest pocket for when you need to clip it onto the harness. Arc’teryx Insulated Kragg $220 The Kragg was released earlier this year to wide acclaim as the must-have post-climbing-session shoe, thanks to its comfort, style and slip-on style. Just in time for winter, the Kragg is now available in an insulated version. It’s the best slip-on winter boot on the market and it keeps you stable on slippery ground. Camp Photon Wire Carabiner $11 Available in eight colours, this light full-size carabiner is a must-have for mixed, alpine…

I was following pitch-two on a new mixed route with my buddy Francis Côté. We had just met two weeks prior. It was February and we’re on Mont du Gros Bras in 1986; modern drytooling hadn’t yet arrived in North America. So, I was climbing a difficult rock section with my bare hands, and the rock felt very cold on my fingertips. Côté was pulling on the rope; he wanted me to climb on. “Climb!” he said. But my hands were frozen, and they hurt. I couldn’t move anymore. I was in pain and felt like I was going to puke. I felt dizzy. Then after some time I regained consciousness and was warm again, all the way to my fingertips. So, I kept climbing, and we continued up rock…

Ice climbing can be a dangerous and difficult sport to learn. Most rock climbers now start at the gym, which allows for a safe space to practice rope work and techniques. And just like how it’s easier for rock climbers to learn the basics at a gym, it’s just as easy for ice climbers to learn at a gym—of sorts. Ouray Ice Park started back in the 1980s when mountaineer James Burwick saw an ice climb in the Uncompahgre River gorge beneath the Camp Bird Road bridge. The ice climb was forming from water leaking out of a pipeline that was connected to a hydroelectric dam up creek. Using gear and clothing that would be considered old-school today, Burwick and friends climbed the route. Ice climbing in Colorado, however, had…

When you think of highball bouldering, you probably think of Bishop or Yosemite, or maybe even Hueco Tanks or Rocklands. Squamish has some stunning highball boulders, and the number of established problems is growing each year. Jake Tiger, a Squamish local originally from Toronto, has been the forefront of this highball development over the past two years. Tiger has put up tall, aesthetic problems at a wide range of grades all around Squamish—from the Valley of Shaddai and Murrin Park in the south to Cheakamus Canyon and the Ashlu Valley in the north. Three of his highlights are undoubtedly first ascents of Daedalus V12, Edge of Insanity V9, and Against the Grain V8. Daedalus V12 links the popular drop-off problem Squaminator V11 into the rarely ascended 36-foot highball Icarus V9.…

People travel to Yosemite for the soaring big walls and test-piece cracks, but spending a day touring the classic short 5.10 will be worth your time. Take Outer Limits for example: it’s close to the road, offers nearly perfect rock and it eats up gear. Yes, the first few moves are committing and bouldery, but once you find your flow in the upper hand-jam crack you’ll wish it went on for days. Just get past the slick, pumpy laybacks and you’re home free. The route is technically three pitches, but nearly every who ropes up for this classic only does the first pitch. It’s been featured in several ads, on posters and on covers. Atop the splitter crack are some big moves that leave the security of the jams for…