Testing Out New Gear: The Sportiva TX3 Approach Shoes

Testing Out New Gear: The Sportiva TX3 Approach Shoes

I while ago I wrote a blog post about how I occasionally enjoy a nice, easy, solo day out to test out new equipment.  I never solo anything hard, but I find that the ability to spend time alone, without the need to uphold conversation or stick to/manage the group pace, allows me to focus intensely on technique or a new piece gear.  So this weekend, when everyone with day jobs was out enjoying mega ultra rad adventures far from home on the long weekend, I took the chance to test out the new TX3 approaches from Sportiva on a quick little day mission.

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The 6 am Climbing Gym Crew:

The 6 am Climbing Gym Crew:

Between 6 and 8pm, the Seattle Vertical world gym is packed. Belayers stand shoulder to shoulder, and climbers line up behind popular routes. In the lead climbing areas, people pull ropes quickly and jog to the next bolt line to avoid a long wait. It’s a high-energy scene, but it comes with a lot of time waiting. It’s easy to spend 2 hours and only get on a handful of routes.

 

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Amidst war, climbing inspires youth in Afghanistan

Amidst war, climbing inspires youth in Afghanistan

In a school gymnasium in Kabul, though, I’m sitting with a group of children, imagining a different world. Girls in brightly colored tunics and headscarves are eyeing a 30 foot high climbing wall with considerable doubt. “When I come back in 10 years,” I say, “Who will be my mountain guide? Who will take me climbing?”  A teenager raises her hand. She lives in Kabul, but has a family home in the countryside nearby, and she tells me she’ll be the first female to stand on top of the mountains around her village.

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Flash Foxy Write up

Flash Foxy Write up

I had a very different trip report composed—one that went through the blow by blow of our planning and disaster, that covered our constant revision throughout the weekend and tried to capture our humor and joy—but it meandered several pages and didn’t really get to the heart of the festival. So here’s a second attempt at why the Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing Festival felt so essential to me.

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How to survive a seemingly never-ending northwest winter

How to survive a seemingly never-ending northwest winter

For all the people out there who live for the snow sports, I’m sure this winter has felt like a gift from god after a few years of short ski seasons, but for the climbers who are anxiously awaiting the spring temps and dry rock, this winter (which started early and is somehow still going) is starting to feel almost unbearable…

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