Featured Photographer: Joel Wilson
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The March 2021 Featured Photographer Joel Wilson takes us on an incredible photographic tour of climbing in Tasmania, specifically on Bruny Island. Joel describes how he achieved the panoramic sunset cover photo of Mitch Smith on the climb Primavera that graces our cover shot.
Joel also shares responses to our questions so we can get to know him and his photographic style a little better. Check out Joel's incredible photos and explore a dramatic place you may have never heard of. |
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Editorial
Welcome to the March 2021 edition of Common Climber!
This month we have a neat variety of articles for you and some new YouTube videos for our Common Climber YouTube channel!
As described above, our Featured Photographer Joel Wilson, takes us on a magical photographic tour of Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. Joel captures the spectacular vistas and moodiness of this area that reaches down towards Antarctica.
We have a couple more Aussie highlights. Keith Bell tiptoes around a bungle - you'll have to read it to find out exactly what that means, but it involves finally getting on a classic climb (Tiptoe Ridge) with an old friend and some funny points in between. I also interviewed Wendy Bruere who is one of the co-editors for a new collection of short stories called More Than It Hurts...and other stories of (mis)adventure by womxn. Wendy got the idea for and pursued this project during the COVID lockdown in Sydney, Australia.
This month we have a neat variety of articles for you and some new YouTube videos for our Common Climber YouTube channel!
As described above, our Featured Photographer Joel Wilson, takes us on a magical photographic tour of Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. Joel captures the spectacular vistas and moodiness of this area that reaches down towards Antarctica.
We have a couple more Aussie highlights. Keith Bell tiptoes around a bungle - you'll have to read it to find out exactly what that means, but it involves finally getting on a classic climb (Tiptoe Ridge) with an old friend and some funny points in between. I also interviewed Wendy Bruere who is one of the co-editors for a new collection of short stories called More Than It Hurts...and other stories of (mis)adventure by womxn. Wendy got the idea for and pursued this project during the COVID lockdown in Sydney, Australia.
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Back here in the States, we introduce you to the advantages of dry tooling and the development of a new dry tooling crag outside of Seattle, Washington by Wayne Wallace. We also have a moving and emotional story, My Demon Has a Name, by Jason Glasgow, who shares the realities of a disturbing past and the changes he made to gain control of his life. One of those things was finally embracing a calling to climb. It is important to know that this story has a trigger warning (see below).
We also have some gear-related stuff for you:
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Stef atop the Headstone in Joshua Tree, CA. Photo Credit: Kevin Powell
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We think it's pretty fun to have Jeff's Alien naming story and the rope specs video in the same edition where we interview Kevin Daniels, who is the CEO of FIXEhardware, which has revived and advanced the Alien cam! This interview is part of our Marketplace series where we take you behind the scenes of small climbing-related businesses. Kevin not only tells as about the history of FIXEhardware, but lessons he has learned about running a business along the way.
Lastly, I'm excited to share more new videos for our YouTube channel! In addition to the Rope Specs video, we have
- a tour of some sketchy sea cliff climbing in Okinawa, Japan by Common Climber contributor Jesse Montgomery
- and, how to tie a figure 8 knot by @deafclimber Sonya Wilson.
These videos take an incredible amount of time and effort to produce, so we'd love it and be grateful if you liked the videos and subscribed to our channel! Thank you!
--- Stef
Stefani Dawn, Editor-in-Chief
Stories
My Demon Has a Name
By Jason Glasgow Trigger Warning: This story contains references to suicide, sexual abuse, self-harm, violence, and trauma. "Untreated trauma has a way of sneaking up on you, making you take a hard, second look at things. I’d never imagined that daily consideration of suicide could be 'real life' for me, but for years it was. I’d also never imaged that hardened deposits of sand, crystals, and minerals pressed against my fingers and toes could have helped save me, but they did." |
Tiptoeing Through Some Bungles
By Keith Bell It took a while for author Keith Bell to finally get on the Australian classic climb Tiptoe Ridge. He takes us on the journey, which some might call a "bungle," that finally got him there, as well as the ultimate, incredible climbing experience with a good friend. |
Aliens! By Jeff Smoot Jeff Smoot dredges up some long forgotten - or perhaps never known - history of how the now-infamous Alien cam actually got its name... [ED. NOTE: This story is a fun complement to this edition's Marketplace interview of Kevin Daniels, the CEO of FIXEharware, who has revived the Alien cam and taken it to next gen.) |
Drytooling in the Rain - Wayne's World, Washington By Wayne Wallace What do you do when you when you are an ice climber and "suffer from poor- to- no ice; near-constant rain nine months of the year; closed gyms due to COVID; damp, moss-covered rock; short rock seasons; AND, right now (also due to COVID), can’t even enter Canada...?" You learn how to dry tool and gather a community together and build your own nearby crag. Welcome to Wayne's World! |
More Than It Hurts: An Interview with Co-Editor Wendy Bruere More Than It Hurts...and other stories of (mis)adventure by womxn who climb and mountaineer is a collection of personal stories by women and people of diverse genders who rock-climb and mountaineer. The book was launched in December 2020 by editors Wendy Bruere and Emily Small and grew out of an idea editor Wendy had during COVID-19 restrictions in Sydney, Australia. Common Climber interviews Wendy to learn more about her, this book, and the process to bring it to fruition. |
Review
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Dr. Piton's Review of the D4 Delta2P Portaledge
By Peter Zabrok Peter Zabrok, aka. Dr. Piton, has slept over 800 nights on El Capitan, with 200 (or so) of them on the D4 portaledges made by John “Deucey” Middendorf. Peter gave the new Delta2P ledge a go and shares his thoughts on this unique "cantilever" design that has the short side up against the wall. Check out Piton Pete's lively review! |
Marketplace
Common Climber Marketplace highlights small climbing-related businesses to help spread the word about their work and to help our community thrive.
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This is an interview with Kevin Daniels, CEO of FIXEhardware, Inc.
FIXEhardware, Inc. is a California-based company whose products are made in Catalonia, Spain. In 1992 CEO Kevin Daniels began FIXEhardware in his dad’s garage by importing numerous high-quality, CE/UIAA certified climbing hardware like bolts and hangers. Over the years, Kevin has expanded the company’s climbing product repertoire to include webbing, ropes, draws, and the Alien cams. Now based in a commercial space in Bishop, CA, Kevin still runs the business, wearing numerous hats. We are glad to share with you his words of small business history and wisdom. |
Common Climber YouTube Channel
Check out our new video releases for March 2021!
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Want to help Common Climber with a couple easy steps?
+ Like the videos!
+ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
+ Click the bell if you want to be notified of new video uploads
GearRope Specs: Part 1
Rope specs refer to the information found on the label of a new climbing rope, which can be helpful in deciding which rope to buy. Common Climber presents the first video in a 3-part series on Rope Specs and UIAA Standards. Part 1 covers: + Middle markers + Rope Sheath (% and slippage) + Diameter |
StorytellingSketchy Sea Cliff Climbing
Common Climber contributor Jesse Montgomery moved to Okinawa, Japan and is exploring the rock climbing there. In this video he takes us on a tour of some sketchy climbing along the sea cliffs at Cape Zanpa. |
EducationHow to Make a Figure-8 and Tie Into a Harness
Common Climber contributor Sonya Wilson (@deafclimber) shares a helpful video on one of the most important things we can do as a climber - tie into the rope safely! |
