Join us NOW at our Common Climber Book Club! We are currently doing a mental quaratraining with behavior-change expert Brianna Boney around her article Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quarantraining! (This will take place of the next few weeks in May 2020)
Cover Photo: By Camila Ospina (Our May 2020 Featured Photographer)
Editorial
As we enter month three of the CoVID-19 quarantine, the world death toll exceeds 230,000. Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom have lost over 25,000 people each, and the U.S. death toll has surpassed 60,000. It's hard to believe that only 8 weeks ago fewer than 100 people in the U.S. died from CoVID. The same can be said for other nations around the world. Heartbreaking.
We also know the financial toll of this pandemic sits in the very uncomfortable sidelines, affecting individuals and businesses alike. To say that fears of financial ruin are at bay would be a lie. But right now, our united focus is where it belongs - on saving lives, rather than being consumed by the financial aftermath. The financial piper will be paid later. So we dutifully trudge on, inside of our homes, working out to maintain our climbing strength, and waiting for the days we can send.
Hopefully Common Climber has found a place by your side, transporting you into creative, unique, and informative climbing worlds while we all wait out this pandemic. In the May 2020 edition, we have a wonderful variety of stories and content. You can choose something that fits your mood on any given day.
Are you interested in climbing history? Then check out Paul Pritchard's tribute to legendary British mountaineer Joe Brown, who died in April at the age of 89. Want to see some wonderful photography from another land? Then check out our Feature Photographer Camila Ospina who hails from Colombia and shares her favorite crags. Or travel to Taghia, Morocco with Wil Treasure, who tells a Common Climber story of Hardly Failing.
Want to jump into two crazy, creative climbing tales? Then check out the chuckle-inducing Rack Retrospective, which is the first installment in a cheeky series about the history of cams. Then there is Riding the Dirty Dog, which peeks into the underbelly of the U.S. while climber Jack Waterhouse rides the bus from Utah to El Potrero Chico, Mexico.
We also know the financial toll of this pandemic sits in the very uncomfortable sidelines, affecting individuals and businesses alike. To say that fears of financial ruin are at bay would be a lie. But right now, our united focus is where it belongs - on saving lives, rather than being consumed by the financial aftermath. The financial piper will be paid later. So we dutifully trudge on, inside of our homes, working out to maintain our climbing strength, and waiting for the days we can send.
Hopefully Common Climber has found a place by your side, transporting you into creative, unique, and informative climbing worlds while we all wait out this pandemic. In the May 2020 edition, we have a wonderful variety of stories and content. You can choose something that fits your mood on any given day.
Are you interested in climbing history? Then check out Paul Pritchard's tribute to legendary British mountaineer Joe Brown, who died in April at the age of 89. Want to see some wonderful photography from another land? Then check out our Feature Photographer Camila Ospina who hails from Colombia and shares her favorite crags. Or travel to Taghia, Morocco with Wil Treasure, who tells a Common Climber story of Hardly Failing.
Want to jump into two crazy, creative climbing tales? Then check out the chuckle-inducing Rack Retrospective, which is the first installment in a cheeky series about the history of cams. Then there is Riding the Dirty Dog, which peeks into the underbelly of the U.S. while climber Jack Waterhouse rides the bus from Utah to El Potrero Chico, Mexico.
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If you are seeking a little inspiration, in her piece The Adventure of a Lifetime...So Far, our special guest author Dierdre Wolownick (also known as Alex Honnold's mom) talks about how she embraced climbing at the age of 58, and how Alex has helped her fulfill birthday climbing wishes over the years. In 2019 Dierdre also published a book called The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story, which I review.
Since CoVID is an undeniable part of our current existence, we have another CoVID-focused section that shares some more climber experiences during this trying time. In Trying to Send this Route, Heather Supinie shares her thoughts on not being able to climb and being "let go" from the climbing gym where she was employed. One of the things Heather says in her essay is "I’ve noticed myself feeling more emotional. Then again, who hasn’t felt more emotional during this crisis?" Indeed. To address the mental side of the quarantine, we have a helpful article from climber and certified Healthy Lifestyle Coach and behavior change expert Brianna Boney. Her piece is called Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quarantraining. On a less serious note, so we also include a silly video of me and my husband, Rick, singing a tear-inducing parody mourning the loss of climbing called The Sound of Climbing. Lastly, I am excited to share a new collaboration with climber and Physical Trainer Collin McGee. With many of us working out at home, using the hangboard and/or video workouts to maintain our climbing fitness, we actually run the risk of getting injured if we don't understand our body and some important basic concepts. |
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In his article, Rock Climber Mobility, Collin shares important injury prevention basics that rarely, if ever, get mentioned in today's climbing work-out training-world - joint mobility. This piece is jam-packed with information. I chose this photo of me (above) for this issue because it relates to one of the concepts Collin discusses. This photo shows me physically lifting my leg with my hand to position it into a high step for the next move. Basically my active joint range does not align with my passive joint range. If you guessed that hips are one of my problem areas, you are correct! I have some work to do!
Enjoy and thanks for joining us!
--Stef
Enjoy and thanks for joining us!
--Stef
CoVID & Climbing
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Common Climber editor Stefani Dawn and her husband Rick, express their CoVID climbing loss woes through parody. The Sound of Climbing. Enjoy! (Warning: Cuss words)
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Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quarantraining (By Brianna Boney)
Behavior change expert Brianna Boney provides clear, helpful tips on how to build mental toughness during CoVID quarantine (that can be applied to climbing or life beyond) . |
Trying to Send This Route: Getting Through the COVID-19 Crisis Without Climbing (by Heather Supinie)
Climber and blogger Heather Supinie shares her experiences with the CoVID shutdown, including being an employee of a climbing gym. |
Feature Photographer - Camila Ospina
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Colombian climber and photographer Camila Ospina takes us on a tour of some of her favorite places to climb and photograph climbing in Colombia. Her style of photography gets you close to the rock, such that you can see the intensity and focus of the climber, inhale the chalk, and almost feel the crimps under your fingers. |
Climbing Training
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Rock Climber Mobility
(By Collin McGee, CSCS, FRCms) How does our range of motion (ROM) relate to potential injuries in climbing? How might a "canned" online training session become injurious to us if we don't know our true range of motion? How do we best train when considering range of motion - both to prevent injury and get stronger? Climbing physical trainer Collin McGee walks us through these important climbing training concepts - ones that are often ignored to our own peril. |
Stories
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The Adventure of a Lifetime...So far
(By Dierdre Wolownick) "When you think of big wall climbers, it’s not generally an “elderly lady” who comes to mind. That’s what my son, Alex Honnold, called me during my first year of climbing, when he led me and another “elderly lady” friend up Snake Dike on Half Dome. Eight years later, when I climbed El Cap with him, I was even more elderly." |
Riding the Dirty Dog
(By Jack Waterhouse) From Salt Lake City, Utah to El Potrero Chico, Mexico - a climber rides the "dirty dog" for $144 to get on some of the worlds longest bolted climbs. Creative story telling takes us for a ride. |
A Rack Retrospective
(By ChristmasForTheBirds) Christmas says, "I have had this thought rattlin’ around in the back of skull. Sort of a rough history of the SLCD as told through the lens of my rack. 50% Educational, 50% Bullshit, 100% something to entertain you for like six and a half minutes while under quarantine. I’ve got the cams and I’ve got the time...So here it goes, it is my pleasure to present to you...A Rack Retrospective: Season 1 Episode 1: 4 EVER FRIENDS..." |
Hardly Failing
(By Wil Treasure) "Failing" in climbing comes in many forms. Climber Wil Treasure reflects upon one of his best, least epic "failures" on a big climb in Taghia, Morocco. Be transported. |
Remembering Joe Brown
(By Paul Pritchard) On April 15, 2020 legendary English climber Joe Brown died at the age of 89. British climber and award-winning author, Paul Pritchard, honors Joe in this piece "Remembering Joe Brown." Grab a cup of tea, turn on your mental imagery, and reminisce about those who came before - paving the way for the rest of us. |
Book Review
Book Review: The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story
(Book By Dierdre Wolownick, Review By Stefani Dawn) Some books you read because they are about climbing. Others you read because they tell an inspirational or relatable tale. And then there are those books you pick up because they peek into the life of someone famous. The Sharp End of Life: A Mother’s Story by Dierdre Wolownick ticks all of those boxes. On top of all that, it’s a smooth, easy page-turner. Let’s dig into each of these elements a bit more, so you can decide if this is a book for you. |
Equipment
Cam Ranges (+ Big Bros)
(By Rick Momsen) A useful (and quite pretty) spreadsheet showing the ranges of every cam (and big bro) available as of May 2020. Gear lovers - behold the awesomeness! |
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