Cover photo of April Davidson on Prodigal Son (5.10b) by Eric Fallecker.
Feature Photographer: Eric Fallecker
Davina Joy on Coyotes at Sunset (5.8) at Holcomb Valley, California.
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Eric Fallecker is a climber and professional photographer based in Los Angeles, California. In his professional photography he takes headshots, fine art landscapes, and outdoor and commercial photos, including climbing. But in his climbing photography he features...us. Eric is known for taking pictures of the Common Climber. He says, "Taking photos is capturing a story or a feeling and it is easier for me to connect to the feeling of someone climbing that beautiful flowy 5.11 and clipping the anchors than it is to the intensity of absolutely crushing everyday." You can see Erics "beautiful, flowy" story in our cover shot of his partner April Davidson, and on this photo of Davina Joy on Sunset (5.8) in the Holcomb Valley, California. See more of his beautiful work and learn about Erick's thoughtful, contemplative, story in as our September 2020 Feature Photographer. |
Editorial
(By Stefani Dawn)
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If you follow Common Climber you know that we just completed a month-long fundraising campaign, starting with a GoFundMe and wrapping it up with the online auction. We raised $2,444 (U.S.) dollars to help keep our all-volunteer online magazine moving forward, growing our audience, and assembling our first annual print Anthology (more on that in the coming months). Woohoo! I am so psyched and grateful to you all for supporting us, believing in the vision, and helping propel Common Climber into next year and a first annual print Anthology!
What I'd love to share with you here is that the support for Common Climber spans the northern and southern hemispheres of the globe. We have a world-wide audience and contributors that will continue to grow (including a strong contingency in Canada), but it's clear that Common Climber has one foot firmly planted in the U.S. and the other deeply rooted in Australia (I like to envision it as arms wrapping around the earth in a supportive hug!). Nearly all of our fundraiser support came from these two nations. You can also see this bi-national kinship in the articles in this month's edition - from Dave Barnes' tribute to Andrew Penny - A Blue Mountaineer and Keith Bell's reflection on the classic Flake Crack on Mt. Piddington in the Blue Mountains to an ass-whooping buddy story about a first-time trip to Yosemite in What We Came For by Austin Beck-Doss and a first-time-trad-climbing tale in Moab, Utah - The Pink Tricam by Emma Renly. I'd also like to highlight a unique story called Navajo Rising by climber and guide Aaron Mike. Aaron shares with us his path into climbing, as well as, how it relates to his Native American heritage. Native Americans have a strong history of climbing to be acknowledged and embraced. |
Common Climber editor, Stefani Dawn, climbing in Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree is one of many locations in the U.S. that has sections closed to climbing due to Native American cultural significance and historic preservation.
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The U.S. and Australia share similar stories of white colonization of lands that were originally inhabited by Indigenous People. As nations, we are both trying to find climbing's place in that developing story. That story can become painful when places we know and love to climb become restricted for cultural preservation. And, conversely that feeling of loss is deep amongst Native people's who have seen so much generational loss of land and life. It is a difficult history and a bitter pill to swallow, honor, and reconcile. Yet, there are people like Aaron, whose life-blood is climbing and being Navajo, and whose purpose is to bring climbing to more Native Americans, as well as, bridge gaps so both climbing and the Indigenous people can join together in supportive ways.
Here in the U.S., we saw a major success when Native American organizations and climbers rose up against massive mining and oil-drilling land-giveaways near Moab, Utah - a sacred area for tribes of the American Southwest and for climbers. But, these types of victories and partnerships don't happen overnight. They can take years to cultivate and require a purposeful, sometimes difficult, effort of listening, learning, and opening hearts and minds.
As climbing grows, so too does our impact and influence, and we need to be mindful of this. Aaron's piece is a beautifully written tale that takes us through the Navajo creation story, and how his life parallels that story. It is a tale of evolution. Our climbing community is evolving as well, we have a say in how this ends up, by the partnerships we build and the individual and collective actions we take.
In this edition we also have three practical and interesting articles that can help improve our understanding of climbing. First is physical trainer Collin McGee's Improving Hip Mobility and Strength, which includes photos, videos, and helpful descriptions on how to train to improve the much needed high step. Next is Jesse Montgomery's how-to article The Art of Climbing Without Rock: How to Stay Strong and Stay Inspired in a “Climbing Desert”. Jesse shares how he kept climbing front-and-center when he got stationed in the relatively rock-less state of Georgia. Lastly, the article Take Risks - You'll Remember Them Later shares how memory works and why we can sometime remember the super-duper details of a climb. It's awesome to have those memories, which strengthen our bond with this sport.
Enjoy!
Stef
As climbing grows, so too does our impact and influence, and we need to be mindful of this. Aaron's piece is a beautifully written tale that takes us through the Navajo creation story, and how his life parallels that story. It is a tale of evolution. Our climbing community is evolving as well, we have a say in how this ends up, by the partnerships we build and the individual and collective actions we take.
In this edition we also have three practical and interesting articles that can help improve our understanding of climbing. First is physical trainer Collin McGee's Improving Hip Mobility and Strength, which includes photos, videos, and helpful descriptions on how to train to improve the much needed high step. Next is Jesse Montgomery's how-to article The Art of Climbing Without Rock: How to Stay Strong and Stay Inspired in a “Climbing Desert”. Jesse shares how he kept climbing front-and-center when he got stationed in the relatively rock-less state of Georgia. Lastly, the article Take Risks - You'll Remember Them Later shares how memory works and why we can sometime remember the super-duper details of a climb. It's awesome to have those memories, which strengthen our bond with this sport.
Enjoy!
Stef
Articles
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Andrew Penny - A Blue Mountaineer (By Dave Barnes) Andrew Penny is a legend in the Blue Mountains of Australia. Andrew rode the wave of change in the Blue Mountains ushering in sport climbing But, he also made sure to bolt easy to moderate climbs that are accessible to all climbers. Dave Barnes gives us a tour of this Australian climbing legend. Navajo Rising (By Aaron Mike) Diné Bahane’, the Navajo creation story, tells of the journey through three worlds to the Fourth World, where the Navajo people now reside. In the Fourth World, the Diné would assume human form after gaining greater intelligence and awareness. This is a story of evolution, the author's evolution into a climbing guide, and our climbing community's evolution into our Fourth World of greater awareness. |
Flakes and Shakes: Flake Crack Revisited
(By Keith Bell) Iconic climbs are ones that capture your eye, inexplicably draw you towards them, and are a test piece for climbers across generations. Flake Crack, on Mount Piddington in the Blue Mountains of Australia, is one of those climbs. Look at that photo and see why - now experience the journey. |
The Art of Climbing Without Rock:
How to Stay Strong and Stay Inspired in a “Climbing Desert” (By Jesse Montgomery) What happens when life throws you a curve ball and you end up at a location where there is very little climbing nearby? Jesse Montgomery encountered this very thing when stationed in the middle of Georgia and shares a solid plan of how to keep climbing front and center in your life. |
The Pink Tricam
(By Emma Renly) Author Emma Renly describes her first trad lead, and how the pink tricam was both her downfall and her saving grace. |
What We Came For
(By Austin Beck-Doss) Two young, strong, enthusiastic climbers hit Yosemite for the first time and...get whipped. A fun, ego-bruising, buddy story I think we can all relate to. |
Take Risks - You'll Remember Them Later
(By Jess Sanson) An exploration of how climbing memories are formed in the brain and why we remember some better than others. |
Climbing Training
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Improving Hip Mobility and Strength (By Collin McGee) Hip mobility and strength are critical for high steps in climbing. Physical trainer Collin McGee shares helpful information about how to improve your high-step game. |
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