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​The Matterhorn

Photos and Story By Matt Tredway
It's the epicenter of all things alpinism; where technical mountaineering began. The iconic shape, and stand-alone beauty remove any question as to what you are looking at. It's the result of thousands of years of glaciers tearing away at its shoulders and leaving a steep, jagged monolith. These peaks of prominence attract climbers from around the globe. Ask a five-year-old to draw a mountain, and they will grab the nearest crayon and depict the Matterhorn.
​The Switzerland trek with my wife, Dana, and three of our friends was magical. Beginning in Grindelwald we hiked for ten days over mountain passes, ending in Kandersteg. In the back of my mind lay the Matterhorn, I hoped it would deliver an exclamation point to an already perfect trip.
 
To some it seems silly, chasing these summits around the world, climbing, and risking.
 
Not to me.

​And, it's not so much about the summit, but the quality of life in the months leading up to a goal. I packed a summer's worth of Colorado cliffs, trails, and 14ers under my belt as training.


​Rock climbing in Chamonix, France was the final warm up. My climbing partner was Gabriel, a friend of friends, and a guide himself. We climbed a 15-pitch arete that followed a ridgeline high above the valley. Steep pitches on the right or left gave way to the spine, and led to the exposure that alpinists thrive on.
Picture
The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, about as iconic as it gets.
Picture
Author Matt Tredway nabs a rocky peak over Chamonix, France.
The day let us get comfortable with each other's style and techniques. His only comment: “Where is the joy?"
 
Taken aback, l exclaimed, "I couldn't have loved that anymore! What are you saying?"
 
"No, no, no..." Gabriel explained, "It's the clothes. You Americans wear black and brown…Are you driving for UPS? Splash in some color! Love a little!" He ended with an easy laugh. I glanced at our attire, clearly contrasting, and made a mental note.
 
The approach to the Matterhorn was a three-hour hike from a gondola out of Zermatt, Switzerland, with a 4000-foot elevation gain. We began late in the day as tourists trickled back from a viewing platform.
​
Trees, and most life forms stopped at an abrupt line leaving the landscape, quickly dominated by the peak and its entourage. A few hikers, seeing the climbing gear on our backpacks, offered warnings: “The mountain is closed, you should turn back... You can catch the gondola.”
 
That conjured up the movie scene from Vacation, when John Candy, security guard at Wally World, delivered bad news to the Griswald family: "Sorry folks, park's closed!”

​We had accounted for this, and were prepared we assured them.

 
(Ironically, some guides are currently pressuring the Swiss Government to close the mountain to all climbing except winter. Each short summer there are a dozen deaths, and melting permafrost has left the faces littered with loose rock - rock that will ultimately succumb to gravity.)
 
One day-hiker stopped me and asked, “Just how old are you? Do you expect to climb?"
Startled, this gave me food-for-thought in the last hour of the approach. I pondered a quote I once heard: “How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"
 
l can momentarily attest to the fact that most my age are still strong. I continue to work out consistently, though, admittedly, I'm not necessarily training to get better, but rather training to get worse slower.
 
Rounding a corner in the trail, the Matterhorn slapped me into the present.
 
On a typical summer day, the mountain may see 100 climbers.   Today was not typical - Gabriel, four Swiss guides, two Chinese, and myself, would be the only climbers on this monster.
 
As it turned out, the "closure" encompassed the base camp - a structure called a refugio. The refugio was an attempt to organize the flocks of climbers that arrive each season. Like other big mountains, the geography dictates where people camp prior to an attempt. After years of setting up in the same spots, they have been loved to death. Litter, human waste, and destroyed alpine meadows were replaced by a hut complete with toilets. A brilliant solution.
 
We started at 4:00 a.m. at a blistering pace.
Picture
Author Matt Tredway on the Matterhorn in the glow of the sunrise.
The hulk of a mountain was draped with a blanket of stars. It looked impossibly steep and imposing. I felt the jitters that accompany great adventure and my mind replayed the stories l read about this mountain and the greats that climbed it.
 
Those ponderings were short lived as we encountered a rock face within the first five minutes. My attention shifted to our movement up the vertical face, a sea of rock being revealed in the tiny cone of light emitted from the headlamp. Thankfully, Gabriel had some memory of this route, having climbed it once before. 
For speed, we simul-climbed. The leader placed pieces until he ran out of gear - the cue to leapfrog leads. Climbing in the dark on such a grand peak, a stillness enveloped us. I felt my soul churning. Cold air captured my breath and formed clouds that lingered momentarily. 
 
At 13,600 feet, we were on snow and ice. That was a relief as the loose rock was covered and frozen into place. The sun rose as we retrieved our crampons and axes from our packs.

​The short break revealed 2000 feet of air below us - cooling our bootsoles as we perched on a small ledge.

 
Sweaty from exertion, we stashed coats and got a drink. The air smelled fresh, and frozen. Europe's highest peaks began to appear, freshly illuminated, and disrupting the horizon.
 
We continued forward. The only noise was the steady thunks of our axes and showers of ice shards cascading down the route. Our pace increased despite the additional elevation.  
 
Finally, we leveled out at the summit, a razor-edged ridge that drops away near vertically to Italy on the southern side and to Switzerland down the north face. A three-foot statue of Saint Bernard, the patron of mountain guides, stands overlooking Switzerland, in remembrance of Ed Whymper and his first summit in 1865.  On that expedition, 4 of the 7 climbers died on descent.

​In that tunnel-vision all seemed good - a straightforward climb sprinkled with route-finding problems here and there. We climbed the rock face to a class-four goat path, more vertical rock pitches, a traverse, some boulder problems, and another vertical face. Repeat. 
Picture
Climbing up the Matterhorn's icy slopes.
Picture
Author Matt Tredway on the Matterhorn summit.
The peaceful early morning summit celebration at 14,692 feet was suddenly burst by the rotors of a helicopter. It hovered, then circled us four or five times while occupants took photos. Initial disgust was replaced by a measure of bravado. Until now, there are exactly zero times l have had a cheering section on a summit. I had one now as the occupants fist pumped along with us. Minutes later we began our descent.
 
The magnitude of the mountain became obvious once it was fully illuminated with sunlight. This perfect picture suddenly had some edges that were frayed.
 
The descent became a serious, time-consuming down-climb after we left the ice. We found ourselves negotiating loose rock, cliff faces, and boulder problems. The route was nebulous and we couldn't depend on finding occasional colorful webbing anchors as markers. Chances are those markers were actually left by climbers that found themselves desperately off route, cliffed-out, and forced to resort to a rappel. 
Though it is difficult to squelch summit joy, it can be suppressed by many things. Presently the culprit was the relentless downclimb, which quickly became the crux.
 
Under normal conditions, much of this would have been avoided by rappels, but this mountain is different. Pulling the ropes after each rap would be dangerous as the ropes can stick on or dislodge rock. 
 
At particularly dicey sections near the bottom, there were occasional pieces of gym-style ropes - not a climbing gym rope, but the rope you remember from middle school.: big, unwieldy, and stressful. The pressure of falling onto the gym floor in front of your friends was replaced with the possibility of tumbling off a short cliff onto the steep slopes below. It even became a fireman style descent at times, with nervousness causing my hands to overgrip, my forearms pumped. 
 
Three-and-one-half hours later, we descended the final cliff face and walked to the refugio deck.
 
Humbled and oozing gratitude for our survival as well as a chance to climb "one of the greats," we basked in the sun and absorbed waves of satisfaction. The preparation had paid off.
Picture
Gabriel downclimbing the steep, loose rock of the Matterhorn.
In retrospect, I realize that the process of training has become a lifestyle rather than a short-term goal. On top of that, I feel that climbing, by itself, means very little. Ultimately, it's how the experience affects our lives away from the mountains that means everything.

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  • Common Climber
  • Editions
    • Non-Themed Editions >
      • 2020 >
        • April 2020
        • May 2020
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        • August 2020 >
          • Editorial August 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020 >
          • Anthology 2020 Sponsors
      • 2021 >
        • January 2021
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        • Nov-Dec 2021
      • 2022 >
        • March-April 2022
        • May-June 2022
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        • Nov - Dec 2022
      • 2023 >
        • Jan-Feb 2023
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        • Sept-Oct 2023
        • Nov-Dec 2023
      • 2024 >
        • March-April 2024
        • May-June 2024
        • Oct-Nov-Dec 2024
    • Themed Editions >
      • Adaptive Climbing Edition >
        • Adaptive Climbing Photo Feature: Paradox Sports
        • Climbing with Type 1 Diabetes
        • Advocating for Deaf Climbers: Sonya Wilson
        • Amputations: Leg Prosthesis for Climbing
        • Blind Ambition Builds a World Class Climber: The Story of Jesse Dufton
        • First Paralyzed Ascents: Rand Abbott
        • Mixed Climbing: My Answer to KT Syndrome
        • Paraclimbing Competitions: Althlete Interviews
        • Rock!
        • The Unreasonable Man
      • Adventure Travel >
        • Aleo Manali, India
        • A Light Through the Cracks Review
        • France - Adventures of Jorge
        • Freiheit - Book Review
        • Light Weight Baby - The Coming of Age of Ben Cossey
        • M - Alex Mauss Design
        • Mirage - Profile of a Climb and Photograph
        • Pen Llŷn: The Most Dangerous Book in the World
        • Tonga - Tropical Rock
        • Whitewater Crocks
      • Belaytionships Edition >
        • Featured Photographer: Charlie OlGrady-Kessner
        • Belaytionships: Maggie and Charlie Odette
        • Zac the Interloper
        • Book Review: Uncoiling the Ropes
        • Belaytionships: Drew-and-Sarah
        • This page has been removed
        • I Am My Father's Son: Layton Bridwell
      • Big Wall Edition >
        • Book Review: Paul Preuss: Lord of the Abyss
        • Featured Photographer: Matt Spohn
        • Grading Commitment
        • Hanging with the Monkeys, and Getting the Monkey Off My Back
        • It Was His Time: Brad Gobright Interview May 2019
        • John Middendorf : A Big Man for a Big Stone
        • Sébastien Berthe Free Climbs the Nose From the Ground Up
        • Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie
      • Developers and Guidebook Authors >
        • Developer - Mitch Lehman
        • Andrew Penny - A Blue Mountaineer
        • Kevin Powell
        • Rock Star Groupie
        • Tony Calderone
      • Exploring Our World >
        • AUSTRALIA - Photographer - Diego Perez
        • AUSTRALIA - Profile - Julie Anderson
        • Book Review - Climbing Rock
        • CHINA - From Yangshuo, to Getu, to Liming
        • FRANCE - Verdon in Winter
        • GREECE - Meteora
        • ITALY - Dolomites
        • MEXICO - La Huasteca
        • SPAIN - Artist - Karmelo Onate
        • UTAH - Maple Canyon: This One Makes You Taller
      • Farewell Edition >
        • D-Monica Dalmasso Photographer
        • Don't Fall
        • Gorge Country
        • Matheson Brown - There's a Bear in There
        • Piqued by Peaks
        • Progress
        • Remembering Common Climber
        • The Journey is Everything
      • Firsts... and Last >
        • A Tale of Oso Madre
        • Clayton Herrmann - Featured Photographer
        • Rysavy Ridge >
          • The Migrant Pom on Rysavy Ridge
          • Throng of Roland
          • Fast Forward - Rysavy Ridge Revisited
        • The Three Sisters
      • Honoring Diversity >
        • ARTIST: Shawn Lee
        • A Shift on Moonlight Buttress
        • Claiming a Space on the Mountain
        • Colorblind
        • Feature Photographer: Bryan Sillorequez
        • Is Diversity in America Diverse?
        • MOVIE: People of Climbing:
        • Profile - Favia Dubyk
        • The Lineage
      • Humor
      • Joshua Tree >
        • Bouldering: JTree Made Me Do It
        • Improv at JTree: Bad Bolts
        • JTree: Bolting Pressure Cooker
        • Joshua Tree: Heinous Approaches
      • Old and New >
        • Climb Harder Book Review
        • Night Cap - The Plan
        • A Grand Night Cap
        • Fiasco on the Grand Cap - 1969
        • Jusant - Climbing Video Game
        • S - Mike Stone
        • Vietnam - Yen Thinh
        • 2023 - Reflection
      • Overcoming Adversity >
        • Acopa Outdoors
        • Anoushe Husain
        • Failure is Part of the Price: Rand Abbott Attempts the First Adaptive Lead Ascent of The Nose
        • Overcoming a Brain Tumor: WeighMyRack Founder Interview: Alison Dennis
        • Rising
        • The Mountain Path Book Review
      • Overcoming Boundaries >
        • Photographer - Brook Anderson
        • Profile - Louise Shepherd
        • Profile - Megan Banker
        • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
        • Rock Type 1
        • The Tape Job
      • Strength Edition >
        • Effective Training: Are You Getting Stronger or Just Getting Tired?
        • In Praise of Mustang Coffee
        • More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood
        • Mother Earth: One of Australia's Hardest Natural Lines
        • My Husband Climbs Stronger than Me
        • She has a Name: Mary Catherine Eden
        • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips
      • Women's Edition >
        • Editorial - Women's Edition
        • Climbing is My Art
        • Mt. Logan Solo
        • Photographer - Michelle Ranee Johnson
        • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
  • Writing
    • All Writings (List)
    • Topics >
      • Adaptive Climbing >
        • Adaptive Climbing Edition
        • El Capitan: Enock Glidden
        • Failure is Part of the Price: Rand Abbott Attempts the First Adaptive Lead Ascent of The Nose
        • Jean
        • Quinn Brett Interview
        • My Journey to Adaptive Rock Climbing
        • Planning for Mt. Rainier: Adaptive Climbing
        • Resources - Adaptive Climbing
        • Adaptive Climbing: It's About Climbing Independence
      • Alpine & Ice >
        • A Chamonix Initiation
        • California Still Has Untouched Climbing Wilderness
        • Double Sevens
        • Elusive Ice - A Rare Tasmanian Treat
        • Ice Solo
        • Mt. Logan Solo
        • Mt. Ogden Spanking
        • Mt. Whitney Whipping
        • My Common Alpine Epic
        • Nick Would
        • The Dru Derby >
          • Horses for Courses - The Dru Derby 1971
          • My Dru Derby
          • The North Face of the Dru - Chris Baxter
        • Vertical Ice Climbing in Ontario, Canada, eh?
      • Profiles
      • Comics >
        • Master and his Apprentice
        • Totem Pole 2082
        • The Video - Comic
      • CoVID and Climbing >
        • COVID Climbing Memes
        • CoVID-19 Remakes Our Lives
        • Dear Memory
        • From Couch to Lifting Couches
        • How to Climb and Avoid the Corona Virus
        • The 5.10 Commandments
        • Trying to Send this Route
      • Equipment (writings) >
        • Aliens!
        • A Rack Retrospective
        • Cam Ranges (+ Big Bros)
        • Carabiner Strength Ratings
        • Climbing Shoes Fit
        • Guide Book Follies
        • Rope Buying 101
        • Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie
        • The One Item to Stockpile
        • Which Way Should I Carry My Trad Rack?
        • Why GriGris Suck
        • 8 Reasons I Carry a Full Rack on Every Trad Climb
      • Facebook Feature >
        • FF: Big Walls
        • FF: Butt Shots
        • FF: Exploring Our World
        • FF: Overcoming Boundaries
        • FF: Trees & Climbing
        • FF: Welcome New Climbers
      • Fiction >
        • GOD
        • Red Curtain: Prologue & Chapter 1 Excerpt
      • Gift Ideas >
        • Climbing Goods
        • Climbing Stocking Stuffers
        • Rock Stack Card Game
        • Safety Gifts
      • Grades, Styles, & Types >
        • Absolutely Hypothetical: Introducing the Graham Scale
        • Bouldering-Falling
        • Bouldering Grade Advancements
        • Grading Climbs at the Gym
        • It's a F-ing Chimney
        • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
        • Top 10: Increase the Climbing Grade When...
        • Trad Climbing is for Chicken Sh*#s
        • WTF 5.7?
        • 18 Climber Types: Which Are You?
      • Kids >
        • Family Stages
        • The Guidebook
      • Legends & Tributes >
        • A - Bryden Allen
        • B - The Bell's Line: The Keith Bell Story
        • B - John Brailsford Tribute - The Immaculate MOAC
        • B - Joe Brown
        • C - Cutcliffe - The Boy from Bothwell – A Tribute to Max Cutcliffe, an Australian Legend
        • F - Doug Fife
        • G - Brad Gobright
        • G - Todd Gordon
        • H - Hugh Herr
        • H - Thomas Huber - In Another World - A Personal Climbing Journey
        • J - Saxon Johns
        • M - Tim Macartney-Snape: ​A Legend from Sea to Summit
        • M - John Middendorf
        • R - Early to Rock: David Roots
        • S- Paul Seddon - From a Nut to a Harness: A Tribute to Paul Seddon, The Third Troll
        • W - Alan Watts: A Smith Rock Legacy
      • Mental-Physical >
        • Climbing Training Series >
          • Climbing Warm-Up: Shoulders & Fingers
          • Effective Training: Are You Getting Stronger or Just Getting Tired?
          • Improving Hip Mobility
          • Rock Climber Mobility
          • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips
      • Other/Misc
      • Places & Climbs >
        • Climbs >
          • Consolation Prize
          • Echo Crack and Cracked Egos
          • Email From Italy
          • Flakes and Shakes: Flake Crack Revisited
          • From Yorkshire to Eternity
          • I Like Fake Cracks (And I Cannot Lie)
          • Le Temps Suspendu - Suspended in Time
          • Lost Boys Meets Hard Boys >
            • The Lost Boys: The Epic First Ascent of Mount Warning's Wollumbin Shield
          • Mont Blanc: Climbing the Best Granite Cracks in Europe
          • Ozymandias Direct - Fifty Years of Fun and Games
          • Sierra's Volcanic Plug: Da-ek dow Go-et
          • Supreme Jumbo Love
          • The Fourth Bolt of Texas Radio
          • The Matterhorn
          • Thumbing The Nose at Mr. CF Jingus
          • Tiptoeing Through Some Bungles
          • Tombstone Territory
          • Yosemite - What We Came For
        • Location Reviews
        • My Home Crag >
          • Climbing in the Upper Cumberland Valley, Kentucky
          • Colors of the Climb
          • Copen Hill Climbing Wall
          • Donegal Sea Stacks
          • Drytooling in the Rain - Wayne's World, WA
          • New River Gorge, West Virgina
          • My Home Crag: Nowra, NSW, Australia
          • The Kenyan Climber
        • Travel Stories
      • Poetry/Prose >
        • A Bard of Yosemite
        • Anti-Social Climbers
        • Feeding the Rat
        • Finding Poetry
        • Ice is Nice
        • Sojourn at Dyuritte
        • The Space Between
      • Puzzles, Games, & Fun! >
        • Climbing Drinking Games
        • Crossword - Strength Edition
        • Memes by Bad Beta Bouldering
        • The OG Aussie Klimber
        • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • Safety and Skills >
        • Bolting and Ground-Fall Potential
        • Euro-Death Knot is NOT
        • Multi-Pitch Tips: Two ATCs
        • Sketchy Anchor Bolts
        • Sliding-X Anchor
        • Three Ways to Use a Stick Clip
        • Top 10: Climbing Best Practices
      • Social, Social Media, & Social Issues
  • Marketplace
    • Acopa Outdoors
    • Butora
    • Climbing Addicts Colored Chalk >
      • Climbing Addicts Chalk Has New Owners - 2023 Interview
    • Climb-On Maps
    • Dynamite Starfish
    • Elira - No Need to Strip, Just Unzip
    • FIXEhardware
    • Furnace Industries
    • Heroclip
    • Lacaida Ropes
    • Mountain Drifter
    • MoveWell with McGee
    • Mystery Ranch
    • Neilico
    • NW Alpine
    • Rockytalkies
    • SLAPCHALKS
    • Tension Climbing
    • Tera Kaia
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews >
      • A-H Book Reviews >
        • A Light Through the Cracks Review
        • Advanced Rock Climbing Book Review
        • Adventures at the Edge of the World
        • Climb - Book Review
        • Climb Harder Book Review
        • Climbing Glass Book Review
        • Climbing Rock: Vertical Explorations Across North America
        • Climbing Wild - Book Review
        • Freiheit - Book Review
        • Hangdog Days Book Review
        • HOOKING UP: The Ultimate Big Wall and Aid Climbing Manual
      • M-Y Book Reviews >
        • More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood
        • Paul Preuss: Lord of the Abyss
        • Pen Llŷn: The Most Dangerous Book in the World
        • Red Curtain - Book Review
        • Royal Robbins - The American Climber Book Review
        • States of Adventure Review
        • Sydney Climbing - Book Review
        • The Art of Climbing - Review
        • The Greater Fool - Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality
        • The Mountain Path Book Review
        • The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story - Book Review
        • Uncoiling the Ropes
        • Valley of Giants
        • Yosemite Bigwalls: The Ultimate Guide Review
    • Equipment/Gear Reviews >
      • Belay Device Review >
        • Edelrid Mega Jul
      • Harness Reviews >
        • ArcTeryx-FL-365
        • Misty Mountain Cadillac
      • Packs and Bags >
        • Sukoa Chalk Bag Review
        • Trango Crag Pack
      • Personal Anchor Systems >
        • Camp-Daisy-Twist
        • Petzl-Dual-Adjust
      • Other Gear Reviews >
        • D4 Delta2P Portaledge
        • Skyhook Stick Clip Review
    • Location Reviews >
      • Australia >
        • Queensland, Australia >
          • Kangaroo Point Photos and Beta
          • Kangaroo Point Review
        • New South Wales Australia >
          • Blue Mountains >
            • Blue Mountains Photos and Beta
            • Blue Mountains Review
          • Nowra >
            • Nowra Review >
              • Nowra Photos and Beta
      • Mexico >
        • Potrero Chico Photos and Beta
        • Potrero Chico Review
      • United States >
        • Climbing Area Check List - U.S. >
          • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 2: Colorado to Michigan
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 3: Minnesota to New Mexico
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 4: New York to Wyoming
        • Arizona >
          • Queen Creek Canyon
        • California >
          • Joshua Tree >
            • Joshua Tree Tips
          • Mount Whitney >
            • Mount Whitney Photos and Beta
        • Idaho
        • Oregon >
          • Smith Rock >
            • Smith Rock - Photos and Beta
            • Smith Rock Review
          • Spring Mountain >
            • Spring Mountain Review
            • Spring Mountain - Photos and Beta
          • Trout Creek >
            • Trout Creek Photos and Beta
            • Trout Creek Review
        • Nevada >
          • Gun Club
          • Keyhole Canyon
          • Mt. Charleston, Nevada
          • Red Rock Canyon >
            • Red Rock Canyon Review - Yeahs and Neahs
            • Red Rock Canyon Photos and Beta
        • New Hampshire >
          • North Conway, NH
          • Rumney, NH
        • New York >
          • Gunks Review
        • Utah >
          • Echo Canyon
          • Ferguson Canyon >
            • Ferguson Canyon Photos and Beta
            • Ferguson Canyon Review
          • Ibex >
            • Ibex Photos and Beta
            • Ibex Review
          • Maple Canyon >
            • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
            • Maple Canyon Review
          • Moab >
            • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
            • Moab -Main - Review
          • St. George >
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
        • West Virginia >
          • Seneca Rocks
        • Wyoming >
          • Ten Sleep
  • Photographers & Artists
    • A-F - Photographers and Artists >
      • A - Gustavo Acosta - Photographer
      • A- Brook Anderson
      • B - Florian Beyer
      • B - Michael Blowers
      • B - Phillip Booth
      • B - Guillaume Borga
      • B - Michaël Bortoluzzi
      • B - Michael Bretz
      • C - Karen Chan
      • C - Matt Cunningham
      • D-Monica Dalmasso Photographer
      • D - Daga Dygas
      • E- Mary Catherine Eden
      • F - Eric Fallecker
    • G-N - Photographers and Artists >
      • G - Katherine González
      • G - Max Gordon
      • H - Clayton Herrmann
      • J - Michelle Ranee Johnson
      • K - Jethro Kiernan
      • K - Christine Kuebler
      • L - Jim Lawyer - Everyone Needs a Lawyer: Profile of Climber & Photographer, Jim Lawyer
      • L - Shawn Lee Illustrator
      • L - LieseLotte P
      • L - Jim Lin
      • M - Lindsey Mathewson
      • M - Alex Mauss Design
      • M - Adam McClatchie - Mile High Media House
      • M - Alex Messenger
      • N - Tiffany Nardico
    • O-Z- Photographers and Artists >
      • O - Charlie OlGrady-Kessner
      • O - Karmelo Onate
      • O - Camila Ospina
      • P - Diego Perez
      • S - Charlie S.
      • S - Xavi Sanchez - Climbing Comic
      • S - Helmut Schulze
      • S - Bryan Sillorequez
      • S - Stephen Smithburger
      • S - Matt Spohn
      • V - Laura Vallo
      • W - Joel Wilson
      • Z - Eson Zhao
  • JOIN!
  • Submissions
  • About Common Climber
    • Why I Started Common Climber
    • Advisory Board
    • Welcome Dave Barnes!
  • Authors
    • A-F >
      • B - Stephanie Bahnsen
      • B - Alex Barlow
      • B - Dave Barnes >
        • Dave Barnes Extended Bio
      • B - Austin Beck-Doss
      • B - Keith Bell
      • B - Brianna Boney
      • C - Massimo Cappuccio
      • C - Carrot
      • C - Radek Chalupa
      • C - Lyle Closs
      • C - Erin Collins
      • C - James Crump
      • D - Stefani Dawn
      • D - Derek DeBruin
      • D - Nick Ducker
      • F - Tony Ferrar
    • G-O >
      • G - Joshua G
      • G - Leesa Gallia
      • G - Naomi Gibbs
      • G - Geoffrey Gledhill
      • G - Enock Glidden
      • G - Max Gordon (Contributor)
      • H - Grey Hensley
      • H - Bavali "Megs" Hill
      • H - Michael Hjorth
      • M - Henk Morgans
      • J - Jonathan
      • K - Dylan Kilby
      • K- Melissa Kline
      • K - Christine Kuebler
      • L - Mike Lewis
      • L - Kaybe Loughran
      • M - Collin McGee
      • M - Tony McKenny
      • M - Aaron Mike
      • M - Rick Momsen
      • M - Jesse Montgomery
      • O - Maggie Odette
    • P-Z >
      • P - Jorge Packer
      • P - Emilie Pellerin
      • P - Brice Pollock
      • P - Paul Pritchard
      • R - Monique Richard
      • R - Juan Rodriguez
      • S - Lor Sabourin
      • S - Jess Sanson
      • S - Hendrik Schaal
      • S - Jeff Smoot
      • T- Frothy Thomson
      • T - Wil Treasure
      • T - Matt Tredway
      • T - Natalia (Tal) Tune
      • W - Kirby Walke
      • W - Hugh Ward
      • W - Stuart Williams
      • W - Wayne Willoughby
      • W - Lani Wilson
      • W - Dierdre Wolownick
      • Z - Peter Zabrok
  • Videos
  • Climbing Events 2023