Climbing Magazine

Published July 17, 2026 04:28PM It’s impossible to talk about the Free Wall Kit without mentioning the “fix and follow” climbing system that it was built to support. Over the last 10 years, fix and following has become the premiere way to climb a long, difficult multi-pitch while maximizing comfort and athletic performance throughout the day.

Published July 16, 2026 01:14PM “Aw, they’re roommates,” I said, looking at the copperhead and timber rattler wound around each other at the base of the route. I was 12 years old, and was putting on my harness, probably backwards, for the very first time. I had been goaded into trying climbing by camp counselors at Eagle’s Nest in Brevard, North Carolina, and a few friends who at the time were far braver than I was. I’d never heard of a climbing gym.

Published July 16, 2026 06:06AM The worst tragedy in American climbing history occurred on Denali in June 2016, when an uncertified mountain guide led 18 climbers to their deaths high on the West Buttress route near Denali Pass. The guide, who had failed in her attempts to get properly certified and had changed her name to obscure her past, also lost her life. In total, 19 climbers died on that fateful day—or did they?

Published July 15, 2026 04:52PM On July 1, Leo Ketil Bøe, a 26 year-old former Norwegian lead champion, redpointed—well, pinkpointed—Verdens Ende, a 5.15a/9a+, 130-meter (420-foot) single pitch in Flatanger, Norway. Verdens Ende, which is a massive extension to the bolted Brunhilde Low (5.14d), is protected afterward by pre-placed cams and nuts.

Skills When my kids’ motivation to climb waned, I began testing out an unusual idea this summer. Published July 15, 2026 09:59AM Let me guess: Your kids are complaining about going climbing again! Not everyone is lucky enough to give birth to the future Connor Hersons or Brooke Raboutous of the world. In an unfortunate twist of fate for the hardworking climber parents out there, children often decide to despise whatever hobbies their parents love—including climbing.

News The executive order reduces the protected public lands to a fraction of their size, reigniting a bitter decade-long political war over the American West.

News The blaze has closed half of the Fontainebleau forest and forced the evacuations of at least 1,000 people. Small fires break out in multiple locations in the forest in Noisy-sur-Ecole, France, on July 13, 2026, while a fire of exceptional magnitude affects the Fontainebleau forest. (Photo: Samuel Boivin / NurPhoto via Getty Images) Published July 14, 2026 11:39PM The world-class bouldering area of Fontainebleau is on fire—and police believe that it was intentional.

In what he describes as a momentary lapse of judgment, Rajesh Lama decided to walk from his doorstep to the highest point on Earth.

Published July 13, 2026 09:32PM On the morning of May 9, Russian climber Konstantin Smirnov and his Nepali guide, Bhajuram Gurung, climbed the last few steps onto the summit of Nepal’s Makalu (8,485m), the world’s fifth-highest mountain. It was Smirnov’s first time on the summit of an 8,000-meter peak. He didn’t know that it was Gurung’s first time, too.

Updated July 13, 2026 03:12PM On July 4, Emma Hunt officially became the fastest female speed climber in the world with a 5.99-second run in Kraków, Poland. This broke the previous record of 6.03 seconds set by Polish climber Alesandra “Ola” Mirosław—who recently announced she would be retiring at the end of the year—last September. And it broke Hunt’s own previous personal best time of 6.30 seconds.