The small town of Bishop, California, in the eastern Sierras is home to an astounding amount of climbing — both bouldering and sport. For that, this region has for years been a draw for both professional climbers and novices. Getting to Bishop definitely means driving, but the town itself is so charming, with plentiful climbing opportunities and close-by camping, that climbers will come again and again to get to know it. On a map, Bishop looks close to well-known places like

One of just four American climbers to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, 23-year-old Kyra Condie (@kyra_condie) has been climbing since she was 11 years old, climbing and competing despite having severe scoliosis. She had a spinal fusion surgery in 2010 to correct the curvature of her spine and her career took off with her becoming a regular at pro competitions and becoming a Bouldering World Cup finalist. The University of Minnesota grad is now based out of Salt Lake City where

Based out of her hometown of Montreal, Emma Contaoe (@emmacontaoe) is the founder of Climbing Escapes where she leads rock climbing trips and womxn empowerment climbing retreats in Quebec. The 30-year-old came to love climbing in 2013 after learning in both Australia and Thailand during some of her many travels. Climbing Escapes was founded in 2016 as a way of providing more accessibility to beginning climbers in Quebec. The FQME certified rock climbing instructor offers intr

“Will Send for Seltzer,” “On My Way to Flash Your Project,” “Fuck Your Beta.” These are just a few of the messages on some of Crag to Crux’s products (a personal favorite of mine is the pin that says “Not Cocaine” which I have on my chalk bag). Crag to Crux owner and founder, 28-year-old Raee Lorton started her company as a side project, a way to tap into her creative, artistic side while working her day job as an environmental scientist. But what started as a simple Etsy pro

As its name implies, LADY CRVSH CREW is a group dedicated to empowering all womxn to be slaydies—ladies who slay, otherwise known as female climbers who crush while bring as much joy to climbing as they do progress for womxn in the sport. Originally founded as an Instagram page by five friends, LADY CRVSH CREW now hosts meetups in the Bay Area, greater Los Angeles, Inland Empire, and many climbing gyms; host crag clean-ups; and partners with climbing organizations and brands

Having a kid doesn’t have to mean giving up on doing fun, outdoor adventures. For Kristen Hernandez, her relationship to the outdoors really took off only after having her son Liam. Now 8 years old, Liam and Kristen do all kinds of adventures together including hiking and rock climbing. Their own adventures and subsequent Instagram post inspired the freelance social media strategist to start Trail Mothers, a non-profit dedicated to mothers and children who thrive to hike, cli

The new influx of “van life” Instagram accounts may have you convinced that living in your vehicle is full of gorgeous photos taken out of the backdoor of your van overlooking a vista, ultra-sleek buildouts, and adventuring daily to somewhere new. For Steff Carter who first lived in her Subaru and then a Toyota Tundra, “van life” was more of a necessity and a lifestyle choice to save money, not something to be glamorized on social media. The avid skier, snowboarder, and rock

For Labor Day weekend and to celebrate my 32nd birthday, I headed out to Lander with my friends Virginia and Julianne (and Julianne's 6-month-old puppy) for a long weekend of climbing. We decided to upgrade from dirtbag status by staying in a local motel which was also the host of the weekend's pug convention--who knew? While we only had two full days of climbing, we made the most of them. Day one we headed up to Wild Iris for cooler temps and got many routes under out belts

In the fall of 2014, I found my calling: rock climbing. While growing up in Idaho backpacking, hiking, and snowboarding, I never felt a sense of belonging in those communities and didn’t call myself a passionate outdoorswoman. Then my boyfriend at the time invited me to go rock climbing at an area close to my hometown of Ketchum, Idaho. The boyfriend didn’t last, but the feeling of empowerment I felt while climbing did and thus began a lifelong foray into the world of rock cl

Rock climbing can be an intimidating sport. There’s the gear, the secret-code-like language, the ego, and the risk. But with the rise of indoor climbing gyms and a more inclusive and welcoming community, the time is ripe for more people to get involved. I began climbing five years ago when an ex-boyfriend took me to a local crag and threw me on a rope. I was hooked. While the boyfriend went by the wayside, I found a new sport in my mid-20s that would change the direction of m

Growing up in Connecticut, Kya Goldschlager got her first experiences with the outdoors while attending summer camps in New Hampshire. But what truly cemented her relationship to the outdoors was attending Prescott College in Arizona where she met her now husband, James, and took her first trip to Sun Valley. Since then, Kya’s done a bit of everything: worked for Trek bikes, picked huckleberries commercially, worked at ski resort Schweitzer as well as several outdoor leadersh

“Those are climbers,” I hear the woman say to her hiking companion, not in an effort to describe something that was perhaps too far off in the distance and incomprehensible but rather in the way that David Attenborough narrates a description of a new species on the TV show Planet Earth. In fact, I am only about ten yards from these women, and the canyon I am in echoes to the point that anyone in any part can hear the other. This observation of climbers as “other” is something

Have you ever found yourself at a dump, digging through a mountainous pile of sharp, discarded metal objects, looking for a pair of crutches? Of course not, who the hell has? Sadly, this is an experience I now have and one I hope to never repeat. It was spring break of 2016 and a few girlfriends and I had decided to go climb in Bishop for a week. I live a few hours from Boise, Idaho where they live so I drove to town, picked them up, and started the 10-hour drive to Bishop. S

Southern Idaho summers are warm and beautiful, and while it may seem like the perfect season for rock climbing, veteran climbers know better. It's actually the cooler temperatures in spring and fall that give ultimate friction on the rocks and help climbers avoid getting completely burned out—physically and mentally—while climbing for hours at a time. While we're still in the throes of spring, it's a prime time to start transitioning from indoor to outdoor climbing. Whether y

It may surprise climbers and non-climbers alike to learn that Idaho is home to many great rock climbing areas. From the Black Cliffs and Swan Falls in western Idaho, and Massacre Rocks and Blackfoot Canyon in eastern Idaho, to the world-class climbing at City of Rocks, Idaho is a Mecca to well-kept-secret climbing. Climbing season is in its prime, so read ahead for your guide to the best crags the state has to offer. City of Rocks/Castle Rock State Park City of Rocks and neig

My friends Kami and Emily and my dog Otis decide to take a four-day trip to Lander, Wyoming and explore all the good climbing that it has to offer. I drive seven hours from my hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho and plan to meet them as they drive from Provo, Utah and Boise, Idaho. Upon getting to town, I immediately drive to Wild Iris Mountain Sports to grab a guidebook; luckily for me, the version I bought just came out a few weeks prior and had four whole crags never featured be

There is a sport flying under the radar of southern Idaho; one where participants willingly head out into freezing temperatures, lugging gear like ropes, crampons, and ice axes before ascending frozen pieces of ice, all for the thrill of what many might consider “type 2” fun. These are ice climbers. While the sport of rock climbing has seen a major uptick due to the increase in climbing gyms, ice climbing remains on the fringe and for good reason: the conditions are harsh, th