in Dutch
Search
Rock Climbing News
Rock Climbing News - August 2009
Display Mode:
Feed
Monday, 31 August 2009Jackson Hole, WY – Mountain Khakis®, a premier outdoor-lifestyle apparel brand "Built for the Mountain Life," proudly announces its exclusive glass-buckle belt design by Jackson Hole, WY-based Strapped Belts®.
Chances are, John Frechette had no idea that his Amherst College dual degree of Art History & Economics would land him in Jackson Hole, WY making hand-thrown glass belt buckles. An outcome even further from expectation for his Varsity Hockey 'meat-head' & Varsity Golf teammates. But his real-life juxtaposition of 'tough guy makes beautiful art' is perfectly played out in John's one-of-a-kind, hand-hewn glass belt buckles – perfectly durable for tough guys and gals who appreciate unique, authentic design. Just like Mountain Khakis® fans.
When Frechette and MK Global Brand Manager, Noah Robertson were talking one night over dinner about John's success in his wearable art venture, the light bulb went off for Robertson, "It seemed like an obvious opportunity to integrate our MK mountain logo into one of John's glass belt buckles. We're proud of our Jackson roots and like to support local programs and artisans as much as possible. John's belts are unique, durable, and have a 'metro-western' fusion look that reflects the work-and-play nature of Jackson Hole. And the timing was perfect for our upcoming Fall 09 Accessory Program launch."
It takes John 3 days to create a Strapped Belts® buckle - 3 days and countless cuts to his hands, that is. A process not for the weak at heart, each buckle is fired in a kiln at 1500 degrees, then cooled, cleaned, polished and epoxied into place. But before the heat, each unique design is intricately cut out of fine glass using a diamond-coated blade or ring saw and John's freehand prowess – thus, the cuts.
For this relatively young company looking to expand beyond its retail presence, Mountain Khakis® represents one of John's first wholesale accounts – the first of many. "After selling well beyond my expectations at art shows and a successful year selling via the website [www.strappedbelts.com] and my retail studio in Jackson, I'm excited to grow my wholesale distribution," said Frechette. "The New York International Gift Show is my next step. They got me right into the show (and off the wait-list) once they saw my belts."
MK Glass-Buckle Belt
Guys & gals, you may be thinking that you’re too rough to wear something called a 'glass-buckle belt,' but even if you're the bull-in-a-china-shop type, these artisan belts are durable enough for you. A metro-western fusion style, John Frechette of our own Jackson Hole, WY handcrafts each and every buckle, and custom-designed our own MK mountain version. The colored glass is cut, layered into design, then kiln-fired for up to 12 hours at 1500 degrees. That’s hot enough to melt your toenails. 4 color options. Brown leather belt included. Whip it good.
SIZES: S(32), M(34), M/L(36), L(38), XL(40)
COLORS: Light Blue/Yellow, Dark Blue/Green, Orange/Brown, Green/Clear Green
MSRP: $62 (includes belt)
Source: www.woodsmonkey.com
Friday, 28 August 2009Chattanooga, TN — Locally-owned specialty outdoor retailer Rock/Creek announces a $1,600 donation from last Saturday's 2nd Annual Greenway 5 Mile Trail Race. The money will go to benefit local non-profit, The Wilderness Trail Running Association, aka, The Boonies. Rock/Creek's donation will be used to fund future races and trail maintenance efforts necessary to sustain open access to trail system s in the surrounding region. "We are committed to supporting The Boonies and other like-minded non-profit organizations and landowners who are working to preserve our region’s natural resources for responsible and sustainable recreational use for years to come," says Dawson Wheeler, co-owner of Rock/Creek.
The Greenway 5 Mile Trail Race took place at Outdoor Chattanooga's Greenway Farm in Hixson, TN. Established in 2003 by the city of Chattanooga, Outdoor Chattanooga strives to increase tourism, bring new residents to the community, protect our natural resources, and enhance the health and well-being of citizens and visitors alike. "Our hope is that in partnering with events like the Greenway 5 Mile Trail Race, we can use venues like Greenway Farm to promote outdoor recreation as a signature lifestyle in and around Chattanooga," commented Philip Grymes, Executive Director of Outdoor Chattanooga.
New and experienced runners alike took to the trails in last Saturday's race. Jonathan Mobley, race director for the Rock/Creek Trail Series, estimates that at least half of the runners were racing for the first time on the trail: "We always do a quick straw poll before the race, and this time at least half of the runners raised their hand to identify themselves as first-time trail racers. We're seeing familiar faces from the road running crowd."
The race course led runners on a mixture of open gravel and grassy paths as well as a short section of singletrack named the Boy Scout loop. Although more challenging than some may have expected, this race was a great opportunity for those new to the sport of trail running.
Alan Horton of Knoxville, TN set a new course record with a blinding time of 29:23:00. Close behind in 2nd and 3rd place respectively were John Sillery of Chattanooga, 30:11:00 and Kevin Boucher of Chattanooga, 32:43:00. Amanda Afdahl, new to the Rock/Creek Trail Series this year, led the women's division with a time of 39:42. Amanda, a Resident Director at Covenant College in neighboring Lookout Mountain, GA, shared the podium with 3rd place finisher and fellow employee Debby Vannoy, 42:42:00. Debby is the Covenant College Cross Country Coach. Laurie Cook finished 2nd in the women's division with a time of 42:00.
When asked his thoughts on the race, Steve Hamaker, local Chattanooga resident and race participant, had this to say: "It rocked! The race was well organized. The course had a good balance of singletrack, switchbacks, and wide trails and was especially great for beginners. And Greenway Farm is a great location in Chattanooga for this sort of family-oriented event. I really enjoyed the race and am ready to do it again."
Mobley credits the success of the race to the support of sponsors and tireless efforts of race volunteers: "I am incredibly grateful first and foremost to Outdoor Chattanooga for providing access to Greenway Farm for the race, to Rock/Creek, Marmot, Salomon, SmartWool, END Footwear, Archer Physical Therapy and Greenlife Grocery for their generous support. And like any other race in the series, the Greenway 5 Mile would not be possible were it not for the efforts of our volunteer staff."
The Greenway 5 Mile Trail Race is the 5th of 8 races in the Rock/Creek Trail Race Series. For more information on the race, visit: http://www.rockcreek.com/greenway and for other races go to http://www.rockcreek.com/trailseries/.
Source: ww.outdoorindustry.org
Thursday, 27 August 2009Lofoten is a long rock chain of islands in northern Norway, known as one of the most spectacular and beautiful destinations in Europe. Among climbers, it is famous for having great trad climbing. In early summer, the sun never disappears behind the horizon and there is no need to bring your head torch when going for the big walls. Bring your rain pants though!
On Lofoten, the nature i s wild with granite walls and green hills surrounded by the cool Atlantic sea. The climbing is all naturally protected, even belays, which gives you a feeling of adventure and complete liberty - just you and the rock. People have been climbing peaks and faces on Lofoten since the 1880th.
The climbing is spread out over the islands, but located close to many of the best crags including the famous 500m wall Prasten, is by the village of Henningvaer. Here you also find the hang out place for climbers, The Climbing Cafe. They serve the traditional dishes like Bacalao and good beer. Sport climbing is like eating at MacDonalds, you know what you get - it is cited on the bar disk.
All over Lofoten, you have, off course Allemansratt (freedom to camp wherever you want), but there are also camping areas with showers and apartments to rent. You find good supermarkets and restaurants, but with a fishing rod you have good chances of catching enough cod for dinner every day, which is good since everything is expensive in Norway.
Lofoten offers climbing of all grades, on excellent quality granite with steep cracks and slabs. Gear is easy to place and the rock is solid. There are one-pitch routes as well as multi-pitch routes up to 500m and everything in between. Some walls are equipped with an abseil route from the top, but some areas are by tradition kept completely free from bolts. This makes single pitch climbing time consuming, but still it gives these places a certain aesthetic charm.
Lofotens unstable weather makes it a bit of a hit or miss destination for short holidays. It can easily rain several times a day for a whole month, or the sun can shine uninterruptedly for weeks. Luckily the rock is dried by the wind almost instantly after rainfall and you can start climbing at any time - the days here have 24 hours!
The newest guidebook for Lofoten is Lofoten Rock by Chris Craggs and Thorbjorn Enevold. It includes all climbing on Lofoten and also all necessary travel information. Best way to get there is to fly to Narvik/Harstad or Svolvaer with Nowegian. A car is nice, almost obligatory to have once there. Travelling from central Europe, you can expect to spend at least 1000euros for 2 weeks climbing vacation in Lofoten.
Source: www.liberated-press-releases.com
Wednesday, 26 August 2009Boulder, CO — The Access Fund is proud to announce unprecedented industry support of the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign (AFLCC), a new movement to save endangered climbing areas. The AFLCC is a multimillion-dollar revolving loan program designed to provide local climbing organizations and other agencies with the funds and expertise needed to act quickly to save threatened climbing areas.
"Over the years, we've seen more private climbing areas changing hands, some of them lost to cash-ready developers. Local climbers don’t always have the money or the resources to save these climbing areas. This program was designed to help them," says Brady Robinson, Access Fund Executive Director. "The desire to keep these recreational areas open is the goal of the AFLCC and we are pleased with the extraordinary level of support from industry leaders such as prAna, The North Face, Mammut, Outdoor Research, Petzl, Mountain Gear, and Black Diamond."
While a portion of the Access Fund’s focus and revenues has always been allocated to acquisition and protection of threatened land, the new AFLCC program will expand on this capability, arming local climbing organizations to take on the ever-growing threats of development and protect our climbing resources from landowners who are not climber friendly.
The AFLCC will provide local climbing organizations with short-term loans and expertise on direct acquisitions, leases, easements, and other tactics. This assistance and bridge financing for time-sensitive projects will give local climbers the opportunity to raise money over a longer period of time and/or finalize take-out strategies. In addition to loans, the AFLCC may also offer grants for direct conservation efforts, including acquisitions and other projects that protect climbing areas on private land.
The AFLCC already has two successful pilot projects underway. The first is a $15,000 bridge loan to secure an option agreement for the acquisition of the Lower Index Town Wall in Washington. "The Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign stepped in at just the right time to loan WCC the funds necessary to secure this option," says WCC Secretary Matt Perkins. The second is a $20,000 bridge loan to Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC) to help facilitate the purchase of a 29-acre cliff line in Steele, Alabama.
The Access Fund has been fundraising for the campaign for 14 months and is over halfway toward its goal of $2.5 million. To date, the AFLCC has been supported by a number of generous individuals and companies within the outdoor industry.
Source: www.outdoorindustry.org
Monday, 24 August 2009BLACK HILLS, S.D. - Whether a first-timer or a seasoned climber, the Black Hills are a superb destination for anyone looking to rock climb in an area of unique scenic beauty filled with mountains, lakes, and pines.
The distinctive landscape and variety of rock, including granite and limestone, make the Black Hills an ideal destination for rock climbing. Spearfish Canyon, the Needles an d the Cathedral Spires of Custer State park, Devils Tower in Wyoming and the area around Mount Rushmore are a few of the popular climbing sites in the area.
"There's just so much variety within a couple hours drive," explains Daryl Stisser, owner of the Sylvan Rocks Climbing School and Guide Service.
Stisser started climbing in 1990 while attending college in southern Illinois. Soon after, he guided a group on a climbing expedition to the Black Hills. He enjoyed the area so much he continued to return until eventually moving to Hill City and buying Sylvan Rocks.
Not only do the Black Hills offer an array of beautiful scenic locations for climbing, but the region also has something for every level of ability, whether an expert or trying the sport for the first time.
"The bulk of our guests have never climbed before," states Stisser. "You can push it to whatever difficulty level you’d like to see."
Beginners usually fare best at spots like Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. Recommended sites for more skilled climbers depend on the type of climbing they want to try, whether face climbing, crack climbing, traditional climbing or mixed climbing. However, no locations are restricted by ability.
"There's something at each area for all levels of climbers," Stisser comments.
With all the climbing in the area, first-time climbers in the Black Hills, novice or expert, are recommended to use a guide service. Use vacation time seeing the world from the summit, not hiking around looking for the climbing routes. Sylvan Rocks Climbing School provides outings and trainings for individuals, families and groups of all ability levels. To watch a short video on rock climbing in the Black Hills, visit the Black Hills Badlands and Lakes Association website at www.blackhillsbadlands.com.
For more details on this news, please visit www.travelsd.com.
For the latest news, tips, trivias and special offers, sign up to the ABC of Rock Climbing newsletter.
advertisementadvertising info
advertisementadvertising info
Latest Rock Climbing News
For a complete list of all discount coupons with our merchants, subscribe to our Discount RSS Feed: 
MySpace
Squidoo
Facebook
Twitter
© 2003-2008 ABC of Rock Climbing, part of MaxLifestyle International Inc. All rights reserved.
