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Tah Dah!!!!! A NEW YEAR! Chock full of possibilities!!! Maybe you have made a plan to start 2025 off with new goals, ambitions, habits, or…perhaps you like how 2024 finished up, and just want to continue the good vibes. Either way, ‘Good’ is on the horizon. We’re excited! The Holiday Party went very well. Recent editions have seen us having a nice complement of seasoned veterans, newer climbri members, and brand spanking new victims ; ) A great combination, and an ideal situation for everyone to get to know everyone. Thanks to Lynn and Brian for organizing and presenting us with a great facility to gather in. As is typical protocol…those that earned the ’24 Golden Piton distinction were announced. Rich Redding, and Lynn Shippee were the deserving recipients. Around a medley of great food, we had our raffle, which went off very well. The grand prize being a wonderful Sterling Rope. Next up, is the already announced January Ice Trip, in Lincoln, NH. If anyone would like to contribute to this monthly newsletter please email your contribution to risouthcounty@gmail.com or bikeskiboy@hotmail.com. Contribution needs to be 200 words or less to fit in this newsletter format. A photo is helpful as well but not necessary. |
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2025
AMC Narragansett Climbing Trip/Event Schedule This is a synopsis of the upcoming AMC trips/events. See the link above for details. Trip announcements go out about a month before any trip date! The trips are all focused on multi-pitch trad and ice, except for the Rumney trip, which is sport climbing focused. 2025 Trip Classes, and Events
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Ken's Book Suggestion of the Month Beastmaking
“Beastmaking”, by Ned Feehally, a knowledgeable and strong climber in his own right, who interestingly enough is the husband of renown British comp climber Shauna Coxsey. A great read, full of technical insight and centered around ‘A fingers first approach to becoming a better climber’. Ned has dedicated the time into his own training, and the training of others, so that we might benefit from his experience. He builds a convincing argument that at some point…fingers, which keep you on the wall, are the key! Good stuff! |
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Brian's
Unsolicited Advice about Mountain Project Should you believe anything you read on Mountain Project? The simple answer is no but it is more nuanced than that. MP is a great resource for looking up routes. It is especially useful in complex areas like the canyons of Red Rocks where you may find a photo of the start of the first pitch saving you from wandering around. Even the banter in the comments on how well protected it is, how hard it is for the grade, and where the route goes is useful. However, don't bank your life on how accurate the information is. In many cases routes have been posted by people who never even climbed them. Or in some cases, they climbed it but were off route. The theory behind MP is that it is user created and users will correct mistakes that other users post. That doesn't always happen. I saw a photo of the classic climb Devil's Lettuce at Ross Rocks where the poster submitted a topo with a line that was clearly not the route. The line avoided the overhang at the top and traversed unprotected to the left around the corner. This beta could have resulted in a potentially catastrophic fall. I notified the area admin and he took it down but there is no telling how long it had been up. I have noticed inaccurate information on multiple climbs in many different climbing areas from El Chorro, Spain to Cochise Stronghold, Arizona. There are so many inaccuracies that I've stopped trying to correct them unless they involve a local crag. So, be careful out there and take Mountain Project with a great deal of skepticism. |
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Climbing
Bio by Ronnie Schroeder, Earl Wiggins (1957-2002) Earl Wiggins was known for cutting-edge ascents in the Utah Canyonlands in the 1970s. And for Hollywood action movie stunts (Cliffhanger, Waterworld, Spider-man +++). Minimizing gear on difficult routes – “the rope and the rack and the shirt on my back". Taking this to the limit on desperately hard routes, Wiggins soloed the extreme Outer Limits in Yosemite (5.10c) at the age of 16, and Whimsical Dreams (5.11b) at Turkey Rock, Colorado, and, in 1980, the 14-pitch climb Scenic Cruise (5.10d) in Utah's Black Canyon, a hard, dangerous climb in an hour and a half! In 1976 he made the first ascent of the world-famous Supercrack (5.10) in Utah's Indian Creek Canyon. Earlier that year Wiggins (18 years) and Jimmy Dunn, with just a daypack, made the first free ascent of the 1,800-foot North Chasm Wall in Black Canyon in a single day, previously an aid climb taking four days! At 22, he stood at that base again with only a chalk bag for the longest, hardest free solo then done in the world. Wiggins is one of the solo greats including Henry Barber, John Bachar, and Alex Honnold. Wiggins died in 2002, by his own hand in Lake Oswego, Oregon. |
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Ken's
Training Tips Climbing recovery…have you learned to recover on a climb? Typically, what happens is we’re on a harder grade climb. Getting pumped out, hard to hold on…fingers, forearms, it’s all going ‘South’ quickly. Obviously volume of climbing helps. Finger strength too(see the following book recommendation), not to be overlooked. According to Alex Puccio, a couple of tactics can be taken… 1. You’re route climbing and going to fall. Rather than sit and rest on a rope (and not training recovery), you grab other holds and use other footholds to try and recover. Perhaps you have some assistance from the rope. The key is that you start to train the body to adapt and recover. At first this won’t be immediate, but stick with it. 2. The other option, and one that should be done regardless, is shaking out when you come back down (no matter the outcome of the route). Feet on the floor, hips in and use holds to shake out until fully recovered. Use as much weight on your feet as necessary to aid this. The idea is active recovery, rather than just letting the burn go away. Over time you can get on the wall and recover accordingly and vary the holds to change the stimulus and help recovery on different sized/shaped holds. Obviously finger strength dictates the intensity factor of a hold, but training recovery is fundamental in our eyes. From Strongmind.climbing: “What does it mean to truly master something? And can you have a mastery mindset towards more than one thing? At Strong Mind, we believe mastery isn’t about ticking boxes or reaching an end goal. It’s a deep commitment to growth, curiosity and finding meaning in the process. Does climbing feel like your focus for mastery? Or maybe it’s something else entirely. Is it a single pursuit, or does it connect to a larger, personal journey?” The key, and the continuing point, is that each climb represents a part of a larger climbing ‘process’, not just an individual goal to be ticked off. |
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Rock
Gym Deals for AMC Members If you're new to our chapter or new to a local Rhode Island rock gym let the gym personnel know you're an AMC Narragansett member and most will extend you a discount on membership. For gyms like Rock Spot and CRG, that have multiple locations, that opens up day trips to new gyms, at no additional cost (but driving and time). Great for the gym season, if you want to try new routes, new holds, and new setters. |
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Join
the ClimbRI email group Most communication among RI climbers (including the AMC) is done through a Google Group called ClimbRI. There are currently just over 400 climbers in the group from RI, CT, and MA. |