The best climbers I know aren't just climbers on the wall. They are climbers as a lifestyle. I'm not talking about the dirtbag climber lifestyle, and I don't mean these people train all the time. I mean that they practice the principles of effective climbing in their daily lives, and view their daily lives as practice for climbing.

Actively working to change systemic racism and inequity. For the last few years, we have leaned on a trusted group of individuals from a variety of positions within the company to guide our DEI efforts. During this pivotal moment, they dedicated time to encourage conversations and listen to our entire workforce – this statement is a collection of voices from across every region, gym and position within our company and we are proud to stand behind every word below. Robert Cohen, CEO Renee DeAngelis, COO Charlotte Bosley, CMO Chris Jenkins, CSO Scott Yeager, CFO We support an inclusive society and condemn racial injustice. We stand in solidarity with the Black community, our staff, members, and partners, in the fight against systemic racism, inequity, and the historic oppression of the black community. Black Lives Matter.

If you’ve ever walked away from a crag with black, dirty hands, it might be time to wash your climbing rope.

Twenty million Americans took to the streets to celebrate the very first Earth Day 50 years ago. We may not have been able to gather the masses together for Earth Day this year, but that doesn't mean that our staff didn't find some creative ways to have fun at home. Reduce, REUSE, Recycle Is there a child alive who came out of schools systems in the 1980s and 1990s school system who doesn't know of the 3 Rs? Reduce, reuse, recycle. In any case, a lot of our staff came up with creative ways to reuse all kinds of materials to create drip irrigation systems, raised beds, and even watercolors! Take a look:

When one thinks of areas of your body to strengthen and stabilize, many focus on shoulders, hips, etc, but strong ankles are an incredibly important foundation for many of the movements we make with our bodies. Lack of strength or stability in the ankles can lead to instability or overcompensation in the knees or hips, which can lead to bad running technique and climbing technique. Think about it, weak ankles make standing on small holds difficult, which makes controlling your body position harder to control. So let’s strengthen those ankles! We’ve got three warmups and three exercises that help improve ankle strength and ensure that your ankles are strong and stable for activity and use down the road.

Do you remember your childhood memories and your ability to have innocent fun? Yes? Pick a number. 1-2-3. Pick a color. B-L-U-E. Pick another number. 1-2-3-4. We understand that adulting is sometimes difficult. The “real world” is challenging, but it does ironically expose a wonderful truth, which is that being an adult can be overrated. Picasso’s even on our side for this one (so you know it’s true): “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child”. Reclaiming our innocence and the ability to break down our own barriers for fun is daunting. The first step is to get in the right mindset--rewind to your youth. Do you remember the old games of yore? Kick the can, the stick with a wooden circle rolly thing, pong, truth or dare, spin the bottle, creepy crawlers, the water level in Zelda? (Insert pause for melancholic sigh of remembrance). Recently, we’ve noticed our online community going bonkers for a silly, little game of “Would you Rather” and we thought we’d share the ones that seem to be getting downright heated. (To be fair, choosing between eating mayonnaise for the rest of your life or sweating mayonnaise for the rest of your life tends to do that). Enjoy!

The key to a good life is to have balance and what better way to test your skills than walking along a suspended length of flat webbing tensioned between two anchors, also known as slacklining? If you’ve never heard of slacklining or would just like a few extra tips, we’re here to help!

Foam rolling is a type of myofascial release. Fascia are the connective tissue surrounding your muscles and over time, fascia can become unhealthy due to overuse or injury. The goal of foam rolling is to try to release tension in your muscles and fascia. Foam rolling stretches and loosens the muscles and connective tissue in the area being rolled, releasing tightness and tension that has built up from use or stress.

We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog discussing training plans training plans, mental techniques, and breathing exercises to help you improve your climbing. Check out those posts to get a ton of helpful tips you need to push into higher grades. However, sometimes when I’m looking for an extra edge, I head to my local gear shop to see what’s up. So, if you've got a few bucks laying around, here are four items that have helped me immensely with various climbing goals over the last several years.

After the long, cold winter of pulling on plastic, you may be hearing the outdoors inviting you outside again. You can hear it now…the chirping birds, the wind rustling the trees, and the clink clank of climber’s gear bouncing in cadence. As you head up the approach to the cliffs, you can feel the stoke of the first climb of the year. You’re feeling strong from all the winter workouts as you strap your shoes on and pull out that old rack that’s been sitting in your gear closet since last…who knows when? Belay on! The rock feels familiar, an old friend. The movement up the rock is as natural as the first two stoppers you just placed. Feeling confident on the easy terrain, you figure you might just run it out a little. After all, there’s a great placement just a little further up. Suddenly, you’re 8 feet above that last stopper. As you reach to make your next placement, panic sets in--the cam is frozen. The lobes won’t expand when the trigger is released. Heart racing and grip starting to sweat, it’s very clear: you forgot check your gear before heading outside for the first time of the season.