“Let’s head to Seneca!”...or Red River Gorge or Yosemite...if this text pops up on your phone and your heart starts to race, you know you’re ready to take your skills outside. Making the transition to outdoor climbing is more involved than just learning about the shiny new gear, it also requires an evaluation of your skillset. Staying safe outside presents its own challenges and factors that may be foreign to you. It is vital to respect the risks that are unique to climbing outdoors.

Find yourself itching for more than just your buddy’s beta spray on the newest V4? We've put together a list of some of the best podcasts to keep you going during the work week.

For most of us, our gear is our treasure: something we meticulously clean, inspect, display for our friends to admire and painstakingly organize (Don’t believe me? See the raddest gear sheds here). The thought of retiring it is difficult, but you know what they say: it hurts to let go, but sometimes it hurts more to hold on. I’m here to convince you to retire your cherished climbing gear before the point of no return.

So you have received your lead certification and entered the thrilling world of sport climbing? Well, that is just step one! Even when you have started to lead climb, there are still plenty of techniques to learn and precautions to take.

My first experience multi-pitch trad climbing is what inspired me to work in the climbing industry and in many ways changed the course of my life. I remember getting to the top of Seneca on that first trip and thinking, “Now I get it! This is what climbing is supposed to be for me”. Climbing, while often a social activity, can also be very personal - a person’s goals, priorities and motivations are their own. At the top of Seneca I found my reason to climb and keep climbing. I wanted the ability to inspire others in the same way - it was time to plan a big climbing trip to expand my horizons and better hone my skills. I, along with Emily Sillcox and Sherie Lou Santos, was awarded an Avi Sengupta Staff Climbing Scholarship to venture out to Red Rock, Nevada and pursue my goals.

PRANAYAMA FOR CLIMBERS Pranayama is the art and science of the breath. Yogis use pranayama to calm the mind, expand inner awareness and stimulate a variety of healthful effects. Many of these practices translate beautifully into climbing. I would recommend trying these two in a seated or reclining position for a few minutes first before testing them out on a climb.

"Hello. My name is Kim and I'm a perfectionist." I don't know for sure how I became one. I'm guessing it had something to do with my childhood. There might be a sad little league story there. For whatever reason, since I was very young I remember trying very hard to be perfect at whatever I was doing. In school, I had to get straight A's, 100%'s on tests, be the fastest runner - I am an over-achiever, so… what's the problem?

When I began training more seriously for climbing, I came across Eric Horst’s thoughts on fear of failure and fear of falling in Training for Climbing, and it changed how I saw the impact of climbing on my life. Failure is a good thing in climbing. How you learn from failure determines how you grow as a climber, and falling is a symptom of failure. Lots of women and men talk about being afraid to fall, but I’m betting there are many women like myself who are afraid to fail.

Lead climbing, easy to learn but difficult to master. Whether you learned from a friend or took an Introduction to Sport Leading class, Movement is here to help you feel secure and confident on the wall! Take a look at these tips and tricks that can be useful if you are wondering how to continue to develop your lead climbing.

Ever since I was very young, I’ve had a strong sense of adventure. I loved to be outside. My friends and I would run through the woods daily, playing tag, swimming in the creek, etc. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to be outside. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I grew up but I knew that if I was outside and exploring, I would be happy.