As a climber, most of my weekends are spent in the mountains where the rock is prime and the views are unbeatable. Local crags like, Castle Rock, Indian Rock, are my playground on days where I can’t make the 3+ hour drive out to the Sierra. Sometimes it’s hard to give up that play time, and sometimes, the stars align and I have that opportunity to give back to the places where I play.
Puffies have been my friend lately. With ambitious sufferfest mountain days, I often find myself hitting the trail early in the morning and slowly trudging out late at night when the sun is long gone. For days like these, I need insulation that moves with me but also doesn’t take up much space. The Adidas Outdoor Flyloft Jacket fits that bill.
When I met with Mammut during Summer OR 2015, little did they know that they were going to blow my mind. Why deal with a pack to carry your things when you could have a chalk bag to eliminate most of your carry needs? Internally, Mammut has debuted prototypes of this carry all chalk bag, but this summer 2014 was when they put the idea to fruition. The Mammut Multipitch Chalk Bag, now known as the Mammut Alpine Chalk Bag, is a brilliant piece of gear for when you’re way off the deck.
It’s no secret that Salewa is my most favorite hiking shoe brand ever. When I saw that they made approach shoes, I had high hopes. With the ultimate comfortable fit and fun colors, I was pretty sure that Salewa would knock it right out of the park. The Firetail 3 arrived at my doorstep a few months ago and I put them to the test.
It’ll be easy, I said. It’s only a few pitches of 5.6, I said. We’ll be in and out with tons of time to frolick and lounge, I said. That’s how I talked my friend, Joe, into spontaneously driving to Tuolumne Meadows with Josh and I to climb Cathedral Peak with us one June weekend.