Brian Shelton

I posted last week that a friend of Adventure Insider underwent surgery to have a tumor removed from his brain.  I am please to inform you that the surgery went well and Brian is on his way to recovery and looks forward to getting back on belay.  In the mean time the climbing competition to raise money for this expensive surgery is planned for April 3, 2010 at the Sport Climbing Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Registration will begin at 5:30 and the competition will begin at 6:00.  The cost is $10 for a very worth cause.  Don’t worry about you climbing ability, there will be prizes for all abilities in addition to raffles and an all around good time.  A party will follow the competition.  Members of Adventure Insider will be there including Erick, Shane, and CJ.  Great prizes have been donated by Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Prana, Outdoor Research, Black Diamond, Diver’s Reef, and NOLS to name a few.  If you have questions please leave a comment and we will get back to you.

We hope to see you there!

Brian has been instrumental in the development of Red Rock Canyon Open space in Colorado Springs. A relatively new climbing and recreation area that offers outdoor enthusiasts a great place to climb, hike and get away from the tourists.  Brian has also played a major role in the Anchor Replacement Initiative at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  Brian, along with other local climbers spent countless hours replacing old and unsafe anchors so that everyone can have a safe, enjoyable climbing experience.

These are just a few examples of the work that Brian has performed for the climbing community and the community in general.  Brian also owns Front Range Climbing Company, teaching and introducing new people to the sport of climbing.  On a personal note, Brian is a great friend and would always be willing to drop everything to help a friend in need.

Now it’s our turn.  Brian has been diagnosed with a large brain tumor and is having surgery to remove it.  It’s time to show our support for someone who has give so selflessly to the climbing and outdoor community.  Brian is without health insurance and, as you can imagine, the cost of the surgery is quite high.  To help Brian, a climbing competition is being held at the Sport Climbing Center in Colorado Springs on April 3, 2010.  During the competition there will be raffles, prizes and a silent auction.  If you are interested, come join us.  If you can donate items for prizes/raffle/auction email us and if you can donate cash an account at Chase Bank has been established under the name “Donation Fund for Brian Shelton”.  Updates to follow.

1. I really am 13 years old in this tape, even though I look 10
2. To this day I’m not much of a swimmer, but in 1989 I could’ve been called ‘afraid’ of the water. Rafting & canoeing was a big step for me.
3. I don’t wear stupid things on my head anymore.

So without further comment, I present “The Wilderness – 1989”

1989 Wilderness Adventure in West Virginia from Shane Williams on Vimeo.

Wow…that wasn’t too bad, was it?

Here I am 20 years later, and the love for adventure that was born so long ago is alive and well. While life (house, job, responsibilities) sometimes has to come before the adventures I so badly want to take, I still manage to get outside pretty often. I’m blessed with a wife who loves the outdoors as much as I do, and I can’t wait to start teaching our son about how amazing the world can be. During the next few months things will be kind of slow, but by the end of this year I have no doubt that the entire Williams family will be exploring the outdoors once again.

Jimmy Chan (http://www.jimmychin.com)

Renan Ozturk (http://www.rockmonkeyart.com)

http://ngadventure.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/relics-recovered-a-pair-of-worldclass-climbers-goes-where-archaeologists-cant.html

La Palpmas Peak

While in New Mexico on business I had a chance to to get away for a couple hours to do some climbing at La Palomas Peak outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’ll spare you the details as the can be found in the fairly comprehensive guide located at http://www.cs.unm.edu/~moret/crag.html. I will, however share some things that may not be obvious…at least not to me. First, the trail. I immediately set of on a faint trail behind the barriers when I should have walked south (up) on the road about 50 feet to an obvious trail. Second, you may be able to pick this up from the guide but the routes are very short. Just as you start to get warmed up you top out. All in all this is a great site to do some climbing if you are in the area, especially if you are looking to do a little teaching. With routes ranging from 5.4 to 5.13 there is a great variety to choose from.

Maybe it’s your first pair of rock shoes.  Maybe you are looking for a second pair of shoes to increase your performance.  Or maybe your current shoes kill your feet or you want some specialty shoes for a specific type of climbing.  There are many different reasons for purchasing a new pair of rock shoes but knowing what you need is the only sure way to get exactly what you want.

Types of Shoes

There are a few main types of climbing shoes and they are all designed for a specific purpose.  There are shoes for comfort while climbing all day, shoes for cracks, shoes for edging, and shoes for extremely steep and overhanging rock.  Keeping in mind many shoes overlap categories, let’s take a look at each.

Comfort Shoes

Although not a very technical term, it does sum up the purpose of these shoes.  These shoes are designed to be able to be worn all day with minimal discomfort and are generally low-cut and mid-stiffness.  They do, however sacrifice edging ability and sensitivity.  Most climbers start with shoes in the comfort category for three reasons. First, they’re inexpensive.  This is generally a concern for someone just starting a new sport, especially one that can be as expensive as climbing.  Second, although there is no such thing as a real “all-around” shoe, the comfort shoe is as close as it gets.  And third, frankly it doesn’t matter.  This is just the shoe you use until you want to increase your performance or determine you need a shoe for a specific purpose.

Examples:

• 5.10 Spire ($99.95, Buy)
• La Sportiva Cliff ($90, Buy)
• Scarpa Freestyle ($79.95, Buy)
• Evolv Royale ($79, Buy)

Sport Shoes

Sport shoes are not as comfortable, but many climbers find the trade off worth the added performance.  Sport shoes have chiseled toes and a relatively larger arch than shoes designed strictly for comfort.  Within this category shoes range from relatively stiff to extremely sensitive.  Stiff shoes are designed to hold small edges all day long and are very beneficial to climbers lacking strong foot muscles.  The drawback is the loss of sensitivity.  Over time you adapt to this and have no problem telling what is underfoot, but for climbers switching from a sensitive shoe to a stiff shoe there can be a learning curve.  Extremely sensitive shoes provide tremendous smearing ability and feel.  The downside to this type of shoe is it can become fatiguing on long face climbs with a lot of thin edging especially for people lacking strong foot muscles.

Examples:

• 5.10 Anasazi ($139.95, Buy)
• 5.10 Galileo ($134.95, Buy)
• Evolv Pontas ($115, Buy)
• Evolv Defy ($85, Buy)
• Scarpa Mago ($140, Buy)
• Scarpa Booster ($130, Buy)
• La Sportiva Miura ($140, Buy)
• La Sportiva Katana ($135, Buy)

Crack/Trad Shoes

Crack/trad climbing shoes are used for just that, crack and traditional climbing.  They differ from sport shoes in that they are designed to be more comfortable for use during long trad routes as opposed to shorter (generally one pitch) sport routes.  These shoes are designed to give the climber a toe box designed for foot jams and extra rubber and material around the front of the shoe to help it hold up to the demands of crack climbing.  Some shoes feature a higher cut to protect your ankles while climbing cracks.  These shoes are also designed with some comfort in mind as they tend to be used on longer routes and most climbers will typically not size these shoes quite as small.  Some climbers routinely size and wear them with socks as they spend a lot of time climbing in cold alpine climates.

Examples:

• La Sportiva TC Pro ($170, Buy)
• La Sportiva Tradmaster ($110, Buy)
• 5.10 Piton ($129.95, Buy)
• Scarpa Techno ($129, Buy)
• Evolv Quest-AF ($96, Buy)

Bouldering/Steep Face Shoes

There are also shoes made specifically for bouldering or steep and overhanging rock.  They are characterized by a significant down turned toe designed to help the climber get more of the shoes rubber on the rock and put more power into the big toe.  These shoes can be very uncomfortable if not sized correctly  but beneficial for those exclusively climbing very steep rock.

Examples:

• 5.10 Dragon ($139.95, Buy)
• 5.10 Jet7 ($144.95, Buy)
• La Sportiva Testarossa ($160, Buy)
• La Sportiva Solution ($155, Buy)
• Scarpa Stix ($129, Buy)

Sizing

The most important thing to remember when looking for climbing shoes is the fit of the shoe.  No matter what promises they make to improve you climbing ability, it won’t work if it doesn’t fit.  Make sure the heel doesn’t slip; and obviously you won’t get much rock climbed if you dread even putting them on.  As many manufactures have different cuts, the best place to buy your new shoes is a local retailer.  No, they’re not as inexpensive as online, but they will make sure you have the right size. If you already know what size you need or prefer to live on the edge, you can use the links to purchase your shoes and support us at the same time.

Men’s vs. Women’s

Many shoes are made with a men’s and women’s version.  Men that have a low volume may find it benificial to buy a women’s shoe while women with high volume feet may find a men’s shoe provides a better fit.  The best bet is to try them on.

Linings

One last thing to consider is the shoe made of.  You can expect an unlined leather shoe to stretch about a full size.  Lined leather shoes will stretch a half size.  While lined synthetic shoes are said not to stretch, however some models will stretch a tiny bit.

Slippers vs. Velcro vs. Lace-up

Climbing shoes are offered in a few different styles.  Slippers just slip on and off making getting in and out of them easy but lacks any way to fine tune the fit.  Velcro shoes generally have two velcro straps that still makes it simple to put on and take off but allows some fine tuning of the fit.  Finally, lace up shoes allow you to fine tune the fir the most but you sacrifice the ease of getting them on and off.  Which you decide on will be strictly a matter of personal preference.

Now that you know what you need it’s time to go out and try some different shoes on.  We have given recommendations for each type of shoe to help you get started with the manufacturer suggested retail price and a link to buy them on Amazon if you prefer.  Finally, it’s time to get out on the rock and take your new shoes for a spin.

Recommended shoes manufacturer websites:

• La Sportiva (http://www.sportiva.com/)
• 5.10 (http://www.fiveten.com/)
• Scarpa (http://www.scarpa.com/)
• Evolv (http://www.evolvesports.com/)

Petzl Adjama

I’ve climbed in Petzl harnesses for years. They were the first to the market with the auto double back buckles and I loved the ability to loosen up my leg loops while hanging out between climbs and belays. When it was time to retire my old Petzl Calidris I began shopping strictly for a Petzl harness and ended up with the Adjama. I was thrilled with the light weight and how incredibly breathable the harness is. There is nothing better for sport climbing during the summer months. The unmolded rear gear loops are great when wearing a backpack and your harness. While the harness is not excessively padded the fit is excellent. I have never experienced any pressure points while hanging, even for long periods of time. If you know anything about the Calidris harness it had two waist belt buckles so no matter what you were wearing you could always have the harness centered on you body. I was spoiled. The Adjama only has one waist belt buckle and most of the time it centered and fits well; however, the occasional day of Ice climbing led to an acceptable but less than desired fit. Like I said I was spoiled. Most harness only have one buckle. I miss the twin buckles and the ability to completely remove the harness by unthreading all of the buckles to take it off without having to step though anything at all, it just peels off (useful while wearing crampons). My only real gripe about the Adjama is the front gear loops. They sit too far forward on the waist belt. It makes the gear very easy to reach, but more times than not the gear ends up on the inside of your leg. Highly annoying when climbing long trad pitches. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but after just one season in the harness I am one again shopping for a new one.

Quick Review:

Design: Light weight climbing harness
Retail: $85.95 (Buy)

Why it’s hot:

• Highly Breathable
• Light Weight
• Double Back Buckles

Why it’s not:

• Front Gear Loops
• Only one waist belt buckle

http://www.petzl.com/

Jemez River - New Mexico

If barren desert is what comes to mind when you think of New Mexico, think again.  In the Jemez mountains about 45 minutes from Santa Fe (in the National Forest of the same name) runs the Jemez River.  With tons of trails in the area, the hiking and backpacking opportunities are almost endless.  Add to that the Jemez Falls and the McCauley Hot Springs and the Jemez river makes for great weekend outings with the kids.  Keep in mind the area is quite popular and thus solitude can be a little tricky.

Jemez River Crossing - New Mexico

If nothing else you can find a secluded campsite by being a little adventuresome and heading off trail.  There are also some sport climbing routes in the area  along the river if that’s your sport. The scenery while driving on US 4  will leave you speechless as well,  particularly to the west. After a nice weekend head to Cafe Pasquals in Santa Fe for an absolutely divine brunch.

Quick Info

Location: Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico, USA
Permits: None
Distance: Many variations
Difficulty (1-10): 3

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/index.html