Buildering’s communities the world over have always waxed and waned, sliding in and out of existence, dependent on the energy of a small number of motivated climbers. London’s scene has sprung back to life in recent months thanks to the efforts of Bobby Gordon-Smith and Alexander Norden who were inspired to set up a new […]
Browsing Instagram the other day I stumbled upon this huge V10 bridge climb put up by a wad I photographed at a competition in Belgium earlier this year. Bruno de Meyer has named his problem Anoroc, giving it V10 (Font 7C), a grade that was confirmed after the second ascent by Koen Baekelandt. This makes […]
From nowhere appears Buildering-Spots International: Bouldering and Climbing in Cities Around the World by Tim Jacobs. The library of physical texts dedicated to buildering barely warrants half a shelf. In terms of filling it out, the Nightclimbers of Cambridge gave it a pretty good effort, especially thanks to their revamped editions published not too long ago. […]
“I don’t have a rope,” says Pete Whittaker. Who needs a rope? Public Service Announcement: In our experience, concrete does not like protection — especially cams. Walking or not, they pull. Slotting and rotating a hex looks ideal, but don’t expect a cam to do much other than briefly slow you down. Best to […]
Tom Coppola is back with his latest video Ascension 2. We interviewed Tom back in 2016, around the time of the release of his first Ascension video. Since then he’s further developed his unique vertical parkour style, and it is a beauty to behold. Watching him ascend classic UBC buildering test-pieces makes me question my […]
“Virtually impenetrable,” the Mexico border wall is a nice addition to any climber’s resume. This route refers to the latest “Rolls-Royce” design, a 18-30ft high steel wall with a 6ft blank section at the top. America’s $5.7 billion 5.9. Numerous easier variations exist. Location: 66 miles of newly completed wall are spread out between San […]
Drew Herder, director and costar of Real Rock — An Urban Climbing Experience, has been teasing us about his project for a year now. “It’s Front Range dirtbags pushing their boundaries with a counter culture approach to climbing in Metropolitan areas.” The self-aware documentary follows Drew, Josh Weinstein, and other notable climbers through Colorado, Arizona, and […]
[Aug 22, 2018 Update: Full University Wall Video now online!] Ivan Hughes, a Winnipeg-via-Vancouver-based filmmaker who put together the University Wall short film, has written a new article for Gripped Magazine entitled University Walls. It describes the pioneering exploits of the 1968 Cragrat’s Guide to UBC builderers, both on campus and on Squamish rock — […]
A raccoon has been granted French citizenship after scaling all 23 storeys of the UBS Tower in Minnesota in search of near-expired cat food. Thousands watched as the critter made his ascent, feigning concern in their twitter coverage of an otherwise untwitterworthy city. Having conquered the tower, the raccoon commented that the food was “still […]
A racoon has been granted French citizenship after scaling all 23 storeys of a building in search of a baby to rescue. In keeping with last month’s events in France, thousands watched and made noise as the critter made his way to the roof, expressing concern but largely creating social media content, and another easy […]
