Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2025 i Vertical Life

Vertical Life acknowledges that we live, work, recreate and climb on stolen land, and that sovereignty was never ceded. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians across Australia and Aotearoa, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise the continuing connection of all First Nations peoples to Country and Culture across all lands and waterways since time immemorial, and reaffirm our commitment to reflection, reconciliation and solidarity. Issue #53 of Vertical Life was printed on Wangal Country.…

I remember the tingling excitement when I first realised I had the bare minimum of skills required to do sport multi-pitches in the Blue Mountains. I had the sense of a world opening up to me where the sky was the limit. I poured, mouth watering, over descriptions in the Blueys guidebook. I wanted to do bigger climbs, harder routes, and I had friends who were frothing just as much as me. With time, my relationship to climbing cooled into something more sustainable, and I’ve had the space to realise how fortunate I was to find a community through climbing. That community was based almost entirely around the UNSW Outdoors Club (UNSWOC). Since then, I have moved to the other side of the world and met many new friends in…

IT WAS ABOUT FINDING THAT WILD PITCH THAT DREAMS WERE MADE OF—FINDING YOURSELF AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, YELLING INTO THE WIND, WITH ONLY YOUR HANDS AND HEAD TO GUIDE YOU. After three months climbing my way up North America, a Squamish local and friend, Rob Chassel, invited me on a heli-supported expedition to the Pantheon Range, British Columbia. Dave Ellison, a local climbing and heli-ski guide, had been scouting out the area and had found a skyline of several 400–500m unclimbed granite towers. The photos looked amazing, and the featured white granite whispered promises of splitter cracks. Dave’s climbing partner Andrew Sylvester, another Squamish crusher, shared Dave’s aspirations for long days in the alpine, linking together ridges and buttresses to the true summit of the range. For Rob…

At some point, every climber faces the question: what do you do with a rope that’s seen one too many lead falls, or a harness that’s aged out of trust? For most, it’s a guilty toss into the garage — or worse, the bin. But for a growing number of climbers across Australia and beyond, the end of a rope’s climbing life is just the beginning of something new. From belts and satchels to intricate rope landscapes, these artists are finding beauty — and meaning — in the frayed and faded remnants of our time on the wall. Meet Sam Gibbs, Katie McKinstry, and Tegan Luker — three climbers giving old gear a second life. SAM GIBBS - LEAD. When Bendigo-based climber and outdoor educator Sam Gibbs needed a dog…

For Luke and Penny, the hunt for a place near Mt Arapiles started like it does for plenty of climbers—too many trips living out of a tent, two little kids in tow, and a growing sense that maybe it was time to stake something a little more solid between the Grampians and the Mount. Horsham was the first thought. Close enough, practical—but when every property in their price range was more “ghetto” than getaway, Horsham quickly slid off the list. Then came the curveball. Penny was scrolling realestate.com when she spotted it: a listing for a stone ruin in Natimuk. No roof. No windows. Floorboards sprouting plants. A property so far gone it had more in common with the rock than suburbia. Luke had seen it before but deliberately kept…

Read HOW TO CLIMB EL CAP BY OLIVER TIPPETT UK Climbing’s 3-part online article covers: (1) Introduction to Big Wall Climbing, Yosemite Logistics and Extra Gear; (2) Leading and Following; (3) Hauling, Living on the Wall, Efficiency, Route Progression. Technical info alongside insider knowledge from someone who clearly knows the area well - including route recommendations to progress skills and test abilities before tackling The Nose. As someone whose multi-pitch experience is limited to Blueys sport/Arapiles trad and where a night on a portaledge is firmly on the bucketlist, this piqued my interest. What would it take to make the portaledge dream a reality on the most famous big wall of all? It opens hopefully: “for most routes you don’t need to climb harder than HVS [approx 18/19]. Some are…

We love climbing, be it bouldering, clip-up sport climbing, old-school daddy-trading, big-wall suffering, alpine extremism, spandex-clad competition climbing, desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures bouldering, the lot. Discover unique climbing stories in Vertical Life magazine. Miss Rock? So did we. That’s why we’ve made this custom ROCK Nalgene. ROCK inspired generations of Aussie climbers — now its spirit lives on through Vertical Life. To celebrate, we’re bringing ROCK back with a limited-edition ROCK x Nalgene 1L Bottle, tough enough for the crag and light enough to take anywhere. Subscribe to Vertical Life for a year for just $49.95 and you’ll get: • 1-year subscription to Vertical Life magazine • FREE custom ROCK x Nalgene Bottle — RRP: PRICELESS! • Bonus entry into the Climbing Film Tour prize pool — including the Suunto Vertical 2 (Pine…

From the archives of Rock magazine, Greg Pritchard’s list of Australia’s 50 most influential climbers captured a moment in time from nearly three decades ago. While a list today would cover a swathe of newcomers (and a lot more women), we take a nostalgic look back at the heroes of yesteryear. Somewhat edited for length (the original was an impressive 7,000 words) it should also be noted the list was focused on climbing IN Australia, not Australian climbers per se (hence no mention of mountaineering greats like Tim Macarney-Snape and the inclusion of a handful of foreigners). PRE-1970 ERIC DARK 'Dr Dark’—along with other Blue Mountaineers like his wife, writer Eleanor Dark; the irrepressible Dot Butler; Eric Lowe and Osmar White—established rockclimbing in this country with ascents in the Blue…

Climbers can be a tricky bunch to buy gifts for – it’s hard enough finding yourself a pair of shoes that fit, imagine trying to find some that fit someone else! In an attempt to lower the number of generic chalkbags being gifted every year (the climber’s equivalent of socks), we like to give a few suggestions on what to buy the climber in your life, from stocking stuffers to more pricey presents… and just in case they do need a chalkbag, we have you covered there too. Please keep in mind that safety equipment (such as harnesses) is often non-returnable, so consider bringing the giftee along to the store to try it on first. AEROPRESS FLOW CONTROL CAP This humble little disk is one of the most useful Aeropress…