Climbing in a Time of Coronavirus, vol. 5

Jeremy Stacy reaching new heights

AMC member Jeremy Stacy gets the high point. Of his kitchen.
(photo: Kristen Livermore)

Hello friends!

Are we all still hang-boarding in there? (Ba-dum!)

We kid. Honestly, if your current agenda is about hanging on the patio with Ben & Jerry, that’s cool. Just take care of yourselves, whatever that means to you right now.

Let’s start with some business: You probably saw that the AMC member meeting originally scheduled for May 27 has been cancelled. We’re disappointed, but we look forward to meeting Anne Lorimor once that can safely be rescheduled.

Since we can’t hear about Anne’s climb up Kilimanjaro, perhaps we can go to Everest instead? Sky runner and mountaineer Kilian Jornet will be making the film Path to Everest available at no cost for 24 hours starting on Sunday, April 19. Anyone interested should request the link prior to 9 a.m. MST on Saturday, April 18.

If you’re more in a South American kind of mood, the full 1968 version of Mountain of Storms is temporarily available for free streaming. This is the story of an epic road trip that culminated in the third ascent of Patagonia’s Monte Fitz Roy by Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Chris Jones, Dick Dorworth, and Lito Tejada-Flores—who filmed the whole escapade. And that soundtrack is…groovy.

For a follow-up on Fitz Roy, check out the short film of Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold on their 2014 first ascent of the Fitz Traverse.

Oooh! And German brothers Alex and Thomas Huber have very kindly shared the film of their 2009 first free ascent of “Eternal Flame,” a 35-pitch 5.13a on Pakistan’s Trango Tower. (35 pitches, people. Thirty. Five. Pitches.)

And Salewa posted a new 25-minute film documenting the challenge that bouldering champion Anna Stöhr set for herself when she decided to pivot to big wall climbing.

If you’d prefer a real-time event, American Alpine Club has created Clubhouse Live, a series of free livestream discussions with accomplished mountaineers and climbers. The next one is scheduled for Thursday, April 23 and features Graham Zimmerman, Steve Swenson, Chris Wright, and Mark Richey who made the first ascent of Pakistan’s Link Sar in the summer of 2019.

Over across the pond, ClimbScotland is posting a new climbing word each day. Use their clever alphabet-to-exercise translator key to spell your daily workout! C’mon. It’s fun!

On the topic of #quarantraining, Chicks Climbing’s Carolyn Parker has put together some nicely detailed home workouts, including three separate workouts each for both beginner and intermediate level.

Want to build your balance? International mountain guide Karen Bockel dug out a retired rope and some webbing and build herself a pretty sweet slackline in her backyard. Which just happens to be in Chamonix, France. (And THAT’S FINE, KAREN.)

Meanwhile, AMC Outing Leader John Sasso has created a brand new kind of stair workout. (Swipe through for the full effect.)

If the body is fine but the mind game is getting you down—either in climbing or in lockdown, FlashFoxy wants to help. Starting Monday, April 20, they will be posting mindset drills, meditations, and live sessions with coaches, pro climbers, yoga teachers, and other experts on their Instagram page.

For a different kind of brain exercise, The Mountaineers has assembled a virtual education center full of outdoor-related resources—most of which are free.

Back in the outdoor world, some folks have been flouting the social distancing rules, and surfer Daniel Duane has some thoughts about why—and why that’s a bad idea right now.

If you’d like to do something more helpful instead, Joshua Tree guide Roddy McCalley has some thoughtful insights on how and where to direct any assistance you might want to give.

Here’s one option: American Alpine Club has initiated Give a Belay, Get a Belay, a program intended to match climbers who can offer some aid right now to other local climbers who might need it—like a grocery pick-up for a quarantining household.

If you have some extra time and are interested in climbing advocacy, The Access Fund has some ideas for what you can be doing right now. From home.

But is this whole coronavirus thing really so bad? Dr. Pierre Muller is a mountain guide, E.R. doctor, and member of the French Alpine Rescue Team, so he has an unusual perspective on what it feels like to live through COVID-19—as a survivor.

So then, we’re back to virtual explorations. The Arizona Republic has rounded up some pretty fun options, including an archaeological dig at the Grand Canyon and an array of animal cams. (Important announcement: There are BABY! OWLS! in the AZG&F feed. That is all. )

If you need something more hands-on—or if you’re just getting desperate for new home-school arts & crafts options— then bust out the crayons for these free National Parks coloring pages courtesy of The Landmark Project.

And finally: Is your climbing rope getting lonely? Well, you could wash the poor thing.

And then you can tackle the hot new challenge: time yourself coiling a 70 m rope. Rope must start on the ground (flaked) and end there. Rebeca Rodriguez did it in 1 minute and 18 seconds.
Chris Adams managed it in 56 seconds.
Andrea… took 1 minute 32 seconds. (And is now adding high-speed rope coiling to her daily workout.)

Are you in? Ready… Set… Go! Put your results in the comments—or a link to your video evidence!

Isolate on!
Ann and Andrea

P.S. Heads up for the health care workers out there: The North Face is offering a 50% discount for health care workers. (Thank you! We love you! Stay safe!)

Author: Andrea Galyean

6 thoughts on “Climbing in a Time of Coronavirus, vol. 5

  1. Thank you for sharing the long list of movies. While I try to do a 3 second plank, I am dreaming of the rope coil speeds. Some day. LOL

    Stay safe!

  2. Just finished up the Chicks Climbing’s intermediate workout #1. It was tough! Especially the first part with the sit up/leg lifts/windshield wipers combo. Already looking forward to #2!

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