I learned the value of a real ABC watch the hard way. Three years ago, on a wet late-season climb in the Cascades, my phone died at 11,400 feet and I had nothing but a paper map and my wrist to gauge the storm rolling in. That day I bought my first serious altimeter watch, […]

I've spent the last decade chasing summits from the Cascades to the Alps, and I'll tell you straight: the difference between a great day on a mountain and a miserable one almost always traces back to your boots. When I started putting together this guide to the best mountaineering boots for , I pulled together […]

I still remember the first time I lowered a heavier partner on a multi-pitch route without gloves. By the time my ATC hit the ground, my palm had a friction burn that took two weeks to heal. That was the day I started taking belay gloves seriously. Our team has been testing climbing gloves for […]

When you are standing on a 40-degree snow slope with nothing but air below you, the ice axe in your hand is the most important piece of gear you own. I have spent the last three winters testing mountaineering axes across the Scottish Cairngorms, the French Alps, and the Colorado Rockies, putting each one through […]

I still remember the first time I pumped out a WI4 lead on a brittle Cascade waterfall with a mismatched rack. Two borrowed screws, one I bought new, and one old enough that the teeth barely bit. That day taught me that the best ice screws are not luxury gear. They are the difference between […]

Finding the right mountaineering harnesses can mean the difference between a smooth glacier crossing and a miserable slog at 4,000 meters. I have spent the last several seasons testing climbing harnesses across ice climbs, ski mountaineering objectives, and multi-day alpine routes to figure out which models actually deliver when the temperature drops and the rack […]

I learned the hard way that glacier travel without the right kit is a gamble you don't want to take. Three years ago I watched a partner punch through a snow bridge on the Coleman Glacier in Washington, and the only reason we got him out in under 20 minutes was a properly assembled crevasse […]

I've been climbing for over a decade and have tested every major assisted braking belay device on the market. In the past three years alone, our team of certified guides put 17 different models through more than 200 hours of field testing across sport crags, gyms, and multi-pitch routes. An assisted braking belay device is […]

Finding the best belay devices means looking beyond a fancy brand label to how a device actually feels at the crag, the gym, or 200 feet up a multi-pitch route. I have spent the last several seasons testing assisted-braking and tube-style devices from Petzl, Black Diamond, Edelrid, and more across sport, trad, gym, and big-wall […]