La Dura Dura

February 7th, Adam Ondra completed the first ever ascent of La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain.

This is one of the hardest sport climbs to date. Ondra gave the route a grade of 5.15c which is one of the highest grades possible for a climb. He said that he feels it was harder than his first 5.15c ascent being the 180ft route called Change, located in the Hanshelleren cave near Flatanger, Norway, which he sent in October 2012. Adam called this route his obsession during his training, and made many trips to Spain devoted just to La Dura Dura. But all the hard work has finally paid off, and after 9 weeks of working the route he did manage to make the first ascent."It was 2nd day on, my forearms felt sore in the morning. I was thinking of calling it a rest day... But I was less nervous and battled through the bottom and got very pumped to the 2nd crux, where I didn't fall despite no expectations. Sticking the jug, I felt like having a heat attack but I kept it together. 9b+ it is :)" This is crazy just to read and shows his extreme dedication to the climb.

Diet

Many people don't realized how involved rock climbing is. Rock climbing is more than just a sport, it is a life style. Rock climbing athletes must stick to a strict physical regiment many hours a day as well as prepare mentally. However the most important and probably most difficult part is staying on a strict diet to maintain muscle strength, by still keeping weight down as low as possible. While the stereotypical food for rock climbers is nuts due to the high protein and calorie count from the small sized portion many have started turning to supplements like; whey proteins, Creatine, and L-Glutamine to aid in strength gain and recovery time. Supplements like protein powders allow for the body to take in significantly less fat calories while still maintaining a large amount of protein and sustainable calories. Creatine gives the muscles more stored energy and pulls water weight towards them, but should be used in strict moderation for climbers as creatine can also put mass on a person in the form of water weight. L-Glutamine powder is often used to aid in recovery time and also boost the immunesystem and helps fight of some diseases and anxiety.

Preparing mentally

It is important to make sure you are mentally prepared for a climb. Many people psych them selves out and lose their focus moments before a climb or even worse during a climb. Think positive and know that you will succeed. If you think you can do it; you can do it. If you think you can't, then you're right; you can't. Your mentality is the key factor.To prepare mentally in advance for climbs many professionals do a lot of relaxing techniques such as Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises For people just getting into the sport it's definitely a good idea on a lower level just to clear your mind and focus on nothing but the fact that the rock is in front of you. It is important just to relax and take a few deep breaths, clear your mind and focus on just climbing. And don't panic if you get nervous, just control and it use it to your advantage, a lot of best our performances are when we are nervous. knowing you are prepared physically also helps you mentally by giving you more confidence and assurance that you have the ability to do the climb.

Worlds most insane rope swing

Would you jump off a 400 foot cliff putting all of your trust into a few ropes? Well these guys did including Shay Carls. While it is not exactly climbing it is still very relevant to the rock climbing scene as many rock climbers climb to spots so they can do stuff like this, or they do it as a side hobby.
 I don't know if this is actually THE most insane rope swing, but it is pretty darn insane. There have been a few really big rope swings in the past, but this is definitely the best filmed and best looking one. And the public seems to agree too as just two days after the video was uploaded it already had around one million views, it is now up to 9 million and it has only been on youtube for 16 days! Last year the same group of people had another video called the "world's largest rope swing" which was 150 feet long so the new swing dwarfs that by along show. The other video was definitely still impressive and very well produced though and still deserves a watch.

Karabiner recall!

Wild Country announced a recall for a recent production of the Helium Karabiner. The recall took place on the 10th of December 2012. For customer safety, the company issued an immediate voluntary recall of certain batches of the Helium Karabiner and the Helium quickdraws made from these karabiners. The Karabiners being recalled are all those shipped out after July 15th 2012.
So all climbers keep your eyes out for this product and do not purchase or use it! If you already have one in your possession you can contact the company at their website at http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/products/product-recalls/helium-karabiner-recall-issued-10-dec-2012/


Jason Myers, Wild Country Sales Director, said this:
"Recently, our testing procedures uncovered a problem in a very small percentage of Helium karabiners relating to the possibility that under load the karabiner gate may not hook up as effectively as it should.
Obviously this is not acceptable and we have taken the decision to recall all the batches that may be affected. So if you have Helium karabiners bought after 15th July 2012 stop using them immediately and follow the link below to our website for instructions on how to identify and return faulty karabiners.
We apologise to any customers affected and assure everyone that any affected karabiners returned will be replaced ASAP with karabiners manufactured under revised procedures."

Buildering Photography

I'm not sure if this guy is a really dedicated photographer or just a climber who decided to start photographing his conquerings. Either way the results are phenomenal. The photographer who took this picture just goes by 5alive, but he is just one in the steadily growing community. He has more than a few amazing photographs that are sure to spark emotion and inspiration in anyone. His "playground" is the rooftops of chicago, but he has pictures from all over the country in a wide range of locations. I would highly recommend everyone to take a few minutes and look through his amazing gallery here, but anyone with a fear of heights proceed cautiously. New pictures are added on an almost weekly basis so make sure to stop back. It is also worth noting that 5alive like to keep the exposure on his camera on which makes it that much more impressive. Not only does it make his nighttime shots look beautiful and bursting with life, but it also means that he is staying in whatever position he is in for extended periods of time, hundreds of feet above the ground!

Buildering

While climbing rocks is cool some climbers like to take their skills to more urban settings and climb man made structures. This almost always illegal sport is called urban climbing or buildering because well... you climb buildings and such. Buildering was started or at least recognized and given a name by the famous British alpinist Geoffrey Winthrop Young in 1895 as a spoof of rock climbing(but we all know the Auditores have been climbing buildings for generations before this). He even wrote an unofficial guide for the underground sport while attending Cambridge. The new "sport" found it's way around different college campuses in England and became a nighttime activity for many students bored of monotonous college life.
     Oh... so you know that crazy scene in Mission impossible: Ghost Protocal where Mr. Cruise climbs part of the Burj Khalifa(tallest building in the world). Well the guy in the picture did it for real. His name is Alain Robert or more suitably "The French Spiderman". The way Alex Honnold is the face of climbing rocks Alain Robert is the face of climbing buildings. And like I said before buildering is almost always very illegal... and that's why Alain Robert has been jailed multiple times. But he keeps coming back to it, for good reason though. His latest notable climb was the Burj Khalifa which was done for the massive skyscraper's grand opening and was sponsored to draw attention to the new landmark. He was paid an incredible $18,000 to climb this behemoth