

As rock climbers and outdoorspeople, we need a lot of stuff. Hardware like cams, nuts, and quickdraws, warm base layers and heavy coats, durable shoes, and countless other products are all instrumental to our safety and comfort. As a consumer who cares about nature, you’re in a tough spot. How can you best uphold your…

Everyone’s feet are different. Some of us have dogs that are just meant to be out. We have an affection for hiking sandals here in the River Gorge Guild, and I’ve compiled nine reasons why I recommend them to everyone I know. My friend Charlie pointing at me and my sandals (for unknowable reasons) before…

Solar winter will be upon us in just a few short days, and in many places, it feels like winter already. Sport climbers, trad climbers, and hikers alike are all hanging up their gear, with only the ice climbers and alpinists among us preparing for another season of adventure. As we all bundle up and…

As a life-long classically trained musician, I’ve encountered and dealt with plenty of adversity in the music industry. High-pressure auditions, long and grueling rehearsals, fiercely competitive peers–the works. Perhaps one of the most unfamiliar and daunting challenges, though, was quitting my orchestral career altogether, leaving everything behind, and picking up songwriting instead. Being a beginner…

In the Northeast, December is whirling in with a gust and a chill. There’s warmth and hope too, though, twinkling in all the candles and hearth fires that flicker to life this time of year. Here’s a playlist for returning to your hometown for the holidays: a little uncanny, but a fuzzy feeling nonetheless. Driving…

I just had the great fortune to climb with one of my best friends, the incredible Bailey White (she/they), who visited me in the Red River Gorge for a few days in early November. Bailey is a recent graduate from Princeton University’s EEB (ecology and evolutionary ecology) department, a talented wildlife and sports photographer, and…

Like many sports, climbing bestows various advantages and disadvantages upon every body type. We humans are empathetic and naturally social creatures, so we can often (at least vaguely) imagine what it might be like to live in someone else’s body. As an extremely short athlete, though, I often find that it takes a special kind…

Miguel’s Pizza and Campground is an iconic rock climbers’ refuge, nestled among the soaring cliffs of the Red River Gorge. Equipped with a pizza parlor, two outdoor pavillions for communal cooking and feasting, and sprawling lawns of primitive camping, this climber haven is located less than half an hour from countless world-class crags. Everyone needs…