Because I have my own favorite links, dammit!
Most of my climbing happens in California, either around San Diego or at high altitude, so these links are just stuff that I was most interested in.
Articles, blogs, and forums
If you value any of these, please consider chipping in to the Internet Archive – they ensure that we can preserve old sites as they were made!
Twark Might – Funny, in case Mark Twight wasn’t extreme enough (archive)
Cragsters – Funny, collect ‘em all (archive)
UCSD Alpine Club – Love these guys. Some bias here
The history of cams – Only good article on the topic I could find (archive)
Lost Souls – Tales of a youth misspent ice climbing. (archive)
Pullharder – San Diego-based alpine badasses. Highlight is their Evolution Traverse in winter, and their moderately crazy solos (not recommended if you want to live). (archive)
The Golden Age of Sierra Climbing – The most inspired active Sierra climber. NOT historical; in the 2010s, very recommended! Recommend the Climbing Gold podcast on him too. (archive)
Goliath Traverse – Longest technical rock ridge traverse in the world… in California! Also recommend the personal article. (archive, archive)
History of the Palisades – Kind of dry, for serious Sierra history nerds. (archive)
Premium Miniatures – Really nice article on the history of climbing in Mt Woodson.
Poway Mountain Boys, Mt Woodson Classics – Some Mt Woodson forum gossip.
Climbing in North Deerhorn – Climbing in SD county.
Kaufman Crag – Answers the age old question: why doesn’t anyone climb under the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway (copy-paste below)
Philipp’s Mega Mt Woodson Map – Guide. The best resource for getting around Woodson.
Ben Crowell’s Tahquitz Guide – Guide.
Williamson Rock and the MYLFs – Why the best sport crag in SoCal has been closed.
YT Videos
Mediocre Amateur – Fun mountain vids. The older ones are better.
Everest, 1984 Australian Ascent – Everest, sans oxygen, new route, by a team of four ozzies…
Whistler, Wizard and the Racoon – In case you’re sick of watching the Dodo’s Delight on loop.
Mad in Madagascar – In case you’re sick of watching Whistler, Wizard and the Racoon on loop.
Asgard Jamming – In case you’re sick of watching Mad in Madagascar on loop.
The Fifty – Cody Townsend’s ski mountaineering series. Shasta, Spearhead, Sphinx are faves.
The Fifty Classics – Mark and Janelle Smiley climb the 50 classic climbs of North America.
Mountain of Storms – Surfing meets Patagonia. Essential!
FA of the Sentinel West Face – Old, but really good! Chouinard and Robbins climb!
Three on a Rope – Absurdly, comically old… and filmed at Tahquitz?!
Jonathan Siegrist, Close Encounters – The only sport climbing video I’ve watched multiple times.
Fabi Buhl, a new way up – Paragliding to arrive at a Karakoram first ascent.
Colin Haley’s Solo Winter attempt of Cerro Torre – some of the montages are haunting.
Dave McLeod soloing ice – just nice to watch.
Le Drus en solo – Crazy alpine rock solo; short movie.
Eiger – Wall of Death – In case you haven’t already read White Spider.
Ice cream vitamins – Peter Croft on nutrition
Incredible Hulk with Peter Croft and Lisa Rands – Sierra love.
World’s first 5.15 (Sharma) – Iconic.
Rampage (Sharma) – Iconic bouldering montage. Very funny to watch for ten minutes.
Wide Boyz – Iconic. Here’s the actual full version if you’re an enthusiast of the wide
Silence (World’s Hardest Route) – Iconic, but almost unwatchable imo.
Trailside: Touring in California’s High Sierra – Slow and chill.
Outdoor boys – Slow and chill.
Outdoor Fireplaces 1, 2 – Got me through horizontality. Climbers like when they’re on in the background.
BoulderingGems – SBG ‘Strong Bald Guy’. Incredibly bold/strong Woodson climber.
Why doesn’t anyone climb under the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway?
Kristian Slolem (stolen from supertaco, since archive doesn’t work)
Back when these routes were developed and became locally popular there was an incident which, shall we say, alienated the rangers.
One of the regulars up there lived in Palm Springs. He got the idea that he could set up a beacon, a light, which he would be able to see from his house. He got his hands on one of those battery powered blinking yellow lights CalTrans used to mark out road work areas. He affixed this light to the end of a 5’ long pvc pipe about 4” in diameter, such that the light shined down through the tube. He then set this beacon up in the gully a ways down the side of Kaufman Crag, aimed it best he could at his house, and turned it on.
So that night this blinking yellow light high up in the rocks near the crest was visible all over town. Naturally it was presumed to be a distress signal, and the search and rescue boys were called out. They searched high and low for the signal but since it was directed through a tube pointing away from them they could not see it. Yet they were assured from down in town that it blinked on. Eventually, after many hours, one of the SAR guys got in a position where he could see the light.
The design and set-up of the light source convinced them, quite logically, that it was a hoax meant to lure them on a wild goose chase. While this assumption was incorrect - it was stupidity not malice - their second conclusion was spot on: it had to be those climbers who did it. It only took one idiot to do this, but we all were suspects. I decided to lay low, I think most of us did. Sometime during that period of inattention the bolt chopping/hanger removal occurred.
I’m sure that by now any memories of this calamity are gone. Last summer Levy, Keesee and I went there with no one giving a glance at our climbing packs.