Helsinki is 6,125 miles from Mexico City. Yet for Finnish climbers, Ben Koponen and Juha Kurikka, it wasn’t too far to go to open their dream gym.
Even if Ben had never been to the country before. Continue reading From Helsinki to Mexico City: A Long Way to Open a Climbing Gym
Amateur climbers were gathered to compete in the adidas Ticket to Rockstars event. Many, like myself, were there for their first ever competition. I wanted to see what the hell this was all about. Continue reading My First Climbing Comp: The Substance Matches the Hype at adidas’ Ticket to Rockstars Brooklyn
In 2015, Stanislav “Stas” Kleshnov took his place on the podium, waved to the crowd, and walked away from competition climbing as the Ukrainian champion. For 25 years, this had been his life. The competitive spirit is marked in his sharp-features and stern look, which cracks with an occasional smirk or glint in his eye. His … Continue reading The Wall, Ukraine’s Most Modern Climbing Gym in Lviv
I met a guy. He climbs for his daughter. He’s an immigrant and has to leave the country in a month. His two years are up but his daughter will stay. A home divided. For years he scrapped to come to America from the place where Europe and Asia meet–or separate, depending on your perspective. … Continue reading Enter the Void
At Dublin’s first public climbing gym, Gravity Climbing Centre, climbers meet, get married and have children. It’s that kind of place: Like the Cheers of climbing spots. Continue reading Gravity Climbing Centre Dublin, Ireland: Where Climbers Meet
SKAI Urban Crag is the boulderer’s gym in Cluj Napoca. They offer climbers bounteous boulder problems in their pursuit of gravity defying dynos and pumpy high-flying stunts. Continue reading SKAI Urban Crag: The Boulderer’s Gym in Cluj Napoca, Romania
Aaron Gerry 