Wicked Gravity News Today

Climbing has a way of dragging our true selves out into the open.

When high school sweethearts Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger stood on top of the world on May 22, 2023, their success proved far more than just personal. Sure, Mt. Everest (29,032 feet) was a life goal achieved for the longtime couple, who met when Unger was just 14 years old and Lehmann was 17. But […]

By the time Jonathan Lagoe was 23 years old, he had traveled the world and returned to the U.K., where he was from.

Some climbers in the Palestinian territories meet at a local crag on Fridays to climb and support one another. With the catastrophic war in Gaza less than 50 miles away, the simple act of getting outside together is a victory in an otherwise defeated reality.

At the end of the year I sometimes write about a breakthrough climber, local or otherwise, who has shown extraordinary progression or expertise in some way. Since my column falls on Christmas Day this year, I figured it’s the right time to recognize someone not normally considered a climber, per se, but whose consistent performance […]

This time of year I’m reminded of these words from Dave MacLeod, one of the best all-around climbers in the world, as I take stock of 2023 and look ahead to 2024.

When my friend Phil Gruber learned to climb it was 1988, just after he graduated high school. He was on an Outward Bound course in the southern Sierras. While awkwardly top-roping a slab in hiking boots, the instructor barked up at him, “Remember Phil, you can’t use your knees, that’s cheating! If I so much […]

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift.” This quote graced the email signature of Sharon White who, against overwhelming odds, lived for 20 years after her stage IV ovarian cancer diagnosis back in 2003, when she was 39 years old. The doctor gave her a best-case scenario of five years to live. […]

It’s already that time of year in Rifle Mountain Park, a few hours west of Boulder, when the box elder leaves turn a brilliant yellow. Bald eagles and red-tailed hawks circle above while trout and American dippers enjoy crystal-clear Rifle Creek running below. The 2-mile long dirt road that winds through the narrow canyon has […]

The clock doesn’t lie, but as the years roll on, I’m beginning to understand that it sometimes bends the truth.