Get Out!

Note: Material this entry refers to might offend. One of the small pleasures of rock climbing is coming across that perfect climb name – one that cleverly describes the route (Totally Clips, Handsome and Well Hung) or the experience you can expect to have on the climb (Just Say Yo to Jugs, Not on the First Date, Mid-Height Crisis) or just has a fun reference (Where’s the Beef and Where’s the Bolt, Jimi Cliff, etc.) One of the not-so-small displeasures is coming across the far too many misogynistic names of climbs. So what to do? I’ve begun renaming these climbs – I just cross out the old name in my book and my friends and I come up with a new name – and I invite you to join me. And be sure to tell other climbers, guidebook authors, publishers and especially the dudes who names these climbs that it’s not funny to name a climb that attempts to degrade half of the world’s population (although the name really reflects on the person who named it that). Funny is funny, even when it’s s...

I have a bad back from a mountain biking injury I sustained when I was 21. Every so often, the problem really flares up. Right now, for example. (Two words: vitamin I.) During the month of May, I traveled to three events on behalf of Get Out! and when I wasn’t driving, I was sitting in front of the computer. I supposedly prioritize my health, so I make sure to get some sort of exercise a day, even if it’s walking uptown (about a 15 minute walk from my home in the small college town of Athens , OH) and back. The problem is, a half hour walk cannot undo the *entire rest of the day* spent in front of a computer. The result? I haven’t ridden my bike in two weeks and I had to cancel (postpone!) a climbing trip to The New last week. So much for prioritizing my health. I have a friend who is also an entrepreneur. He’s gained 40 pounds in the last couple of years. He doctor recently told him he’s pre-diabetic, which is really, really bad news no matter how you look at it. He’s cut out t...