A 30-year-old woman from Grand Junction, Colorado, is in critical condition after a fall and dramatic rescue which occurred on Monday, September 11, on The Great White Wall, a 1,300 foot climbing route in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Becca (the family asked that we not divulge her last name for the sake of privacy) was about thirty feet up the fourth pitch when her foothold broke. The one piece of protection she had below her ripped from the wall when her rope came taught, and she hit the ledge at the base of the pitch hard. Becca sustained multiple broken bones, a punctured lung, and a severe head injury which left her immediately unconscious.

Becca鈥檚 partner, Skyeler Congdon, said that she was on terrain well-within her abilities. Becca had recently climbed a much harder rout in the same style in Unaweep Canyon in Western Colorado. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a strong and competent climber. It was just one of these unfortunate situations where her hand holds weren鈥檛 good enough to catch her when the foothold broke.鈥�

A Bold and Daring Rescue

Becca鈥檚 fall occurred at roughly 7:30 A.M. Congdon was torn over what to do when she did not regain consciousness. 鈥淵ou never want to leave an unconscious victim,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought about lowering her, but I didn鈥檛 have any way to protect her spine.鈥� Ultimately, he decided to get help as quickly as possible. He secured her to the anchor, rappelled down to the start of the route, and 鈥渞an as fast as I could up the gully, back to the ranger station.鈥�

When Congdon arrived at the ranger station, he was surprised to find nobody was there. So Congdon got in his car and 鈥渉auled ass another 15 minutes to cell reception,鈥� where he called 911. After a frustrating run around with Montrose dispatch transferring him to Delta, then Delta transferring him back to Montrose, and Montrose trying to transfer him back again, he 鈥渓ost his shit and told them 鈥榯his girl is going to die, I need rescue support now.鈥欌�� Montrose relayed the report to Black Canyon district ranger Ryan Rees, who called Congdon, told him to stay put, and that rescuers would soon be on their way.

Rees and District Ranger Ryan Thrush鈥攚ho took charge of the response as Incident Command鈥攃alled the park鈥檚 two paid climbing rangers, Tom Schaefer and Philippe Wheelock, at roughly 11:15. Schaefer was at his home in Crested Butte, Wheelock was out hunting 45 minutes from the nearest road. Both rangers were off duty, but immediately began making their way to the North Rim ranger station, more than two hours of drive and hike time away for each. Schaefer quickly dispatched the SAR team鈥攃omposed of employees and volunteers from numerous locations in a roughly two hour radius鈥攖o respond to the North Rim. Wheelock brought climber and volunteer Charlie Faust with him, and Schaefer was accompanied by flight medic and Senior NPS Volunteer, Mike Kingsbury, who happened to be in Crested Butte and available.

It was 1:20 P.M. when Schaefer arrived at the ranger station. Seven other volunteers were already assembled, including long-time Black Canyon climbing ranger, now SAR volunteer and Black Canyon climbing guidebook author, Vic Zeilman. Thrush had spent the last two hours on the phone with various helicopter operators. None of the park鈥檚 normal short-haul programs were available, but a Black Hawk helicopter capable of hoist operations from High Altitude Aviation Training Site (HAATS) was, pending weather and various other factors. A successful helicopter evac is never a guarantee, even with a helicopter you are accustomed to working with, so Schaefer also planned a massive 1,300-foot litter raise. Either way, the first order of business was to reach Becca. At that point, she had been alone, seriously injured, and presumably unconscious for close to five hours, and HAATS had communicated they would not fly unless the patient was still alive.

Zeilman and Kingsbury started descending the Long Draw gully鈥攁 steep choke filled with loose boulders and scree that drops 1,800 feet in one mile鈥攁t 1:45 P.M. Wheelock and Faust arrived about 15 minutes later, and rapidly followed them down to the base of Great White Wall. Zeilman led the first pitch, which Wheelock and Kingsbury followed. Wheelock then linked the second and third pitch (a physically demanding section), just barely making the ledge after a full 210 feet. Wheelock radioed to Schaefer that Becca was unconscious but still had respirations and a pulse, and Schaefer relayed the message to HAATS, who began to prepare for flight. Wheelock then belayed up Kingsbury, who climbed quickly despite the massive amount of medical equipment on his back, and hauled a static line from his harness. Wheelock estimated that, all in all, it had taken approximately one hour for the whole three-person team to climb three pitches and access the ledge by about 3:30 P.M.

Once Kingsbury arrived, he began to administer patient care. Kingsbury, who Wheelock described as 鈥渁n ace flight medic used to tight spaces,鈥� managed to put on a C-Collar, and insert two IV picks鈥攐ne on each arm鈥攖hrough which he began to pump fluids and life-supporting narcotics. This was made more complicated by the fact that they were on a narrow, sloping ledge full of loose rocks, with other rescuers directly below them, including Zeilman, who was busy ascending Kingsbury鈥檚 static line to build an anchor and establish another fixed line at the top of pitch two.

It was roughly 4:00 P.M. when HAATS got the message that Becca was alive. Flight time from their base in Eagle would be about 38 minutes, it would take another half hour to put together a flight plan and safety briefing, and the HAATS pilot wanted to be out of the canyon by dark. There was time, but not much of it. A helicopter rescue at that point was far from guaranteed.

So Schaefer鈥攚ho was manning Ops back on the canyon rim鈥攃ontinued with the contingency plan. He organized two additional teams to assist the Climb Team already in the canyon: the Gully Team, which would descend the Long Draw in order to help transport the patient; and the Rim Team, which would rig the 1,300-foot raise on the wall opposite the climbers鈥攁 wall they had never practiced a raise or lower on before. A direct raise above the climbers was not possible due to the ledgy nature of the wall, and incredibly chossy terrain, creating a massive overhead hazard for both Becca and the rescuers below.

Back on the wall, Wheelock and Zeilman had set up a dual-tension two-rope system and began lowering Kingsbury, who descended with Becca (IV ports, C-collar, and all) on his back. They arrived in the gully somewhere between 5:00 and 5:30 P.M. where the Gully Team鈥攃onsisting entirely of volunteers, with the exception of team-lead Rees鈥攂egan packaging her for transport. At this point, Nick Wasser鈥攅x-Black Canyon climbing ranger, registered nurse, and SAR volunteer鈥攚as being lowered down the 1,300-foot wall. He was one-third of the way down when HAATS called and said the helicopter was inbound. At first HAATS wanted to come in above the rescuers, which Wheelock and others vehemently opposed given the rockfall hazard that would create. Once an alternate flight plan was established to enter the canyon and fly up Long Draw from below the rescuers, Wasser was lowered the rest of the way to the gully, landing about 200 feet above the Gully Team and Becca.

When the Black Hawk arrived it made its way as high up the gully as possible, about 600 feet downhill of the Gully Team. Two flight techs were lowered from the helicopter, which flew off to wait at the North Rim. The flight techs hiked up the gully, and told the Gully Team they would have to bring the patient down 600 feet, and that they had thirty minutes to pull it off. The time was roughly 6:30 P.M.

At this point, there were two options: lower Becca at breakneck speed and run the risk of the helicopter leaving, putting them even further from the Rim Team鈥檚 raise system; or begin making their way 200 feet up the gully to interface with the Rim Team, and get raised 1,300 feet up the wall. Schaefer estimated the rope raise alone would take about an hour and a half, not including the time to get the litter up to Wasser for the raise. Becca had now been unconscious for 11 hours. Schaefer knew the terrain in the gully was incredibly loose scree, and would be difficult to travel in either direction. From up on the rim, he did not feel he was in the right position to make the call. He asked Wheelock and Rees to do so instead.

Wheelock鈥攁 current Rigging for Rescue instructor with more than 25 years of climbing and SAR experience鈥攂egan to do some mental math. 鈥淭he lower would require all three of our ropes, which meant we鈥檇 have to pass two knots. It would take a minute or two per knot pass. So that would leave us something like 25 minutes to descend 600 feet. I knew it would be tight, but based on my experience, and the experience of the team, I calculated that we could pull it off.鈥�

Wheelock knew that the helicopter could bug out and decide to leave at any moment if it got too dark, too windy, if the pilot just didn鈥檛 like how it felt. But he decided to go down, knowing that if it worked out, it would be the quickest way to get Becca to definitive care. 鈥淭here were no good options,鈥� he said, 鈥渏ust options.鈥� He took the three biggest members of the Gully Team and told them 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to take this litter, put it on your hip, and you鈥檙e going to run down this gully as fast as you can, and we鈥檒l belay you down and basically all we can do is keep you from going into the river.鈥�

Faust and Wheelock put the Gully Team and Becca on a lower system. They raced down the first rope to its end, passed the first knot, raced down the second rope, passed the second knot, and began down the third rope. Finally they were at the pickoff point. The Black Hawk flew in, lowered the hoist, and one of the techs clipped himself and Becca into the cable. They were hauled up into the Black Hawk, which departed for Montrose airport at about 7 P.M., with not a minute to spare.

The Current Situation

From the Montrose airport, Becca was transferred to a CareFlight helicopter, which took her to Saint Mary鈥檚 hospital in Grand Junction. She was still unconscious, but alive.

Since then, her condition has improved slowly, but continually. She is no longer technically in a coma. She has begun to show signs of consciousness, and the ability to move digits and limbs. In spite of multiple broken bones, her doctors do not think any will require surgery to repair.

As of Monday, September 18, Becca had begun to 鈥渞espond periodically when asked questions,鈥� according to her parents. 鈥淔or example鈥� she has responded to the nurse to signal two fingers and then three fingers when the nurse showed her that many fingers.鈥� She is still on a ventilator, but largely as a precautionary measure in case of any situation that might necessitate an emergency surgery. At this point, the ventilator is providing very little support, and she is breathing mostly on her own.

Becca鈥檚 parents expressed their profound gratitude to the more than 25 employees and volunteers who participated in the rescue. 鈥淲e want to thank all the members of the search and rescue team and acknowledge that we know a number of those people risked life and limb for her. Also her climbing partner, Skyeler. He did all the right things, took care of her, secured her, got down and got help. He was a hero, himself.鈥� On Sunday, they drove from St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital to the North Rim ranger station to meet with the SAR team and say thank you in person鈥攁 rare and heartfelt gesture that was deeply appreciated by the entire SAR team.

鈥淏ecca is a well-known, liked, and respected member of the tight-knit Western Slope climbing community; and a loving, intentional, and generous friend,鈥� one friend commented. 鈥淗er drive to push self imposed boundaries is contagious, and her eagerness to accept and meet challenges鈥攊n climbing and life鈥攊s an inspiration.鈥� Another friend referred to Becca as 鈥渁 badass with a huge heart鈥� a person who feels deeply, loves climbing, her partner, her amazing dog, travel, her friends, self-improvement, yoga, and so much more. She is a great climbing partner鈥攕mart, safe, and competent. It is unimaginably tragic that this happened.鈥�

The family has established a GoFundMe, and is kindly to help defray the cost of Becca鈥檚 mounting medical bills. The GoFundMe page also includes a touching tribute from Becca鈥檚 partner, Parker, who described her as 鈥渁 deep, thoughtful and complex woman with a wonderfully multifaceted nature鈥� honest, curious and [someone who] can light up a room with her smile and eyes.鈥�

To help support Becca, please visit the GoFundMe .

A Program in Peril

Climbing rangers Schaefer, Wheelock, and Zeilman all described Monday鈥檚 rescue as one of the most difficult, complex, and risky of their careers鈥攅ach of which spans more than a decade. Cumulatively, they have 25 years of SAR experience in the Black Canyon.

鈥淗aving the time to train and work with this team and the camaraderie and friendship is what inspires confidence in being able to pull off a rescue like this,鈥� said Schaefer. 鈥淓veryone played a role. We don鈥檛 do a ton of rescues like this, but because of how dedicated everyone is鈥攁ll the years of working together and planning for something like this鈥攚e were able to get the job done.鈥�

Wheelock agreed that this was a team effort, made possible not only by many years of hard work by all parties involved, but also support from the park鈥檚 previous administration. Unfortunately, that support has been increasingly absent under the park鈥檚 new superintendent, Stuart West, who was hired in early 2023, and described himself at an all-department meeting as someone who was 鈥渢here to trim the fat.鈥�

Under West, the climbing rangers and SAR program have undergone a variety of concerning changes. Around mid-August, Schaefer, Wheelock, and the rest of the park staff (including Law Enforcement Officers) were locked out of the North Rim Ranger Station where all EMS and Climbing Patrol equipment had been located for decades. The locks were changed while Wheelock was on his days off, and when he showed up for his next shift, he was unable to get in. Wheelock was then informed that he and Schaefer would need to return their emergency response vehicles to headquarters, remove all their personal effects from the ranger station, and begin traveling to the North Rim in their personal vehicles. At that point he took sick leave, during which he met with West and 鈥渂egged him to change the locks back so that he and the rest of the staff could access emergency medical equipment.鈥� Schaefer made the same urgent request, and a week later, the locks were finally changed back.

But the damage at that point was done. For years, Wheelock, Schaefer, and other rangers had relied upon a functional system that included storing their personal patrol gear, as well as emergency response go bags, at the North Rim Ranger Station. Suddenly, they could no longer rely on that resource, and were forced to figure out a new system on the fly. All of the above added unnecessary stress, anxiety, and confusion to the initial stages of the rescue that occurred on Monday.

鈥淥ur morale is dependent on getting support from the administration,鈥� Wheelock said. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 fat you鈥檙e trimming. You鈥檙e cutting through muscle and hitting bone. We feel incredibly undervalued right now, and are really struggling to maintain a vision of the future that resembles what we saw on Monday鈥攁n incredibly diverse, highly skilled group of individuals coming together to solve a really complex and dangerous problem, and succeed. To have that disappear at the expense of policy is a tragedy. Not just for us, but also for the public.鈥�

Wheelock and Schaefer agreed that at the rate things are going, it鈥檚 likely there won鈥檛 be a climbing ranger program or volunteer SAR team at all at Black Canyon National Park next year. 鈥淎nd I know none of us want that,鈥� said Schaefer, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 the direction our superintendent and administration has chosen to take. And we鈥檙e trying really hard to come up with solutions to combat that, because at the end of the day, visitor and rescuer safety is completely dependent on those elements.鈥�

While the future of the Black Canyon Climbing Ranger and SAR program is uncertain, what can be said with one hundred percent certainty is that without their expertise and bravery, Becca would now be dead, not recovering in a hospital in Grand Junction. That is a fact. It鈥檚 not just the climbing rangers who deserve better鈥攊t鈥檚 climbers like Becca, too. Any tax-paying American who wants to visit our national parks deserves better. We all do.

The post A Climber鈥檚 Fall Prompted a Dramatic Rescue in this National Park appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Nineteen years ago, I bought my first pair of climbing shoes鈥攖he . Ten years and a bunch of different climbing-shoe models聽later, I bought another pair of Moccasyms. Today聽you can still buy them. And for certain kinds of climbing (granite friction slabs聽and splitter cracks),聽they鈥檙e聽still one of the best shoes that exist.

You might read that and think,聽Some things never change. But when it comes to climbing shoes, you couldn鈥檛 be more wrong. Back when I bought that first pair of Moccasyms, there weren鈥檛 many brands to choose from.聽As of 2019, there were at least (and I can think of a few more now). While larger companies (Five Ten, La Sportiva, Scarpa) still dominate much of the market share in the industry, it鈥檚 great to see some interesting聽boutique companies popping up with quality offerings. Here are聽a handful of brands making a splash.

Acopa

was founded in Guadalajara by Mexican climbers Ernesto Vazquez and Dario Piana in 1997聽and brought to the States by climbing legend聽 and Steve Allen Karafa Jr. in 2003. In 2006, Acopa was well on its聽way to being one of the top shoe companies in the U.S. But en route to the airport from the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, Bachar lost control of the SUV he was driving, and Karafa died in the accident. Acopa lost one of its聽stars, , a year later, and Bachar died in a free-soloing accident in 2009. By 2010, Acopa had closed up shop. But ten years later, Piana and new business partner Sergio Langarica have revived Acopa, and the beloved br补苍诲听and its聽tried-and-true shoes are back in business. One of the聽headlining models is聽 ($199, named after聽Bachar), a shoe which climbs and looks very similar to La Sportiva鈥檚 TC Pro. But before you go crying copycat, consider this: the original JB actually predates the TC Pro.

UnParallel

鈥渨as started in 2017 by Sang Lee, who handled development and production for Five Ten climbing until Adidas closed the Redlands outlet鈥� in California, according to the website . A quick glance at its聽lineup reveals that almost all of the company鈥檚聽designs appear to be modeled after Five Ten shoes. (Adidas owns Five Ten.)聽I聽听($140), and frankly, I loved it. It edged precisely, while also doing well in tough crack sizes, in a comfortable package that can be worn all day long. Additionally, UnParallel does resoles聽and, based on my experience, a good job of it. I鈥檝e tried a dozen or so shoe resolers over the years, and UP is in聽my top two or three.

Butora

I learned about during a brief stint managing the retail shop of a climbing gym in Colorado in 2016. I was impressed by some of the South Korean company鈥檚 offerings鈥攑articularly the Acro, which I wore one day to climb聽in during a shoe demo鈥攂ut honestly, I didn鈥檛 expect it聽to make much of a dent in the American market, because other Asian climbing-shoe brands have struggled to succeed it here. Boy, was I wrong. Today聽Butora not only has a devoted cadre of followers, but聽. This knowledge has led to some cool features, such as high- and low-volume options in all of its offerings instead of the typical male and female choices. Butora is taking a more gender-neutral path: all of its聽models are fairly unisex, and there鈥檚 no gender-based assumptions about foot volume. Price points are聽pretty low compared to other shoe companies. The Acro ($154)聽is hard to beat,聽and the Altura ($155), its聽high-top,聽is like $40 cheaper than other competitive high-top models from Acopa and La Sportiva. If Butora聽keeps it up, it聽may unseat some of the industry giants in the coming years.

Tulson Tolf

When I first saw this company鈥檚 glittery (yes, that鈥檚 right) , the California ($125), I thought it was a joke. Turns out,聽Tulson Tolf is actually quite serious, as evidenced by some of the names on its聽sponsored squad: Kilian Jornet, Karl Egloff, and Denis Urubko are all TT athletes, and although those guys are definitely more mountaineers or mountain runners than rock climbers, Rock and Ice magazine thought well enough of TT to give the聽sparkly shoes a . I haven鈥檛 tried them or seen anyone else wearing them, though鈥攁nd it seems like they would be hard to miss.

kN Climbing聽

First: this brand鈥檚聽shoes cost $350. Second: each pair is custom-made using a 3D scan of your foot. As such, is about as niche as it gets, which is why I鈥檓 including them here. Back in the day, nobody anticipated the rise of print-on-demand books聽or the massive explosion of self-publishing facilitated by Amazon and other companies. Could a similar model be the future of rock-climbing shoes? That depends on whether kN Climbing鈥檚 unique methodology will actually yield a significantly more effective鈥攐r more comfortable鈥攃limbing shoe. It was聽a three-week process to get the right fit dialed, have the shoes made, and then shipped, but it was totally worth it:聽my very first time wearing them, I sent a 5.12a ar锚te聽that a friend and I had recently bolted. They definitely nail the comfort-performance ratio as well (if not better) than most shoes I鈥檝e聽ever worn. In the聽few months since I started wearing them, they鈥檝e become my go-to shoe for almost everything I climb (bouldering, sport, 补苍诲听trad鈥攖he only exception being very precise edging routes, since the model I got lacks a midsole and, as such, isn鈥檛 great for edging). I can鈥檛 say how well they鈥檒l stand the test of time, but my initial impression is that kN Climbing is onto a very, very good thing that will only get better.

The post Need New Climbing Shoes? Check Out These Small Brands. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Setting out to name America鈥檚 top-ten climbing crags is a dubious goal. For starters, you just know that somebody is going to get all huffy puffy when their stomping ground doesn鈥檛 make the cut. And then there will be the wars over semantics. What qualifies as a crag? What doesn鈥檛? How important is history, aesthetics, rock quality? No matter what, you鈥檙e bound to piss people off.

Still, you might as well try. Because聽YOLO.

For the purpose of this article, I am setting down some ground rules.

1. By crag, I mean an area used predominantly for single-pitch聽or Grade I鈥揑I routes. You know, the kind of multipitch where you don鈥檛 bring a water bottle. That means that even though Alex Honnold can climb El Cap in a cool two hours,聽for most of us,聽places like Yosemite, Zion,聽and Red Rocks are out.
2. By cragging, I mean not bouldering.
3. The past matters. There鈥檚 something special about climbing at an area steeped in legend and lore. Places with long and storied histories get an extra nod.
4. Ambiance matters, too. That includes crowds, proximity to roads, and views.
5. Rock quality is paramount.

The only other rule you need to know is that this list is inarguable and definitive, and that anyone who disagrees with it, or me, is wrong.

10. The Shawangunks, New York

The 鈥橤unks is the seminal crag for the Northeast. For trad climbing under 5.10, it may be the best destination in the country, if not the world. The carriage road can be packed with gawkers, and popular areas such as the High Exposure buttress can get clogged with hordes of pseudo gumbies trying desperately to place all ten of their pink tricams. But聽the views of the Catskills will soothe the ire of even the crustiest dirtbag, and if you find yourself in the rarefied air above the 5.10 benchmark, you鈥檒l find far fewer people in line for the routes. Even if you do have to wait in line for a classic moderate, I promise it鈥檚 worth it. Where else can you do 15-foot horizontal boulder problems above your pro and still call it 5.6? Add to that impeccable rock quality聽and a聽 that dates back to the late 1930s, when European immigrants Fritz Weissner and Hans Krauss brought mountaineering skills gleaned from their homelands to bear on the steep white cliffs, and you have a bona fide worldwide destination.

9. Eldorado Canyon, Colorado

Eldo, as it鈥檚 known, may be a contender for the best worst crag in America. Located a stone鈥檚 throw from the climbing crucible of Boulder, Colorado鈥攖hough we won鈥檛 hold that against it鈥� Eldo鈥檚 towering walls of red sandstone are truly a climber鈥檚 dream. Some of America鈥檚 finest climbers cut their teeth here,聽most notably the infamous and prolific first ascensionist聽. The rock in Eldo is often friable, and the protection is commonly marginal, but what makes Eldo so great is the sheer volume of climbable rock. Almost anywhere you look, you鈥檙e likely to find holds. It may be hard, it may be runout, the gear might be difficult to place (not to mention聽trust), but the climbing is fun, the approaches are short, and the setting is gorgeous. Such infamous classics as the聽, Rosy Crucifixion, Ruper, and the Bastille originally put Eldo on the map for American climbers. But it鈥檚 the countless variations and linkups one can achieve with a little bit of creativity that truly cements Eldo as a top-ten聽crag.

8. Smith Rock, Oregon

When French climbing ace J.B.聽Tribout came to check out the sport climbing in the United States in 1992, he went to Smith Rock. And when he managed to pull off聽 at 5.14c, it stood as America鈥檚 hardest route for a solid five years. But Smith Rock and its cadre of pioneers had already earned a well-deserved reputation in the annals of climbing history by the time Tribout got there. The tall, steep fins of conglomerated volcanic rock lend themselves to intricate, technical climbing in the 5.12-to-5.14+ range. And the 400-foot Monkey Face pillar has got to be one of the most iconic monoliths in American climbing. As if all of that weren鈥檛 enough, the climbing gods saw fit to bequeath unto otherwise rock-deprived Oregonians a lovely river full of trout and otters, a lower gorge full of basalt cracks and compression ar锚tes, and a convenient campground that鈥檚 walking distance from the climbing聽to boot. Beautiful, delicate, and climbable for three seasons, Smith Rock is, as I believe Tribout said, magnifique!

7. Wild Iris, Wyoming

Speaking of the French, wouldn鈥檛 it be great if the U.S.聽had one, just one,聽crag full of beautiful, clean, pocketed limestone 脿聽la Buoux or the Verdon? Oh wait, there is. Wild Iris is a crag as pretty as its name. Smooth-rolling buttresses of limestone waves cresting atop hills of flaxen grass and aromatic wildflowers鈥攚hat鈥檚 not to love? Rattlesnakes, maybe, and it can get crowded during busy summer weekends. But Wild Iris is really quite a bit more extensive than the Main Wall upon which 鈥済reenies鈥� (the name bequeathed by locals to the ubiquitous visitors from Colorado) flog themselves ad nauseam. Locals in Lander might slip rattlesnake venom into my next whiskey if I say the names of the other areas, but they鈥檙e out there. The camping is great, many of the routes were established by the聽, and most importantly, the routes have that certain ineffable quality that all fine limestone retains. Athletic, bouldery, and yet subtly tenuous sequences are the name of the game. For pure quality sport climbing, there are few places better in the States.

6. Joshua Tree, California

Picture rocks stacked upon rocks. Piles of house- and apartment-building-size聽rocks. Rocks with cracks, rocks with patina, rocks with caves in them, rocks with huecos. The only thing more ubiquitous in J Tree than the eponymous cacti聽of Seussical proportions is rock. There are rocks with roofs, rocks with slabs, rocks with bolts, and rocks without bolts. Rocks that were climbed by such golden-age demigods as聽 back when swami belts were de rigueur, and the answer to 鈥淲ho wears short shorts?鈥� was, apparently, climbers. It would take many lifetimes to climb to the top of all the rocks within the national park鈥檚 boundary. And聽if you ever did, you could just hike a little further and climb the ones outside it, too.

5. The Needles, California

I add this to the list at the risk of angry locals defecating in my haul bag and slashing my tires the next time I find myself in the neighborhood. I do so because it would be criminal not to. From Lake Tahoe down to Joshua Tree, arguably the finest collection of granite in the world spills down the spine of the Sierra Nevada. And聽in all of that range, there is no lode of stone finer than that of the Needles. Remember in the rules when I said that rock quality was paramount? Well, you could toss the Needles into the middle of noisy and smog-infested Los Angeles, and I鈥檇 still put it on this list. The rock quality is simply without compare. A true trad-climber鈥檚 crag, the Needles is not for the recently initiated gym climber, which may be part of what keeps the masses at bay. It鈥檚 not exactly a secret anymore, but it鈥檚 still fairly quiet. And聽unless Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi make a top-grossing documentary about聽 and Herb Laeger鈥檚 mind-melting yet obscure first ascent of聽 back in 1978, I鈥檓 pretty sure most visiting climbers to California will still eschew the Needles for Yosemite.

4. Red River Gorge, Kentucky

God must be a climber. I mean, just look at the Red River Gorge. Here鈥檚 a place that was clearly created by a benevolent being with a giant ice cream scoop. The walls of the RRG feature jaw-dropping cirques of multicolored sandstone that look like an inverted stand of bleachers. But the geology of the gorge聽is not just staggering on a macro level. Seemingly every square inch of those enormous walls is聽covered in pockets, crimps, iron rails, jugs, slopers, and climbable features of nearly every variety. When it comes to sheer abundance of quality routes, the RRG is probably America鈥檚 only legitimate sport-climbing answer to world-class zones such as France鈥檚 C茅眉se, Spain鈥檚 Siurana, or Greece鈥檚 Kalymnos. But it鈥檚 not just limited to sport climbs鈥攖he gorge聽is home to a plethora of fantastic cracks and traditionally protected routes as well. On top of all that, the RRG is really beautiful,聽particularly in autumn聽when the leaves change. I鈥檇 say the RRG is聽鈥� if it weren鈥檛 for the next three crags on this聽list.

3. New River Gorge, West Virginia

To the chagrin and outrage of Kentuckians, I am throwing the NRG on this list in the number-three聽spot. Why does the bronze medal for American crags go to the New River Gorge instead of the Red? For a few simple reasons:聽First,聽everybody and their mom talks about the Red, while the New maintains a much sleepier vibe, making it inherently radder. Second,聽the Red is so riddled with huge holds that you can climb darn near your limit in your approach shoes (footwork be damned), while the New features spare, devious, aesthetic lines that require not only superb footwork聽but also sequence-reading skill. And third,聽the stone at the Red is really good, but the NRG鈥檚 Nuttall sandstone is 98 percent聽quartzite聽and harder than granite, making it as good as rock can possibly be for climbing. Mango Tango 补苍诲听 are two of the prettiest sport climbs in the Western Hemisphere, while Endless Wall may be the best continuous section of cliff in the States. There鈥檚 probably only one place in the world (OK, in America) with better stone than the New River Gorge. And that place is definitely not number two聽on the list.

2. Indian Creek, Utah

The Creek has a lot working against it: Wingate sandstone is softer than a baby鈥檚 bottom, making for horrifying face climbing (not that that matters, since only about 0.00001 percent聽of routes at the Creek feature face holds at all); if you don鈥檛 tape up, you鈥檙e going to bleed; if you do tape up, some grizzled old guy is going to hiss at you; all grade objectivity is out the window, since it all depends on the size聽of your appendages and digits; the climbing hurts; splitters are boring, since you just do the same move over and over for 100 to 200 feet; and every route requires 20聽pounds and approximately $5,000 worth of gear. Pretty lame,聽when you put it that way.

What Indian Creek has going for it, though, is that it鈥檚 unique in the world. There is聽literally聽nowhere else like it. If you want to learn to crack climb, there鈥檚 no better resource on the planet. And聽once you do learn the dark art of crack climbing, there鈥檚 nowhere better to test your mettle. The climbing鈥檚 really quite fun (once you kill the nerve endings on the back of your hands). It can even be pretty cerebral if you branch out from the plain-Jane splitters. But what really makes the Creek the number-two聽crag on this list is simply how beautiful it is there. The desert has a way of taking you in,聽holding you, making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You can (and many people do) spend weeks in the Creek just wasting time, not climbing at all.

1. Index, Washington State

And let the social-media shitstorm begin. Oh, trust me, I know what鈥檚 coming. I鈥檓 going to get it from all sides:聽From folks who have never heard about Index and can鈥檛 believe what they鈥檙e seeing. From Index locals who are convinced I鈥檓 ruining all that is sacred by giving away their secret paradise. From people who went to Index and got shut down by the stiff grades. From people who think the season is too short, the moss too thick, and the car break-ins too common. Will anybody be happy about this choice?

The problem is, Index is, objectively, the best crag in the United States. Honestly, it鈥檚 probably the best crag in the world. Imagine the texture of New River Gorge sandstone layered over a smattering of 100-to-800-foot-tall walls of perfect, featured, spectacular granite. Index literally has it all. Sport, trad, and aid,聽single pitch and multipitch,聽cracks and faces,聽knobs and pockets,聽patina, edges, jugs, slopers, and tufas,聽corners and ar锚tes, slabs and overhangs, roofs and ledges. The whole nine yards聽and then some. There is nowhere else in the world with as dense a concentration of four-star climbs. The Skykomish Valley is jaw-droppingly beautiful. And the sandbag, oh, the sandbag! I鈥檒l say this much: nobody goes to Index to pad their resume. You can straight-up forget about grades there since 5.11 on the Index Decimal System covers everything from 5.11a to 5.13c on the more commonly used Yosemite Decimal System.

The best thing about Index is how few people get it. This article will do nothing to change that. The cat has been out of the bag, so to speak, for decades now, but climbers visiting the Pacific Northwest聽still fall for the tried-and-true traps of Smith Rock and Squamish again and again. What protects Index is the shroud of hyperbole that surrounds it. The harder Index aficionados like myself spray, the better. It just makes our opinions easier to discount聽and, ultimately, discard. And that鈥檚 fine, because it will keep Index nice and quiet.

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In the sparsely populated northeast corner of Wyoming, a massive pinnacle of stone explodes, for no apparent reason, out of the prairie. The name that the monolith was officially designated when Theodore Roosevelt made it America鈥檚 first national monument in 1906 is . But for thousands of rock climbers who flock to it each year, there are few things as heavenly. For nearly two decades I鈥檝e traveled all over the world to climb, and I鈥檝e never seen a feature quite as captivating. Its pull is almost irresistible.

Climbers aren鈥檛 the only ones who revere the Tower. American Indians have been drawn to it for upwards of 10,000 years.聽For the Crow people, it is the place where a rock rose beneath two sisters, delivering them safely from the attack of an enormous bear. According to the Kiowa, it was seven sisters, and the rock that grew beneath them was actually a tree stump. The Lakota Sioux call the Tower Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge), and claim it is where Hu Nump (The Great Bear) imparted language and healing ceremonies to the human race. There are many different sacred narratives surrounding the peculiar hunk of stone. But whether you鈥檙e talking to a Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, Crow, Shoshone, Arikara, or at least 14 other tribes of American Indians, one commonality emerges: the Tower is incomparably sacred.

When two ranchers鈥擝ill Rogers and Willard Ripley鈥攃ompleted the first recorded ascent聽of Devils Tower in June 1893, it is likely they didn鈥檛 have the faintest clue what the formation meant to Native Americans. It鈥檚 equally likely, given that the treatment of the Lakota by Americans at that time was characterized by聽 补苍诲听, that they wouldn鈥檛 have cared. Finally, it is almost certain that Rogers and Ripley would have been flabbergasted to learn that in 1994, a little over 100 years after their ascent, 1,225 people from all over the world would climb the Tower in the month of June alone.

In 1992, spurred by the recent boom in climbing鈥檚 popularity, the National Park Service began drafting a climbing management plan聽for Devils Tower. One of the things that plan attempted to address was the question of what to do about climbing in June. With long days and relatively stable weather, June is an excellent time to climb the Tower. But it is also an especially sacred time for the nearby tribes. After three years of public comment periods, focus groups, and planning sessions with Native Americans, the Sierra Club, and the Access Fund, the Park Service released its final climbing management plan (FCMP) in 1995.

Among other things, the FCMP detailed a one-month voluntary climbing closure, the first and still only closure of that kind in the U.S. 鈥淭he voluntary closure will be fully successful when every climber personally chooses not to climb at Devils Tower during June out of respect for American Indian cultural values,鈥� the FCMP stated. In the first year of the plan鈥檚 implementation, it looked like that goal might be attainable. In 1995, only 167 registered climbers were tallied鈥攁n 86.4 percent reduction from the year before.

The plan鈥檚 initial success was short-lived. One of the key elements of the 1995 FCMP was that the June shutdown would be mandatory for commercial rock climbing guides. But in November 1996, the Mountain States Legal Foundation helped several climbing guides file a聽 against the superintendent of Devils Tower National Monument, the National Park Service, and then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, claiming that the ban was implemented for religious reasons, and hence violated the first amendment. Before the court was able to come to a conclusion, the Park Service preemptively revised the FCMP to make the June closure voluntary for all users, including guide services. The courts ultimately upheld the FCMP, but by that time it was a moot point. One year later, the Park Service conducted an聽 that recommended that climbing on the Tower should be prohibited altogether; but no change to the FCMP was made.

Over the next decade, the number of June climbers on the monument oscillated between the high-200s and mid-300s. By 2013, that number ballooned to 434. This year, there were 279. It鈥檚 clear that 23 years after the FCMP鈥檚 implementation, the monument is still far from achieving the voluntary ban鈥檚 initial goal.

鈥淭he plan will be successful if we get to zero,鈥� says聽Tim Reid, the previous superintendent of Devils Tower. 鈥淏ut if that doesn鈥檛 happen it鈥檚 not the end of the world.鈥� Reid was adamant that, considering where we were in 1994, the voluntary closure has been a resounding success. 鈥淚f the goal of zero climbers in June is not achieved, several other options can be taken,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淵ou can revise the FCMP. You can write a new definition of success.鈥�

It鈥檚 hard for me to see how 鈥渨riting a new definition of success鈥� would be聽anything other than the latest in a long line of broken treaties with Native American tribes. But Reid advised me not to think of the ban as a zero-sum game. 鈥淲e want climbers to understand the reasons not to climb, and to make the decision on their own,鈥� he told me. 鈥淭hat was one of the desires of the American Indians involved.鈥�

But not all Native Americans were, or are, in favor of the ban being voluntary. 鈥淚t鈥檚 disrespectful,鈥� Waylon Black Crow Sr. told Krista Langlois in a recent聽article for 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚t would be like climbing a big old cross. They wouldn鈥檛 climb that.鈥� Trina Lonehill, the cultural liaison of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, shared Black Crow鈥檚 sentiments, and felt that the ban should be mandatory. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 disturb a sacred space,鈥� she told me. 鈥淵ou have respect for it. To respect it is not to disturb it.鈥�

The Pine Ridge Reservation, where Lonehill lives, is the聽, with聽rampant alcoholism, a meth epidemic, and underfunded schools and hospitals. Frank Sanders, a prominent guide on Devils Tower and one of the founders of the nonprofit,聽, cites the state of the Pine Ridge Reservation as evidence that there are bigger local problems to be concerned with than climbing in June. 鈥淚 could hand out聽coats, stand on my head, and not climb for a month,鈥� he told me recently as we watched the sunset light up the Tower from the deck of his lodge. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think but one of those things would have much effect.鈥�

Of course, donating goods and not climbing on the Tower in June, are by no means mutually exclusive. Sanders has done more for the Pine Ridge Reservation (in 2008 he raised by climbing the Tower for 365 days in a row) than most people will ever do. But I don鈥檛 believe that gives him a free pass to do something that many Native Americans find offensive. And while Sanders has assured me that he 鈥渉as met no resistance among the res about whether or not I climb in June,鈥� that view dismisses the feelings of people like Black Crow Sr. and Lonehill.

While the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation are one of the most disenfranchised groups in the U.S., climbers have got to be one of the most privileged. They can afford to buy thousands of dollars of equipment and travel far and wide to engage in a sport that introduces them to heightened risk of injury or death. That is telling. This is a case of those who have much being asked for something that amounts to a nominal inconvenience by those who have little. How can it be so hard to comply?

As I walked around the Tower a few weeks ago, I noticed a plethora of signs warning climbers of a closure for nesting prairie and peregrine falcons. The falcon closure, of course, is mandatory. If they made it voluntary, the birds wouldn鈥檛 stand a chance. Between the hordes of tourists, buzzing drones, and motorcycles and RVs groaning along on the road below, it was so noisy that I barely heard the peregrine鈥檚 telltale scream come shrilly down through the pine boughs above.

What I did not see on my walk around the Tower loop was a single sign that mentioned the voluntary closure out of respect for Native Americans. Nor did I see any Native Americans carrying out spiritual ceremonies. The only hint that they had been there at all was the occasional prayer bundle tucked away in inconspicuous corners, like an afterthought.

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