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This is pretty funny – a humorous take on the Dean Potter climbing Delicate Arch controversy.

Climb like Dean – but without all of the controversy. Build a full-size Delicate Arch climbing wall in your own back yard – plans included!

This blueprint is an actual public service ad (PDF link) from the National Parks Conservation Association. (via The Piton)

The first is a blog titled The Climbing. This brand new (June 2006) climbing focused blog already has some good product reviews (Petzl Zipka, Arc’teryx Vapor Harness) and promises to have a heavy focus on gear.

UPDATE: If I had been keeping up with the climbing RSS feeds in my reader, I would have noticed that WiredNut posted this blog about a month ago!

In this game, each player takes the part of an “xtreme” rock climber trying to be the first to scale RockJocks Mountain. Each climber has “super-strechin’ arms” that hold on to the top of the cliff. Players alternate turns grabbing and playing “rock tokens” that say what to do on each turn, and place plastic animals (goats, vultures, snakes; even the ominous Yeti) onto the enemy climber’s legs and arms. But be carefull! Your opponent just might have a reversal token, and you’ll have to put the animal on your OWN climber! The more animals you hang, the more your climber’s arms stretch – and when there’s too much hanging off of him, he’ll tumble off the mountain! Rock Jocks is another of those suprisingly fun dexterity/action games that was intended for kids, but can be really entertaining between sessions of other, deeper games.

GearTrade had its beginnings when skitrade.com was first registered in September of 1998. Since then, the original idea expanded and evolved into its current form. GearTrade was co-founded in June 1999, in Provo, Utah, by a group of outdoor enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who noticed a need for a convenient marketplace for individuals and companies looking to buy and sell used and retail outdoor gear.

These outdoor enthusiasts realized that the problem was not a lack of gear, but simply that there was not an efficient marketplace for the distribution of closeout and used outdoor gear to the masses. GearTrade overcomes these inefficiencies and streamlines the entire process of bringing all the sellers and buyers of used and closeout outdoor gear together on one web site.

Not sure how this site will turn out, but MSN Travel will be covering every aspect of Ed Viesturs‘ attempt on Annapurna without oxygen. Viesturs’ 20 year quest to be the first American to summit all 14 8,000 meter peaks without oxygen will be complete with success on Annapurna.

“We will combine coverage you won’t find anywhere else — like Viesturs’ climb — with fundamental tools the travel audience demands to create a one-stop shop for the travel connoisseur.”

To provide the “behind-the-scenes” component that is fast becoming the trademark of MSN Travel “First and Best” adventures, Bangs and his crew, including chief trek photographer Didrik Johnck and renowned Himalayan photographer Jimmy Chin, will be filming numerous dispatches from the area including stories about the culture and terrain, Viesturs’ 20-year journey to this point, and, of course, the climb itself.

An accomplished alpinist, Conrad is also on the board of directors of The Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation (ALCF). A worthwhile cause, the ALCF was started in memory of Alex Lowe. I was fortunate to have seen a slide show by Alex in Washington DC years ago and will never forget the presentation as well as the conversation with him afterwards. He was truly a great person.

The first is the Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition. Simply put, the organization is a local climber’s advocacy group founded in 1996 to protect climbing at the Red River Gorge. I visited the Red several years ago and was impressed by the climbing there. From what I hear, tons of new route development has occurred over the past few years.

Red River Climbing is the second site worth mentioning here. Built on the phpBB forum software, the Red River Climbing site has an online guidebook to the Red River Gorge as well as active message boards.

0friction.com is a site by climbers for climbers for a world of digital cameras and climbing photography. It is a place where a climbing fotog can upload his/her favorite pictures through a very simple process so that other climbers on the web can see those pictures. We do not retain ownership of your images, but we do retain the right to remove images at our discretion. Pictures of gym climbing, sport climbing, trad, aid, or mountaineering will be removed immediately, as will any image that sucks.

Just type an area or phase in the search box and zero friction serves up tons of bouldering photos. I tested it out on a few smaller areas and was impressed by the results.