Community

By AdventureTypes

Editor’s note to issue 22 of Vertical Life. Download the issue here. Community / cộng đồng / сообщество / Κοινότητα / 社区 When we try to talk about complicated things it can sometimes be easier to draw on foreign words that express concepts that are not easily translated into english. Their untranslatability frees us from exactitude, giving us room for allusion, interpretation and extrapolation. The gulf of imprecision also gives us somewhere to hide. But foreign words and their slippery concepts can also…

Bouldering in Korea

By AdventureTypes

Andy Mckilliam outlines the spicy delights of South Korea’s BBQ (Best Bouldering Quality) during an exploratory trip with Nalle Hukkataival ‘There’s rock everywhere in the world, but not many climbing destinations are totally unique.’ Nalle Hukkataival laughed from the back seat while trying to decipher one of the semi-coherent, feel-good quotes that adorned his takeaway coffee cup. I was chopsticking slices of spicy vegetable kimbap (think sushi rolls but with completely different fillings) into Christoph’s mouth as we slipped onto…

Is Gelatin the new SUPERFOOD?

By AdventureTypes

Are horses’ hooves the next superfood? VL‘s nutritionist Amanda Watts looks at new research to see if gelatin can help us avoid injury. It always happens when you least expect it. One minute you’re on, crushing moves and a split second later you’re off, staring down the barrel of months of rehab and weekends on the couch, rather than at the cliff. For any of you who have heard that heart-dropping ‘pop’ of a ligament or pulley, you know what I’m talking…

Feature – Poseidon’s Wrath

By AdventureTypes

Yi Chao Foong on the first ascent of the Cape Pillar Trident’s final prong, 44 years after Mendelt Tillema and his merry men climbed the first two prongs WORDS: Yi Chao Foong, IMAGES: As credited 10th December, 2016 I stare at my feet, ignoring the drizzling rain as I focus my centre of gravity over a shallow toe jam my trembling right foot is in. In my peripheral vision I spy my two RPs behind a flake that looks unlikely to…

Birthdays & Barking Seals & Sun & Saunas & Stuck Ropes

By AdventureTypes

Editor’s note to issue 21 of Vertical Life. Download the issue here. Climbing is full of things relative. Linking two moves on your project could be heralded as great success for you, whereas your mate falling off on the last move on the flash of the same problem could be an utter failure for her. Adventure is relative – a cakewalk for you is an epic for someone else, bigness is relative, easiness too. And so is the cock up. Getting your…

20 Issues: On Looking Back & Contributing

By AdventureTypes

We’ve just hit the 20th issue of VL, a fact that has made us pause on the hamster wheel and take stock. When we look back at the last five years of pumping out VL, the thing we see most is the love and passion (and elbow grease) of our contributors, most of whom provide their words and photos gratis – VL would not exist without them. It makes us think that there must be something in helping to create…

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