Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Monthly Archives: January 2013

Jetflow Hydration System: Hydration Evolved

Jetflow Hydration System: Hydration Evolved

There’s a lot of different types of hands-free hydration systems out on the market now – with the grandfather of them all being the well-known CamelBak.  Of course there are plenty of companies that design special backpacks with the purpose of hydration in mind, and they can come in a wide variety of forms (over-the-shoulder pack, “fanny pack,” under-the-bike-seat pack, etc).  But the common theme of these specialty hydration “vehicles” is that the method by which they deliver water is always the same.  A soft, polyurethane bladder is connected to a tube that is secured somewhere close to your mouth, usually via a shoulder strap…Read the rest of this entry →

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New River Gorge (in January?!?) and Climbing “Tall”

New River Gorge (in January?!?) and Climbing “Tall”

  The cool thing about living in the Southeast is that rock climbing can be a year round endeavor.  In fact, some south-facing, friction climbing areas are pretty much only good in the winter (Stone Mountain, Rumbling Bald, and the Asheboro Boulderfield come to mind).  If the sun is shining and the wind is calm, you can have a very pleasant day with relatively warm rock even with high temps in the low 40’s.  But despite the abundance of winter climbing opportunities, our family always makes a definitive shift into “cold weather climbing mode.”  We spend more time jumping down onto crash pads than…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Little Bit of Holiday Crankin’

A Little Bit of Holiday Crankin’

Back in my pre-kiddo days, I was an elementary school teacher, and was accustomed to having a lot of time off over the holidays.  My hubby is blessed to get a decent amount of  vacation days at work, so he grew accustomed to taking off the same days that I had for Winter Break.  Now that I’m not working outside of the home anymore, he’s STILL accustomed to getting lots of time off at Christmas, so he saves up enough vacation days every year to take a full two weeks off over Christmas/New Year’s.  That means we have plenty of…Read the rest of this entry →

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Wanna Keep Track of Your Kids? Try CALL ME CUFFS! (and GIVEAWAY!)

Wanna Keep Track of Your Kids?  Try CALL ME CUFFS!  (and GIVEAWAY!)

A lot of people think I’m crazy when I say that I worry more about my toddler at the mall than I do at the crag.  True, on a typical climbing day there are rocks, thorns, and sometimes creepy-crawlies to be on the lookout for.  But we’re usually contained in a somewhat small area and there are several adults around making sure C stays out of trouble.  Contrast that with a typical shopping day at the mall – where C and I are on our own with throngs of shoppers – most of whom couldn’t care less about the possibility…Read the rest of this entry →

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Hit List 2013

Hit List 2013

With 2012 in the archives, it’s time to look forward to another year…and another Hit List!  Each time I write out a year’s worth of climbing goals, I get a little bit nervous.  What if I fail?  What if I am nowhere close to any of these goals by the end of the year?  The truth is, that could easily happen.  Maybe the logistics don’t cooperate for me to be able to put in the time needed to cross some of these routes off.  Or worse, maybe I’m able to invest plenty of time into a project, and still come up short!  Goal-setting can be…Read the rest of this entry →

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