News
Two Nationals Competitors Recount their Experience
If you had not heard, two of our youth team members, Ian Frost and Maddie Gillis, made USA Climbing Nationals. Through their stellar performances in the local, regional, and divisional stages, they both qualified to compete with 48 other athletes in their age bracket. Along with their families and Team…
System of the Down – Closing the Lowering System
Close the system A common and preventable cause of climbing accidents is being lowered or rappelling off the end of a rope. As experience, studies, and anecdotes (#FreeSolo) attest, it’s not just new climbers having these accidents. The fix is a tight, well-dressed, double overhand knot with a 12 inch…
Member Spotlight: Cole Kohei Corbin
Cole Kohei Corbin found climbing only a little over a year ago, but he’s already going places. After quickly progressing through Salt Pump’s Lead Class and Skills Seminars, Cole graduated to outdoor climbing – managing his first sport and trad leads before the New England winter forced confined him to…
Winter Solistice 2018 Recap!
Thanks to your generous donations and raffle ticket purchases, we raised $379 for Scarborough Land Trust! Another Winter Solstice Success! A few weeks ago, we had our fourth Winter Solstice member appreciation event, featuring the Feats of Strength competition! Over 30 competitors tackled our head routesetter Tino’s four maniacal challenges:…
Conquering Cathedral Ledge
THE THRILL OF STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM By Trisha Cloutier If you have ever been to North Conway, you have seen Cathedral Ledge. Although it doesn’t dominate the landscape like Mount Washington, it holds its own. Just beyond the village to the Northwest, you will see it – standing 500…
What Goes Up Must Come Down – A Lesson in Lowering from Above
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn… -Alvin Toffle Seldom taught are quality methods for lowering a climber from above. Yet this skillset, which often gets lumped in with other multi-pitch processes like…
Cathedral Ledge’s New Masterpiece
Life, The Universe and Everything: Jay Conway on the spectacular and difficult 5.13c fourth pitch of his new line on Cathedral Ledge. Photo: Brent Doscher. ANNALS OF TRY HARD Jay Conway isn’t normally one for tantrums, but there he was, hanging from a rope three quarters of the way up…
The Book Wall Part II: The Book Wall Returns
From The Ministry of Routesetting It’s getting into winter now, which means it’s time to forget about those cold, snow-covered rocks, and start training for the Spring! To help you with this, we’ve reinstalled The Book Wall on the 50º board. This will stay up for at least two months.…
Salt Pump Circuits!
The Salt Pump bouldering area is about to get more colorful by circuit grading. This system will give a more intuitive feel to your bouldering sessions and workouts. Currently all of the problems are marked with a white SP logo tag with the grade written on the back. These tags…
Journeying into the Great Outdoors
Climbing long existed on the outskirts of society and sport. Climbing gyms, especially today’s modern and inclusive ones, have dramatically changed this. At Salt Pump, we feel privileged for the daily opportunity to introduce people to the sport and enrich the lives of new and old climbers alike. We are…