News
Member Spotlight: The Climbing Art Teacher
Meet Alison Crofton-MacDonald “The nice thing about teaching art is you always have something in your hands,” says Alison Crofton-MacDonald. Alison is a twenty-seven year old middle school art teacher in the Saco school system. When she discovered climbing four and a half years ago, she was immediately hooked, and…
Inside Game no. 7: Mike Morin
Our Man in the Trenches “It’s funny, people’s idea about what a bolt or fixed protection is,” says Mike Morin, the Access Fund’s Northeast Regional Director. “If you’re not a climber, ‘bolting’ can sound so ominous. A big part of my job is to explain and break down those barriers.”…
New Climbing Art
Welcome, Rumney! In honor of the autumnal equinox, we’re excited to introduce a new climbing art design – in honor of our favorite sport-climbing venue. The photo was taken by local Jay Conway, and design was by Scott Whitehouse. Members are welcome to a 11×17 collectable print beginning this Thursday…
From Gym to Crag: Salt Pump Kids’ Outdoor Climbing Day
Young climbers in our after-school programs have been spending time at Salt Pump learning the skills they need to get outside, including how to belay, manage ropes, read routes, and rappel. This spring, they got the chance to try their stuff on some of New Hampshire’s finest rock when the…
Community Lead Route Grading Project
Community Grading Project Thank you to everyone who has participated in the Community Grading Project. Our goal was to take the grades proposed by climbers that have sent the routes,share them with the community, and use the data to improve future lead sets. It is always interesting to see how…
Rest your paws!
Climbing is 90 precent resting. We are psyched to introduce this new climbing cartoon from Kerry Bernard. Kerry’s a seasoned A.T. through-hiker and commercial designer who sells her own White Mountain inspired artwork on Etsy under the trail name Sherpa Ant. Follow her on Instagram, and stay-tuned for more Salt…
Maine Breaks
Maine Breaks It’s no secret that climbing and surfing go together like peanut butter and jelly. In fact, on certain fall days when the swell is up, it would not be a surprising sight to see a plurality of the Salt Pump management team spending elongated lunch breaks down at…
Inside Game No. 6: Ethan Pringle
“Failures are always interesting,” Ethan Pringle muses. “That’s where you probably try your hardest, because you didn’t actually do it, so you didn’t have to give it just 80 percent, you had to give it 100 percent… and still not do it.” Ethan was eight years old when his father…
Taking Flight, or, How to Dyno
By Henry Fitts Hips swinging, legs kicking, and bodies flying. “Dynos” have always been dramatic eye-catchers. Dyno as in dynamic. Dynamic motion is the only option for bridging the gap between holds when a static motion is not possible or in some cases just not favorable. Regardless of climbing experience…
Setters’ Favorite New Lead Wall Routes
By Tino Fiumara We just finished the new Lead Wall reset, resulting in 37 routes from 5.9 to 5.13b, with the majority of climbing in the 5.10 and 5.11 range. We’ve introduced colored volumes for Yellow and Blue – meaning that a Yellow volume is only for Yellow routes, etc.…