The Sexiest Sport: Climbing If you’ve spent much time in the rock climbing gym, you’ve probably noticed how good looking most of the people are there. Fit, healthy, and energetic, climbers tend to live a healthy lifestyle and it’s reflected in how they look.

Not only that but it’s a well known fact that if you want to climb good you got to look good. That’s why so many sport climbing studs rip off their shirts before they start climbing. Primping and preening your hair is just as import as crimping and cleaning a hold. There is even evidence to support how attractive climbing is.

Quirkology, a website devoted to the curious science of everyday life, conducted a study of over 6000 people to indicate which sporting activities would make a member of the opposite sex more attractive. 51% of women found hiking attractive, 52% found football to be exciting, 56% found men participating in extreme sports to be attractive. Rock climbing won the competition with 57% of women finding climbing attractive, making it the sexiest sport from a female perspective. Bottom of their list came aerobics and golf, with just 9% and 13% of the vote respectively.

In contrast, men were most attracted to women into aerobics (70%), followed by yoga (65%), and going to the gym (64%). Bottom of their list came bodybuilding (5%), rugby (6%), and golf (18%).

'Our findings suggest that women who've been pounding the pavements in search of love would do better taking up aerobics, while men seeking women need to ditch the weights and get on the climbing wall,' said fitness expert Sam Murphy, who teamed up with Quirkology on the study. 'That said, the best way to find happiness - not to mention a long-lasting fitness regime - is to do what you love. Unless, that is, it's golf!'

Interestingly enough, there had also been some thoughts that climbing is too sexy. Alex Johnson, a noted female boulderer, commented on her blog about a comp she was in. The female participants were scantily clad in part due to the heat. Johnson felt it was over the top. Climbing can get too sexy.

Regardless, climbing is a great way to meet other healthy, active, and good looking people.

Labels: Outdoor Rock Climbing, sexiest sport, sexy

  ¶ Monday, December 26, 2011 0 Comments

  Lightning Safety for Climbers: Stay Safe
Tis the season for some impressive summer storms, and we all know that alongside massive thunder, those summer storms can bring about some extremely impressive, and extremely deadly lightning strikes. As climbers, anytime we climb outdoors in a storm, we are in jeopardy. The good news is there are things we can do to reduce our risk of getting struck.

As always, check out the full article for some more in-depth analysis and reasoning, but now for brevity's sake, here are the top 8 tips for avoiding that summer lightning while climbing this year:

1. Check the weather forecast before going out.
2. Do your climbing in the morning before it storms.
3. Be prepared to change or abandon your climbing plans.
4. Pay attention to atmospheric changes.
5. Get off high places before a storm arrives.
6. Learn to recognize thunderstorms that produce lightning.
7. Use thunder to determine how far a storm is from you.
8. Follow the 30-30 Rule.

There you have it! The 30-30 rule just means if the time between when you see lightning and hear the thunder is under 30 seconds, seek shelter. Wait 30 minutes from the last bolt of lightning before you safely go out again.

Stay Safe this year!

(image via allposters.com)

Labels: climbing, Climbing Safety, Lightning, Outdoor Rock Climbing

  ¶ Wednesday, June 03, 2009 0 Comments

  5 Prime Climbing Destinations
We're sneaking up on the season of vacations...schools are about to be letting out for Summer, you might have a few weeks of free time saved up from work, so really the only question that remains is where to go, and when. After reading the article we just found, you might be changing your plans, and re-routing your GPS.

That's right, we just found a great report on 5 different locations that are prime spots if you love to climb. Some of them aren't your typical vacation destinations, but if it's the climbing you're after, you can't do much better than these 5 places. Check out the Top 5:

1. City of Rocks, Idaho - "City of Rocks is a climber's paradise of granite domes set in the grassy rolling hills of southern Idaho...Rock formations from 30 to 300 feet tall provide an abundance of climbing opportunities, from beginner to advanced single pitch cracks to multipitched bolted lines. "
2. Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite, Calif. - "The ultimate destination for any climber is Yosemite -- the birthplace of American big-wall climbing. The staggering beauty of the granite walls and green meadows and the unsurpassed climbing continue to lure climbers from all over the world."
3. Indian Creek, Utah - "Affectionately referred to by climbers simply as "The Creek," Indian Creek is THE place for crack climbing, with perfect sandstone splitter cracks of every width imaginable. "
4. Red Rock Canyon, Nevada - "Deep red and orange saturated sandstone, bighorn sheep, wild burros, sunny skies and the lights of Las Vegas in the distance -- Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is the Vegas playground for climbers. It offers some of the best moderate, multipitch routes to be found anywhere."
5. Leavenworth, Wash. - "Homegrown granite, great climbing, alpine lakes, mountain goats and a Bavarian village -- it is not necessary to go overseas for this interesting mixture. "

So, as you start planning your upcoming vacation, why not go off the beaten path of typical vacations, avoid the Disneylands and the theme parks and make it a climbing vacation worth remembering?

(image via utahhikes.com)

Labels: climbing, Locations, Outdoor Rock Climbing, Top 5, Vacation

  ¶ Thursday, April 30, 2009 0 Comments