ROCK CLIMBING (Magazine) 010

A compilation magazine featuring a series of articles by people who’ve been “7’d” on the rock—a must-read for every climber. Whether you’re just starting out, a seasoned pro with over 20 years of experience, someone who’s only ever climbed at a gym, or someone planning to try outdoor climbing for the first time—this is a literary climbing magazine we want everyone who enjoys climbing to read.

[Contents]

・Interview with Sean Labat

・First Ascent of “SHO-” 5.15a on Futago-yama / Sachi Anma

・First-Ever Solo All-Free Ascent of “The Nose” on El Capitan / Keita Kurakami

・Successfully Climb Four 5th-Grade Routes in Four Consecutive Days / Ryuichi Murai

・Red Bull ASURA KUMANO 2018 Event Report & Area Topo

・Chronicles of the Mizukake Pioneering Era: Komen-iwa and Topo Creation / Naoya Naito

・Hard Trad & Multi Commentary: Izumi, Mizukake Mountain, Juichimen-iwa / Satoru Hagiwara

・Yuka Kobayashi = Free Climber: My Goal 2018 / Yuka Kobayashi

・THE GRAMPAINS / Nicole Celia

・Be free be alone. Chapter 1: The Nose Climbing Report / Keita Kurakami

・Continuing the 2013 Mizugaki Multi-Pitch Climb / Yusuke Sato

・Free Climbing in the Pre-Christian Era: Reinhold Messner / Toshiyuki Kikuchi

・Toru Nakajima Interviews Climbers: The Style of Daisuke Ichinomiya / Toru Nakajima

・Open Letter Discussion: Debates on the New Revolt Rules

・New ROUTE INFO: B-Spirits, 4th Dan / Toshiaki Takeuchi

・Bouldering on the Other Side of the World / Jun Shibanuma

・Hamaken Goes! A Journey Through Three-Star Routes Across All Genres Nationwide: “Can You Handle the Arm Lock?” 5.10a / Kensuke Hamada

・The World of Amaterasu / Ippei Tajima

▼Excerpt from
ROCK CLIMBING The primary reason for
launching this magazine was to celebrate the “diversity of climbing culture.” Even when facing the same rock, every climber has different goals and values. However, the prevailing trend seems to be moving in the opposite direction—toward narrowing that diversity down to a single standard—and climbing media around the world are driven by a results-oriented mindset focused on numbers.In the discussions about climbing culture I once heard from my seniors—like a father’s nagging around a campfire—there were various standards, values, and perspectives. As a novice climber present at those gatherings, I learned about different worlds through words and photographs; I was thrilled, became deeply immersed in the allure of rock climbing, and it became my way of life.Wouldn’t it be a tragedy if the culture of rock climbing were to become indistinguishable from other sports driven by a ranking system?

In this magazine, we feature serialized articles written by climbers carefully selected by our editorial team. Our contributors consist primarily of active top climbers excelling in various disciplines, but we also invite writers, corporate employees, lawyers, and others who climb from diverse backgrounds.These articles will primarily serve as a platform for sharing achievements—as measured by each author’s own standards—as well as past experiences, cultural reflections, and insights that may benefit the future of the climbing community, among other topics. We hope this magazine will help disseminate and preserve this diverse array of climbing dreams for future generations, and further contribute to raising public awareness of the climber’s way of life.To all our top climbers contributing to the serialized columns and to our readers, we look forward to your continued support for many years to come.

Toshiaki
Takeuchi, Editor-in-Chief, ROCKCLIMBING Magazine