You know you’re probably out of luck if it’s certain kinds of climbing gear (rope, harnesses, etc). But this article about returns, “So you want to return that climbing suit you bought 30 years ago,” mentions an occasion when a customer went to REI to return a 30 year old down climbing suit he never used. REI returned the full amount. I will add that REI was very nice about handling my harness return when it didn’t seem to be very sturdy.
A climber living in Taiwan published a guidebook for the Lung Tung region of Taiwan. You can read more details in Feature: Lung Tung offers a `paradise’: US climber”. He says the climbing’s better than in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the only photos I found don’t show clearly which has better climbing. Lung Tung doesn’t look as relaxing though — I don’t see any beach!
by hermantaiwan
My cameraphone’s pretty lame, so I don’t think I’d enter. Urban Climber and Radar are sponsoring a contest. Take a photo or video of your friends climbing and you could win one of 3 crash pads. You might as well try it out, it’s another great excuse to take some more photos.
Couple of articles about climbing without a faculty or limb. In San Diego, a group of blind students get a chance to meet each other and go rock climbing. You can also read about how one dream life as a climbing instructor suddenly becomes a struggle: Climbing instructor works to get back to what he loves after losing leg in motorcycle crash. Both stories can be pretty motivating if you’re feeling tired, injured, or just not very inspired.
If you’re primarily an ice climber. Read a fun profile of two ice climbers from Idaho.
Hmm, the Eugene School District (Oregon) received a federal physical education grant that funded $115,000 to build the climbing walls and $44,000 per year for staffing. This allows the district to open the gym up for 80 hours a month to the general public. Read more details in Climb Time: Free community climb program aims to raise fitness levels. Sounds great, but I wonder how other districts have used the money.
