Society
Outdoor Climbing, Commercial Gyms, and Addiction: The Hidden Cost of Climbing
Finally, a look at the real cost of climbing: commercial gyms vs. climbing outdoors.
Society
Outdoor Climbing, Commercial Gyms, and Addiction: The Hidden Cost of Climbing
Finally, a look at the real cost of climbing: commercial gyms vs. climbing outdoors.
Society
Why Sydney Sweeney Has Women Climbers Fired Up
Society
Albert Moukheiber: “Climbing seems crazy when you spend all day in Excel”
Society
A Mountaineer’s Execution: State Terror in Iran
Society
Why Sydney Sweeney Has Women Climbers Fired Up
Society
Albert Moukheiber: “Climbing seems crazy when you spend all day in Excel”
Society
A Mountaineer’s Execution: State Terror in Iran
Latest articles
View all articles
Society
Valentin Guéry: “Sports Help France’s Far Right Look Respectable”
How does the far right use sports to establish a local presence and normalize the far right?
Business
From Mountaineering to Vogue: How Arc’teryx Became a Status Symbol
It says it doesn't chase fashion. So why open stores next to luxury brands?
Society
In Poland, Climbing Gives Coal Mines a New Life
From Bytom to Sosnowiec, climbing gyms are moving into Silesia’s historic mining sites.
Business
Why Vertige Media Decided to Leave Wix
For a newsroom, editorial freedom is also about who controls the tools behind its stories.
Environment
A Record $105 Million Gift to Yellowstone Raises Questions
A $7 billion gas project, a new visitor center, and a deal whose terms remain under wraps.
Environment
“There Are a Lot of People at Bleau, and a Lot of Egos”: After the Fontainebleau Wildfires, Climbers Try to Work Together
Who speaks for Bleau’s climbers—and who gets a say in the forest’s future?
Environment
Pattie Gonia vs. Patagonia: A Drag Queen and a Bad Romance
A trademark dispute exposes the contradictions between corporate values and queer activism.
Environment
Climbing and Colonialism: “There Are No First Ascents on Stolen Land”
At the Buttermilks, Jolie Varela asks who gets to feel at home on the land.
Sport and Competitions
Kalymnos: UIAA Confirms Stress Corrosion Cracking After Fatal Climbing Accident
Tests found 316L steel in nearby bolts, but how the cracks developed remains unclear.
Society
Press Independence in the Age of Algorithms
We're rebuilding Vertige Media to put readers, not platform metrics, first.
Environment
Fontainebleau After the Fire: What Are Climbers Really Mourning?
To locals, Bleau is home. To distant climbers, a dream. The fire exposed the difference.
Culture
François Damilano and Étienne Klein: Trust on the Line
A plagiarism scandal casts a new light on a book born on the Grandes Jorasses.
Society
Valentin Guéry: “Sports Help France’s Far Right Look Respectable”
How does the far right use sports to establish a local presence and normalize the far right?
Business
From Mountaineering to Vogue: How Arc’teryx Became a Status Symbol
It says it doesn't chase fashion. So why open stores next to luxury brands?
Society
In Poland, Climbing Gives Coal Mines a New Life
From Bytom to Sosnowiec, climbing gyms are moving into Silesia’s historic mining sites.
Business
Why Vertige Media Decided to Leave Wix
For a newsroom, editorial freedom is also about who controls the tools behind its stories.
Environment
A Record $105 Million Gift to Yellowstone Raises Questions
A $7 billion gas project, a new visitor center, and a deal whose terms remain under wraps.
Environment
“There Are a Lot of People at Bleau, and a Lot of Egos”: After the Fontainebleau Wildfires, Climbers Try to Work Together
Who speaks for Bleau’s climbers—and who gets a say in the forest’s future?
Environment
Pattie Gonia vs. Patagonia: A Drag Queen and a Bad Romance
A trademark dispute exposes the contradictions between corporate values and queer activism.
Environment
Climbing and Colonialism: “There Are No First Ascents on Stolen Land”
At the Buttermilks, Jolie Varela asks who gets to feel at home on the land.
Sport and Competitions
Kalymnos: UIAA Confirms Stress Corrosion Cracking After Fatal Climbing Accident
Tests found 316L steel in nearby bolts, but how the cracks developed remains unclear.
Society
Press Independence in the Age of Algorithms
We're rebuilding Vertige Media to put readers, not platform metrics, first.
Environment
Fontainebleau After the Fire: What Are Climbers Really Mourning?
To locals, Bleau is home. To distant climbers, a dream. The fire exposed the difference.
Culture
François Damilano and Étienne Klein: Trust on the Line
A plagiarism scandal casts a new light on a book born on the Grandes Jorasses.
Collections
View all collections
News
View all articles
Business
In New York, the city's cheapest climbing gym is closing its doors
A beloved Hell’s Kitchen climbing wall is gone after 34 years — and members fought to save it.
Sport and Competitions
“A Good Problem to Have”: World Climbing Unveils Record 2027 Paraclimbing Season
Six major events show how fast paraclimbing is growing ahead of its Paralympic debut.
Society
In China, Officials Warn Climbers About Viral Crags
Social media fame can bring crowds to crags that may be unsafe or off-limits.
Society
From 300 to 2,000: Movement Members Step Up Pressure
More than 2,000 climbers are now prepared to freeze their Movement memberships.
Business
In New York, the city's cheapest climbing gym is closing its doors
A beloved Hell’s Kitchen climbing wall is gone after 34 years — and members fought to save it.
Sport and Competitions
“A Good Problem to Have”: World Climbing Unveils Record 2027 Paraclimbing Season
Six major events show how fast paraclimbing is growing ahead of its Paralympic debut.
Society
In China, Officials Warn Climbers About Viral Crags
Social media fame can bring crowds to crags that may be unsafe or off-limits.
Society
From 300 to 2,000: Movement Members Step Up Pressure
More than 2,000 climbers are now prepared to freeze their Movement memberships.
Editor's picks
View all articles
Society
“We Hadn’t Even Thought of a Climbing Gym”: How a Basque Village Brought Climbing and Local Traditions Together
At Balaki, grades are hidden, prices are low, and Euskara is part of daily life.
Culture
Pride, Bolts, and Prejudice: Yosemite’s Holy War Over Snake Dike
A fight over sixteen bolts exposes the power struggles and unwritten rules shaping climbing.
Culture
“Not Everyone Has the Luxury of Going Out and Suffering in the Mountains”: Is Outdoor Culture a Bourgeois Thing?
Who gets to escape—and who gets left outside outdoor culture?
Society
“It Was a Screwup”: Alain Robert Responds to Backlash Over His Video About French Police
The French Spiderman says his viral post reflected his own experience, not a broader view.
Sport and Competitions
“It’s a big stew, but it still has to go down easy”: How World Climbing cooked up its 2027 calendar
Paris, LA and Tokyo are in — but building a global circuit means plenty of trade-offs.
Society
“We Hadn’t Even Thought of a Climbing Gym”: How a Basque Village Brought Climbing and Local Traditions Together
At Balaki, grades are hidden, prices are low, and Euskara is part of daily life.
Culture
Pride, Bolts, and Prejudice: Yosemite’s Holy War Over Snake Dike
A fight over sixteen bolts exposes the power struggles and unwritten rules shaping climbing.
Culture
“Not Everyone Has the Luxury of Going Out and Suffering in the Mountains”: Is Outdoor Culture a Bourgeois Thing?
Who gets to escape—and who gets left outside outdoor culture?
Society
“It Was a Screwup”: Alain Robert Responds to Backlash Over His Video About French Police
The French Spiderman says his viral post reflected his own experience, not a broader view.
Sport and Competitions
“It’s a big stew, but it still has to go down easy”: How World Climbing cooked up its 2027 calendar
Paris, LA and Tokyo are in — but building a global circuit means plenty of trade-offs.
Opinion
View all articles
Society
Heroes on the Wall, Targets in the Street
When youthful independence turns political, admiration quickly gives way to suspicion.
Society
Diary of a Climbing Gym Front Desk Worker Who Hates You, Politely
A front-desk view of climbing culture, belonging, status, and the people who shape it.
Society
Climbing & Capitalism: The Death of Climbing Culture?
How profit reshaped mentorship, access, and community in modern climbing.
Sport and Competitions
Climbers for Palestine: “World Climbing Failed a Historic Test for the Sport”
A last-minute procedural overhaul blocked scrutiny of three national federations.
Society
Why Climbing Is Political, Full Stop
Every wall, crag, and gym already carries the weight of the world.
Society
Heroes on the Wall, Targets in the Street
When youthful independence turns political, admiration quickly gives way to suspicion.
Society
Diary of a Climbing Gym Front Desk Worker Who Hates You, Politely
A front-desk view of climbing culture, belonging, status, and the people who shape it.
Society
Climbing & Capitalism: The Death of Climbing Culture?
How profit reshaped mentorship, access, and community in modern climbing.
Sport and Competitions
Climbers for Palestine: “World Climbing Failed a Historic Test for the Sport”
A last-minute procedural overhaul blocked scrutiny of three national federations.
Society
Why Climbing Is Political, Full Stop
Every wall, crag, and gym already carries the weight of the world.
Inside Vertige
View all articles
Sport and Competitions
The Inside Story of World Climbing’s Vote on Suspending Israel, Russia, and Belarus
A whistleblower campaign pushed climbing’s governing body to a reckoning.
Science & the Body
Learning to Fall, and Questioning Climbing’s Denial of the Fall
What falling reveals about fear, risk, and the culture we build on the wall.
Culture
Desire Lines: A New Platform for Marginalized Voices in Climbing and Mountaineering
A new platform expands whose stories get told in climbing and mountaineering.
Society
Diary of a Forgotten Pof Bag in Fontainebleau
A resin bag watches climbers turn Bleau into something a little too gym-like.
Sport and Competitions
The Inside Story of World Climbing’s Vote on Suspending Israel, Russia, and Belarus
A whistleblower campaign pushed climbing’s governing body to a reckoning.
Science & the Body
Learning to Fall, and Questioning Climbing’s Denial of the Fall
What falling reveals about fear, risk, and the culture we build on the wall.
Culture
Desire Lines: A New Platform for Marginalized Voices in Climbing and Mountaineering
A new platform expands whose stories get told in climbing and mountaineering.
Society
Diary of a Forgotten Pof Bag in Fontainebleau
A resin bag watches climbers turn Bleau into something a little too gym-like.