Britney or Christina, Frappuccino or half-caf vanilla latte, Maxim or FHM, trad or sport—our world is full of crucial, life-defining choices. Your sling choice, however, truly is life affecting. Read on to find out why.

John Bachar laces up his boots and cinches the sling on his chalk bag. “Ready?” Only then do I realize he means to climb all two thousand feet solo, without a rope. To save face, I agree, thinking: Well, if he suggests something too crazy, I’ll just draw the line. I was the first to start soloing out at Josh anyhow.

Rooting around for precious gems in the deep & dirty south.

A low evening sun is cutting through the valley, highlighting the Squamish Chief and neighboring Shannon Falls.

That Charlie Fowler would meet his end while doing what he loved is no huge surprise given the sheer volume of his climbing. At age 52, he'd racked up three and a half decades of it, and had carried his quiet air of a seasoned survivor from hard rock to the high-risk games of alpine climbing and soloing.

Sterling Nitro 9.8 climbing rope reviewed by Rock and Ice, the climbing magazine.