Ever joined us for Crag Chasers? Do you even know what Crag Chasers is?  Well, I’m about to tell you.  Crag Chasers is a spontaneous guided climbing day trip that we plan for those super gorgeous Pacific Northwest days.  If the weather report looks great earlier in the week, then a few days beforehand we’ll send out an email and Facebook blast letting you know that Crag Chasers is ON.  Whether you’re an avid outdoor climber or never been, you can come hang out, have fun, and climb on.

A seat in the Edgeworks van only costs $30.00 +tax and includes necessary gear rental. Reserve your seat today, call 253-564-4899 or email us.

THE DETAILS

Call in sick, get a baby sitter, cancel your dentist appointment, and meet us at Edgeworks the morning of and we’ll have the van loaded up and ready to go!  We’ll spend a few hours pulling down, enjoying the best the PNW has to offer and having a blast. The van will usually pull back into the Edgeworks parking lot at around 3:00 p.m. that afternoon.

THE RULES

All Edgeworks rules apply. In order to belay, participants must be Edgeworks belay certified. In order to lead climb, participants must be Edgeworks lead climb certified. All lead climbing will follow established routes using quickdraws placed by an Edgeworks staff member.

As a new climber, it’s tempting to hit the gym every day and max yourself out. Allowing your body to rest and recouperate, though, is essential in being able to climb your best. For newer climbers, Steph Davis recommends the following:

“Remember that you need rest days for muscle and tissue to rebuild, and your fingers are not used to being weighted so much. Three days a week should be the max, and with 4-7 you are flirting with tendon issues. Try not to tape your fingers if it’s not necessary. If you have energy to burn and you just can’t stop yourself, consider focusing on core strength. There are countless variations of crunches, leg raises and planks you can do. I think improving your core is one of the single best things you can do for climbing. In between your gym sessions, you could do some cross training of your choice: running, biking, swimming, yoga or weight lifting. This will keep your circulation going, improve your lungs, and in the case of yoga, give you even more muscle gains on your “rest” days.”

When you’re stoked on climbing and getting better, it can be easy to push your body to the point of injury, so make sure you remember to take those days off to let your body rebuild and recouperate!

Looking to further improve your climbing? Check out our Private Lessons or ProRock Coaching programs

Girl Scout Rock Climbing Round Up!
Saturday June 9^th, 2012
5:00pm – 9:00pm

Thanks for your interest in our semi-annual “ROCK CLIMBING ROUND UP” event! This event is for Girl Scouts, their family and friends.

For some of you, this event will be your first introduction to Edgeworks and the sport of indoor rock climbing. This will definitely be a very memorable experience. For those of you returning, we have a new t-shirt for 2012 and have made a few changes to the registration form, check-in and schedule.

Climbing will be split into three groups and rotated every hour so everyone has a chance to win prizes, eat food, and climb to the top of our walls.

In organizing each of these events, I learn about what works and what does not. For this event, we are going to allow friends and siblings of the girls to participate and climb in this event.

Download the registration form HERE!

Don’t forget that Early Registration (which includes a Free T-Shirt)ends on the 24^th of May!  So register TODAY!!

Contact: Patrick@edgeworksclimbing.com for a registration packet and to ask any questions.

Climb smarter instead of stronger. Train yourself to always find the easiest way up a route regardless of the grade. For example, if you are on a 5.9 and you are a 5.11 climber you could skip holds and muscle your way through just to get to the top, but that would neither make you a stronger or smarter climber. You might as well take that opportunity to find the easiest path to the top. If you feel like you are doing a move that is too hard for the grade STOP. Take one step back and try to figure out a better way. If you consistently do this on easier grades you will do it better on harder grades enabling you to climb at a much higher level. I can’t count the number of people who are putting in 5.12 effort on a 5.11 climb. Wouldn’t you want to be putting 5.12 effort on a 5.12, or a 5.13? I sure would… Always think critically about the way you are climbing something and you will learn more from the experience. Send smart and then you will send hard!

Looking to further improve your climbing? Check out our Private Lessons or ProRock Coaching programs

Edgeworks is hosting a fundraiser to get a permanent bathroom installed at Vantage from 6-10 pm on May 24th. During the fundraiser, Petzl will be teaching a Multi-Pitch Efficiency clinic from 6-8pm and Edgeworks will be teaching an Escape the Belay Clinic.

There will be plenty of action, even if you are not taking a clinic.  Drop by to enter the raffle for some great prizes, eat a burger or have an adult beverage with some good friends.

Come on down and support the climbing in Washington!

Suggested donation is $10.

On Thursday May 17th, we will be welcoming Steilacoom High School for a fun day of climbing. This is a part of their PE class, how AWESOME is that?!?!

If you are a teacher and are interested in the services that we provide for our school partners, please contact Patrick at:253-564-4899 ext. 9105 or patrick@edgeworksclimbing.com.

That is right!!! We have officially secured out proper permits for guiding at Vantage/Frenchman Coulee. On Saturday May 12th, we are taking 12 PLU students out for a great day of climbing on some volcanic basalt.

If you, your company, or your group is interested in having Edgeworks do some guiding, please contact Patrick at Patrick@edgeworksclimbing.com

Some of the places that we would love to guide you… Exit 38, Exit 32, Vantage, Index, Smith Rock, and more… Don’t see a place you are interested in listed?? Call us for specific details.

Carbon Neutral Climbing, you say? No, we’re not talking about climbing outside, we’re talking about climbing at Edgeworks!  Edgeworks has chosen to take part in PSE’s Carbon Balance Program, which will offset the carbon we produce here at Edgeworks in order to keep the outdoors beautiful, healthy, and natural… so you can continue to enjoy climbing out in nature!

So how does it work?

“Carbon offsets represent the destruction or reduction of harmful greenhouse gases emitted from sources such as fossil fuels, animal waste, landfills or industrial processes. A single carbon offset represents the reduction of an amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2e).

• When you enroll in PSE’s Carbon Balance Program, PSE purchases carbon offsets on your behalf through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), one of the nation’s leading offset suppliers.
• The carbon offsets for PSE’s Carbon Balance Program are sourced from a methane capture project at the George DeRuyter and Sons Dairy, a family farm located in Outlook, WA.

Instead of the traditional method of storing manure in outdoor storage ponds where methane is created and naturally released into the atmosphere, the DeRuyter Dairy digester captures methane, a greenhouse gas more than 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide generated naturally from the manure of dairy herds. The captured methane, which creates the carbon offsets, is then burned in an on-site generator to produce electricity outside of PSE’s service area.” -via PSE Carbon Balance Program

At Edgeworks, we want to bring you an amazing indoor climbing experience, but we also want to equip you to go out and climb anywhere in the world!  This is why we have a plethora of different courses geared towards getting you out of the gym and into the world!  But not only do we want to equip you to get out there, we want to ensure that “out there” is as natural and free of pollution as possible, not only for our generation, but for the generations of climbers yet to come!  If you’re interested in signing up your home to balance your carbon output, you can find out more here.