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Rock Climbing

For more than fifteen years, the AAI Blog has kept the mountain community up to date on news, events, and developments in the outdoor industry, leavened with a bit of humor.
The AAI Blog

Recent Blog Posts

Rock climbing is the art of moving over rock. And while rock climbing was originally a sub-discipline of mountaineering, it has become a discipline within itself, with many sub-disciplines of it’s own, including gym climbing, sport climbing, trad climbing, alpine rock climbing, aid climbing and bouldering.

Chickenheads in Rock Anchors

American Alpine Institute
May 19, 2026

Technical Lower with a Munter-Hitch

American Alpine Institute
May 8, 2026

Rodeo Clip in Sport Climbing

American Alpine Institute
April 1, 2026

Pitons in Bolt Holes: An Archaic Practice

American Alpine Institute
March 31, 2026

Clean Trad Gear from Rock to Rope

American Alpine Institute
March 27, 2026

Spotting a Boulderer

American Alpine Institute
February 27, 2026

Bouldering is Rock Climbing

American Alpine Institute
February 25, 2026

Add a Friction Hitch to Hold Rappel in Place

American Alpine Institute
February 17, 2026

Alex Honnold and Taipei 101

American Alpine Institute
January 27, 2026

Trad Wife? How about Trad Mom?

American Alpine Institute
January 2, 2026

Yosemite Finish: A Refinement to the Figure Eight Follow Through

American Alpine Institute
December 28, 2025

Plus-Sized People in Climbing

American Alpine Institute
December 23, 2025

In Defense of Soloing

American Alpine Institute
December 20, 2025

Edelrid Ohm Braking Resistor

American Alpine Institute
December 8, 2025

Vector Forces in Climbing

American Alpine Institute
December 7, 2025

Climbing with Jewelry is Dangerous

American Alpine Institute
November 29, 2025

American Alpine Institute: Best Rock Climbing School

American Alpine Institute
November 20, 2025

Central Point of an Anchor

American Alpine Institute
November 15, 2025

Retro-Bolting Routes that are Dangerous

American Alpine Institute
November 12, 2025

Firefighter’s Belay

American Alpine Institute
November 11, 2025

Nylon Webbing Strength and UV Radiation

American Alpine Institute
November 10, 2025

Flapper Management in Climbing

American Alpine Institute
November 5, 2025

The Art of Downclimbing

American Alpine Institute
October 31, 2025

Lowering with a Plaquette/Auto-blocking Device

American Alpine Institute
October 23, 2025