Matty Hong takes a breath on Papichulo, 5.15a, at Oliana.
The SCARPA Drago has arrived and just in time for fall sending season too. Crafted by legendary rock-shoe designer Heinz Mariacher and handmade in Italy in SCARPA’s state-of-the-art factory, the Drago is SCARPA’s most refined rock shoe to date. Sensitive, precise, and insanely sticky from heel to toe, the Drago has become the shoe of choice for many of the world’s top climbers. “I compete in the Drago because of its versatility. I feel like I can do any move with them,” says SCARPA athlete Sean McColl. “I’m a better climber with the Drago on my feet.” This shoe will win comps. It will take down steep, stubborn, and technical projects that require creative footwork. The Drago is at the leading edge of what’s possible in rock shoe design. With a limited stock now available at SCARPA.com and select SCARPA retailers, you will want to act fast to get your pair.
We know the drill. A long, hot summer session results in some serious shoe funk so you throw your shoes in the trunk. Then you hit your favorite restaurant for grub or watering hole for a drink. Before too long, someone suggests a cruiser ride, and you decide to just unpack from climbing the next morning. Bad idea. Everything lovely about summer, the sun, the heat, the dryness will trash your climbing shoes. Here are a few tips care for your rock shoes during the hot months. Sending temps are almost here.
Don’t kill fido…or your shoes.
This Friday, July 15, SCARPA athlete Joe Grant will toe the start line of one of the toughest trail running races on the planet, the Hardrock 100. Traversing 100 miles with over 33,000 feet of ascent, the Hardrock challenges runners in the rugged and beautiful peaks of Southwest Colorado. Because many of you might get the bug to take on your first big race or mountain objective this summer, we asked Joe to give some insight into the training required to push your limits on the trail. And if a big day is on the agenda, we’ve got the award winning alpine running shoes to get it done.
Joe Grant snaps a spring selfie while running in the Indian Peaks of Colorado.
Rowan has been wanting to climb a lot lately. To be clear, I never suggest to my sons that we go climbing. Nor do I ask them if they want to go. They have access to a garage wall at our house, to my Treadwall and to the thousands of sandstone boulders that surround our neighborhood. When they ask, I take them, and when they don’t we go fishing or play ball or go on hikes or do crafts. But on a recent trip to Boulder, Colorado, we climbed one of the Flatiron’s together. This was not a planned event nor a goal or even a wish on my part. It was more of an extension of my observing his interest in climbing. I should mention, Rowan, my oldest, is four and a half.
In the mountains, running has evolved. Throw in technical trails, a few thousand vertical feet, a little scrambling, and an activity humans have done for both survival and sport for millennia takes on a whole new dimension. Now infused with elements of climbing, peak-bagging, and route-finding, running has become one of the more incredible ways to explore the mountains. And it was with the goal of building product for efficient movement in rugged terrain that SCARPA completely redesigned its running shoes for 2016. Two years in the making, the SCARPA alpine running line is more functional and effective than it’s ever been. From light-and-fast ascents to the after-work jog on the local trails, these shoes get you moving. The new line is comprised of four models, the Proton and Proton GTX, two deep-lugged shoes for long, but fast days with bigger loads, the Neutron, an all-purpose trainer ready to take on anything, and the Atom, a minimalist, low drop race shoe. And so far the response has been even better than we could have hoped for. Learn more about what the media has to say about SCARPA’s brand-new line of running shoes below.
Jari Hiatt running the 403 Trail, Washington Gulch, Crested Butte, Colorado.
On Saturday, May 14, SCARPA athletes Jacob Cook and Robbie Phillips topped out on one of Yosemite’s test pieces, “El Nino” (5.13c). For Phillips, the funky granite cracks and corners of El Cap proved a serious test. Below is a reflection on his butt kicking and ultimate triumph from his blog. Read the full story his Yosemite experience and the ascent of “El Nino” HERE.
Robbie Phillips fights with a 5.12 chimney pitch on “El Nino.”
In early June 2015, Alex Puccio was warming up for the Vail, Colorado, stop of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup. She took an awkward fall and heard a pop. The first doctor she saw confirmed the worst, a blown knee. Her first run inwith major injury, this was a gut check, but in the year that followed, Alex committed herself to intense rehab and training. Through the experience, she found a new level of focus, determination, and mental strength, and some might argue she’s come back even stronger. Watch the full story below.
Alex Puccio in Hueco, TX. Photo: Joel Zerr
We’ve grown a little lazy the last several months. It’s time to resurrect our favorite aid to the Friday state of mind. Chock full of web videos straight from SCARPA athletes to you, the SCARPA First Friday Film Fest is the perfect excuse to kick back with a cold one at the end of the work day. This month’s batch of moving pictures is heavy in verticality. It starts with a moving piece from Cheyne Lempe about his harrowing experience on Baffin Island with SCARPA athlete Dave Allfrey. Then we’ve got a quality rock trip video from Red Rock, Nevada, put together by our Southeast Grassroots Team. Finally, there’s excellent send footage from around the Northeast where SCARPA athlete Bryce Viola has been putting up FAs on the upper right’s hardest boulder problems. Sit back and enjoy.
Early last summer, SCARPA athlete Dave Allfrey and filmmaker Cheyne Lempe set out on a journey that would test both their limits, big-wall climbing on Baffin Island. While both had plenty of climbing experience ranging from places like Yosemite, Patagonia, and the Himalaya, neither climber had pushed themselves in an area as remote and unsupported, beautiful and dangerous as Baffin Island. If there’s one dish in which the miles of fjord ice and thousands of feet of vertical granite of Baffin serve in abundance, it’s humble pie of the purest, most enriching variety. Watch Haywire, the story of their trip below.
