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Build My Own FeedThe Journal is dedicated to the sports and people that make Black Diamond what it is.
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QC Lab: Retiring Old Ropes
We’ve all seen it at the cliffs, and I’m a major offender myself—climbing on old ratty ropes. Yeah, ropes are expensive and that’s the main reason people push their ropes to the limit—trying to squeeze every last ounce of use out of them until they become a dog leash or door mat. I’m not going to lie—I get sweet deals on cords,... [READ MORE]
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15th Annual Bozeman Ice Festival event recap
Black Diamond's Grassroots Marketing Coordinator, T.J. Kolanko sent in the following report after attending the 15th Annual Bozeman Ice Festival in Bozeman, Montana—an event this year that was stunned on the first day by the loss of the renowned ice climber Guy Lacelle. Nevertheless, the event went on in his memory and hundreds of people came... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Simon Anthamatten makes first ascent of south face of Jasemba
A couple months ago, Black Diamond athlete Simon Anthamatten teamed up with his brother, Samuel, and fellow Swiss mountain guide Michael Lerjen to make the first ascent of the south face of Jasemba on the border of China and Nepal. Simon sent us the following email and stunning photos shortly upon his safe return. ... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete David Sharratt reports from his attempt on China's Seerdengpu
Last fall Black Diamond athlete David Sharrat partnered with Pat Goodman to tackle the imposing Seerdengpu near Mount Siguniang in the Sichuan Province of China. Though the pair were unable to summit the peak, their obessions and frustrations make for an insigntful look at the highs and lows of expedition alpine rock climbing. Below is the... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards—Tawoche Video Dispatch #1
Black Diamond athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards are in Nepal for the month of January, attempting a new line on Tawoche, a 6495-meter peak in the Khumbu Himal. Renan and Cory will be sending in video dispatches as the trip progresses. Below is Dispatch #1, written by Cory and filmed by Renan. It’s 5:45 a.m. and Renan and... [READ MORE]
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Issue with 2009 Xenos Ice Clipper slots
It has come to our attention that the construction of some of the Ice Clipper slots on our 2009 Xenos harnesses are not satisfactory and may become unstitched during use. We became aware of this at the same time many of you did, just as the ice season kicked into high gear in the last couple of weeks. During recent lab and field-testing,... [READ MORE]
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Endless Ascent: BD athlete Will Gadd to climb ice for 24 hours STRAIGHT in Ouray to raise money for the dZi Foundation
This weekend (January 9-10), Black Diamond athlete Will Gadd will attempt to ice climb non-stop for 24 hours at the Ouray Ice Park in an event billed as The Endless Ascent. Wait, what? Why? Gadd will be climbing laps on a WI 4 ice route for 24 hours straight to raise money for the dZi Foundation, which builds programs to improve education and... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #27
With a slew of "Best of..." videos and lists out there flooding the cyberInterwebscape as we broke out of 2009, we figured we'd join the fray and float this one out there as the first Winger of 2010. Basically a compilation of 2009's gnarliest and nastiest diggers, headers, nut-busters, face-smashers, mishaps and wrecks from around the globe... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards—Tawoche Video Dispatch #2
Black Diamond athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards are in Nepal for the month of January, attempting a new line on Tawoche, a 6495-meter peak in the Khumbu Himal. Renan and Cory will be sending in video dispatches as the trip progresses. Below is Dispatch #2, written and filmed by Renan. Dispatch #1 is here. The good news is... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Reine Barkered and Martin Webrant score epic turns in Davos, Switzerland
Black Diamond athletes Reine Barkered and Martin Webrant drove from Sweden to Davos, Switzerland in search of powder, big airs and tasty photos with photog Martin Söderqvist. They scored on all fronts and drove home happy men. Below is a report and photos from Söderqvist, as well as one from Dan Caruso , Black Diamond Europe's Ski... [READ MORE]
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Copp-Dash Inspire Award established
Black Diamond is proud to be a part of the inaugural Copp-Dash Inspire Award , an alpine and adventure climbing grant that has been established in honor of BD athletes Jonny Copp and Micah Dash. Jonny and Micah were two of America’s leading alpine climbers, adventuring to the farthest corners of the world in search of first ascents... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards—Tawoche Video Dispatch #3
Black Diamond athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards are in Nepal for the month of January, attempting a new line on Tawoche, a 6495-meter peak in the Khumbu Himal. Renan and Cory will be sending in video dispatches as the trip progresses. Below is Dispatch #3, written and filmed by Cory and Renan. Dispatch #1 is here. Dispatch #2 is... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Albert Leichtfried makes first ascent of longest icefall in Austria
Black Diamond athlete Albert Leichfried teamed up with Benedikt Purner in early December 2009 to make the first ascent of the longest icefall in Austria, the 1000-meter long Moonwalk ( WI 6 M7). Moonwalk is a combination of classic north face climbing with serious waterfall and mixed climbing. Below is a short report and photos Leichtfried... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #28
Thirty-three seconds of sickness, featuring the one and only Death Metal Rooster. Crank it to 11 and hit play. Have a great weekend! [READ MORE]
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Octane pack, Fusion ice tools and Justice skis receive rave reviews
2009 was a very gratifying year here at Black Diamond as we received a record number of awards for our innovative, high-quality products. 2010 starts off the same way, with a host of products getting top marks from major publications. Below are three of the most recent sections of praise... Editors at Outside China... [READ MORE]
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Black Diamond Equipment Asia—a video tour
In 2006, Black Diamond Equipment Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Diamond Equipment, was established in southeast China. It’s important to note that the manufacturing in China is being done in our own factory. Black Diamond Equipment Asia is a Black Diamond built, owned and managed facility that is operated and staffed by Black... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Josh Wharton and Ines Papert win Ouray Ice Festival comp and Will Gadd climbs 28,712 feet in 24 hours!
This year’s 15th annual Ouray Ice Festival had many memorable marks, from Will Gadd suffer-festing through a one-man 24-hour ice climbing fundraiser to four Black Diamond athletes reaching podium (including wins by Ines Papert and Josh Wharton ) in one of the most suspenseful ice comps in recent history. As in past years, the three-day... [READ MORE]
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BD employee Chris Thomas checks in from Argentine Patagonia
Our Warranty Manager and all-around cranker, Chris Thomas , is down in Argentine Patagonia for the next three weeks with climber/photographer Ben Ditto, hoping for a weather window in order to make an ascent in the Cerro Torre or Fitzroy massif. Below is an email that Chris sent to Peter Metcalf (our CEO and President) shortly upon his... [READ MORE]
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Adam Ondra and Sonnie Trotter join the Black Diamond Global Team
From Yuji Hirayama to Marko Prezelj to Dave MacLeod to Ines Papert to Fred Nicole to Alex Honnold, the climbers on Black Diamond’s Global Team are some of the best boulderers, sport climbers, trad masters and alpinists in the world. And now we’re stoked to announce that we’ve added two more aces to the deck: Adam Ondra and Sonnie... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Chris Webb Parsons reports from the boulders of Bishop, California
Black Diamond athlete Chris Webb Parsons is on the road to recovery after major shoulder surgery and by the sound of this recent email he sent us, things are going rather well—to say the least. Chris has posted a couple of videos from Bishop (where the Australian is currently bouldering) of The Mandala and The Mystery that are embedded... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards—Tawoche Video Dispatch #4
Black Diamond athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards are in Nepal for the month of January, attempting a new line on Tawoche, a 6495-meter peak in the Khumbu Himal. Renan and Cory will be sending in video dispatches as the trip progresses. Below is Dispatch #4 with a great video of the guys on the route. Dispatch #1 is here.... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #29
Admit it, you dig that Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling" . It's got the tasty hooks, the groovable beats and the "party 'til the sun comes up" lyrics that have kept it on heavy rotation at every club from Ibiza to Indiana to Istanbul. Well, we gotta feeling, too: that you're going to enjoy Winger for the Weekend #29, a beauty of a YouTube... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards—Tawoche Video Dispatch #5 SUCCESS!
Black Diamond athletes Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards are in Nepal for the month of January, attempting a new line on Tawoche, a 6495-meter peak in the Khumbu Himal. Renan and Cory will be sending in video dispatches as the trip progresses. Below is Dispatch #5 where the duo succeed on their first ascent. CONGRATULATIONS to... [READ MORE]
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Preview the all-new Fall 2010 Efficient Series skis and boots
Next winter is a long ways away—heck, this winter isn't even over yet—but we're so stoked on our all-new line of Efficient Series skis and AT boots for Fall 2010, we decided to share them with you now. Click here to go to skibd.com , which showcases all of the new goods, plus design insight, tech specs, videos and 360-degree product... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athlete Chris Schulte reports from Hueco Tanks, Texas
Black Diamond athlete Chris Schulte recently returned from Hueco Tanks, Texas where he battled to pull off a host of quality repeats and even a first ascent or two. Below is Chris’s email report and video he made that highlight the action from V2 mega-classics to V12 power-fests. I’ve been to Hueco Tanks maybe three or four times... [READ MORE]
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BD employee Kolin Powick reports on a visit to the new Teton Ice Park
My wife, Ellen, and I headed to Grand Targhee ski resort in Wyoming last weekend for a buddy’s wedding and some skiing. And seeing as I’d been reading so much about the newly opened Teton Ice Park and would be in the neighborhood, we threw our tools and crampons in the car and hoped to get a few pitches in. I contacted the local guide... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Patxi Usobiaga has surgery on injured shoulder
Black Diamond athlete Patxi Usobiaga blew up his shoulder this past December and recently underwent major shoulder surgery that’ll put him on the shelf for 10-12 weeks (which for a climbing and training machine like Patxi is an eternity ). We wish him well on a speedy and full recovery. Below is an email Patxi sent us describing the injury... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Matt Segal reports from Argentine Patagonia
Black Diamond athlete Matt Segal is currently down in Argentine Patagonia, waiting out day after day of jingus weather, in the hopes of scoring one good window in which to make an ascent in the Cerro Torre or Fitzroy massifs. Below is an email Segal sent us from El Chalten, as well as a video of his last-minute preparations to get packed and... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #30
It's been a busy 10 days or so here at Black Diamond North America with the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow in town and then the SIA Tradeshow in Denver (plus BD Europe getting ready for the ISPO show), so that must explain the lack of quality Winger candidates sent to us over the past week. (What... everyone is too busy working to send us five-sar... [READ MORE]
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