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The New Rockclimbing.com Booty Crew
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by John Wilder
The Rockclimbing.com Booty Crew has returned! That’s right; your favorite gear slinging reviewers are back with even more attitude and gear than before! Don’t let the smaller, more specialized squad fool you though; these folks are still dedicated to using and abusing new gear so that you don’t have to. They’ll spend hours, if not days, trying to cripple themselves all in the name of testing gear as comprehensively as possible and then crawl to their computers to spend yet more time giving you, the reader, the most detailed reviews this side of the crag.
“If you’re not flyin’… you’re not really composing a coherent opinion about your gear, either.”- Jay Young
The Booty Crew is:
John's been climbing for four or five years, and although he considers himself pretty green, he has managed to get up just enough rock to keep himself out of trouble on most days. The rest of the days bring just enough excitement to keep him off of drugs.
Newly appointed head gear freak, John can usually be found on the sandstone walls that make up the canyons of Red Rock outside of Las Vegas trying to test out new gear without making a complete mockery of himself and those around him- and occasionally succeeding. If he's not out in the canyons, he's usually either at the gym and/or avoiding doing actual work in favor of surfing rc.com.
Kate started climbing while living in Chicago and traveling to Red River Gorge and Devil’s Lake on weekends. Thankfully, the commitment that kept her in Chicago (a job) also made it possible to travel. These days she lives in her RV and travels with the weather…mostly between Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Zion, and Red Rocks, though she’s also spent time in Arizona.
Kate will get on any kind of climb to spend time with a partner or partners that she enjoys, but her first love is climbing big walls. “If I had the choice,” says Kate, “I’d spend every night on my Metolius Bombshelter eating Tasty Bites and waiting for the moon to rise.”
Grant is currently in rehab. He originally comes from Yorkshire and didn't start climbing until after moving to Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately his initial experiments with rock climbing lead to his addiction to ice climbing. Having tried crack and other forms of rock climbing for over 11 years, his problem with ice steadily got worse over the last 6 seasons. When asked to explain his actions he mumbled something about "It's the gear dude, it's so cool but that global warming thing is messing it all up". In an attempt to sort out his addiction he admitted himself into rehab in the Canadian Rockies. He believes the incredible amount of ice and the longer winter should help him handle his problem but realizes that he will always be in recovery.
Grant has allowed his activities to take him to crags and icefalls across the eastern Provinces and States and he now lives in Alberta allowing him to explore new areas in the west. His previous explorations have covered Alberta and BC and down to Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington in the States.
In addition to actually climbing when work allows, he has been involved in promoting climbing access by previously being head of access in Southern Ontario, secretary of the ACC's national access committee, and currently a board member of the Climbers Access Society of Alberta. All he really wants though is to be able to climb. If that involves new toys, then he won't be too unhappy while he attempts his rehab.
Special Guest Reviewers
Although not officially part of the Booty Crew, these folks have graciously consented to finding time in their days to occasionally review gear for Rockclimbing.com.
Jay began climbing almost 20 years ago in and around DC, where he grew up, but his first real climbing experience came as an Outward Bound student in Colorado. After that course he began to buy climbing equipment with gleeful reckless abandon. The formative years of his climbing career were spent at the Gunks of NY and Seneca Rocks of WV, which is why his first love will always be trad. These days, Jay prefers “sport tradding,” which is essentially steep, easily-protected single-pitch trad. He has also been known, however, to frequent such bastions of runout slabbiness as Stone Mountain, Cedar Rock and Looking Glass, NC. Despite his trad roots, Jay also loves a good clip-up and isn’t averse to bolts. He hopes to boulder much more this year, as well.
Jay puts almost as much love into cooking as he does climbing and writing, though according to him, he’s only average in all of the three. His wife and dog, Wendy and Louis, respectively, also climb.
'Scary' Larry began climbing in 1969, in the days before harnesses and belay devices and, due to his nostalgic nature, he has kept to those ways- delighting and scaring folks for years with his hip and shoulder belays, swami belt, and dolt nuts. Educated at Stoney Point and Taquhitz, Larry came to Las Vegas as an experienced climber who was well grounded in all aspects of the outdoors and fell in love with both the beauty and history of Red Rock Canyon and hasn't left since.
Among other things, Larry is the author of both his own book- Red Rock Odyssey, and the history portion of the local Supertopo. He currently spends most of his time scouting and climbing new routes with just about anyone willing to have a good day out in the mountains.
