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	Historically, September has been a month for winding down AMC activities, but not this year.  We had a lot going on, which is great!  We are packing as much as we can into each outdoor season, and the response to our events has been wonderful.  Meeting so many new climbing friends is really working out.  Thanks to everyone who’s participated, in one, or many.  If you haven’t yet, try us out.  Bring a friend(s).  We’ll be conducting them again next year too!      The first Saturday of the month, we had a successful (2nd of the year) Learn Trad Class.  New (to us) people that really took to the education offered them.  It’s fun, and interesting to see people gravitating towards Trad, and the opportunities it creates for everyone involved.  A safe learning environment is what we’re looking to create, while building a solid foundation of knowledge.      The 2nd Saturday was the popular Durfee Hill Celebrate a Crag Day.  And popular it was, with one of the biggest attendance yet.  Thanks to the route establishment of Jeff Sargeant(he’s not done yet) we have a bevy of crags to choose from.  We started with a healthy crew, and lots of ropes, at the Roadside Crag.  After moving into the afternoon, we split up, some going to Hemlock, and some going to Coyote.  Great day, great people, and lots of fun climbs!      The 3rd weekend was our annual Cathedral/Whitehorse trip…in North Conway, NH.  This was another good one!  Well designed by Jenn, and met or exceeded all of our expectations.  Excellent AirBNB  facility.  Excellent people.  And 1-1/2 days of good weather.  Saturday was a gorgeous September day, and the crew got out and made an impact on the cliffs of Cathedral, Whitehorse, and elsewhere.  Saturday night was a fun dinner in, and chat-fest.  Sunday threatened rain, but we got out early, and got some solid climbs in before it arrived.      Next up… 10/3 - AMC Beach Pond celebrate a crag day…announcement already out 10/10 - 10/12 AMC back to the Gunks in the Fall 3-day trip…announcement already out      Other:    OSCA(Ocean State Climbing Association) - 10/25, “RI Ripper” boulder competition in Lincoln Woods.  Boulderer, or not, this can be fun!  Fall, maybe a little cool for roped climbing?  Even if you don’t have a boulder pad, they will have them there, as will others.  Go put on your best beanie, and tug on some pebbles at the Woods, and get another day of outdoor movement in.  If you aren’t sure how long you’ll last bouldering…take some ropes and gear and set up some short routes, or some high ball boulder problems, at Goat Rock.  Fun in theFall is the name of the game!         If anyone would like to contribute to this monthly newsletter please email your contribution to risouthcounty@gmail.com or bikeskiboy@hotmail.com.  Contribution needs to be 200 words or less to fit in this newsletter format. A photo is helpful as well but not necessary.
	2026 AMC Narragansett Chapter/ClimbRI Climbing Trips and Event Schedule      This is a synopsis of the upcoming trips/events. Click the link above for details. Trip announcements go out about a month before any trip date! The trips are all focused on multi-pitch trad and ice, except for the Rumney trip, which is sport climbing focused.              Oct 10-12 Rock Climbing, Gunks  Nov 7-8 Mentor/Mentee Trad Leader at the Gunks (non-AMC event)  (Coming soon...ice climbing dates.)
	Route of the Month - Brian Love in the Time of Corona 5.11a, Debora & Edward Ames Open Space, Old Lyme, CT       This is a little obscure crag that I discovered and developed during Covid in 2020. There are only five routes there but it is a fun place to go on a sunny winter day because it faces south and is protected from wind. Or you can combine it with a trip to nearby Pine Ledge. All of the routes are in the 5.9 range with the exception of Love in the Time of Corona. The route is fully bolted and has a permalink draw at the crux where it would be a bit reachy for vetically challenged climbers. If you like overhanging, heel-hooking, pumpy climbs then this is for you.
	This Month's Climber Bio by Ronnie Schroeder - Stephen Venables, May 2, 1954 - Present        Stephen Venables is one of Britain’s most influential modern mountaineers, celebrated for bold, lightweight expeditions in Asia’s highest peaks. He was the first Briton to summit Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen during the 1988 International Everest Expedition. His ascent followed a new, committing route up the Kangshung Face with Robert Anderson, Ed Webster (Massachusetts author of the White Mountains rock climbing guide), and Paul Teare - the smallest team ever to establish such a line without Sherpa support or bottled oxygen. Venables reached the summit alone and survived a high altitude open bivouac at roughly 28,000 feet during the descent.      Beyond Everest, Venables completed major first ascents and new routes across the Himalaya, including Kishtwar Shivling (1983), Solu Tower (1987), the southwest ridge of Kusum Kanguru (1991), and Panch Chuli V (1992), where he broke both legs during the descent and was rescued by teammates and the Indian Air Force. His climbing career also spans the Andes, Patagonia, South Georgia, East Africa, and the Alps.      A prolific writer, Venables won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Painted Mountains (1986) and later earned major international awards for works such as Higher Than the Eagle Soars. He served as president of both the Alpine Club and the South Georgia Association.
	Chasing Grades - Brian        Climbing grades; we are all obsessed with them. Grades are what we use to measure our progress, get a rough idea of what we are getting into, and to puff out our chest and impress our friends and our ego. It is a numeric ephemeral measure of our greatness or failure by an arbitrary metric subjectively assigned by some first ascensionist/route developer. It can vary greatly from crag to crag and gym to gym.      I was thinking about grading when I was tenaciously clinging to a nubbin on a run-out slab driven by insecurity and the inexplicable fear of failure – falling – or worse, admitting failure before it even occurs and shamefully yelling “take.” My thoughts were this is only a 5.9. "Who the hell graded this?" I hate slabs. I can’t fall here. It will diminish my self-perceived status as a climber and crush my ego. How silly.      As a route developer, I frequently get accused of sandbagging the routes I put up and hear others grumbling, "Who the hell graded this?" The grade is my subjective opinion and may or may not suit your strengths and weaknesses (slabs, mantles, roofs, etc.) or your perception of grades (old school or gym climber). I was asked my opinion on the grade of a new climb in a gym. I had to adjust my brain to gym grades. I graded it 5.11 and thought 5.9 outside. Moral of the story; don’t take grades too seriously. "The best climber is the one having the most fun." Alex Lowe
	Ken's Training Tips    Stumbled on ‘exercises to make you a stronger climber’. You, and an appropriate weight kettlebell, is all one needs.  Looks fundamental, and movements that could relate to climbing. 3 out of 4 of these start out in the position of one knee on the floor, the other leg bent in front of you at 90 degrees(kneeling one knee down, one knee up). 1) One For All…start with a kettlebell held in both hands, chest high…move it towards the UP knee, and around the back of your head, back to the starting position, switching knees(up and down) as you complete the revolution, and reverse it. Takes some coordination.  Start light and slow.  Learn the movement flow. 2) Hula Hoop…start with BOTH knees on the floor, feet behind you.  Straight up from the knees to the head.  Move/swing the kettlebell around your body in one direction(switching hands as it passes behind your back/bum) then the opposite direction.  Be smooth with the hand exchange, don’t drop it. 3) Sky Reach…one knee on the floor, one up and in front of you.  Using the arm on the same side as your UP knee, move the kettlebell from hanging in front of you(one arm) and press it up over your head.  Lower, and switch to other side/arm.  I did 5 per arm, before switching. 4) Row Row…one knee down, one knee up.  Both hands on the kettlebell handle…swing/pull the the kettlebell from the hip with the knee on the floor past your torso, and up in front of the knee bent in front of you.  Hold at the top and squeeze for a moment.  Then the other side. My strong feeling is to practice/learn the movements with lighter weighted kettlebells, and work your way up to more difficult weight and resistance. Think about your movements when climbing, and perhaps you can come up with more movements to train for related/specific climbing strength. From Alex Puccio, and Roap.c:  Being able to recover while you’re climbing can be the difference between falling completely pumped, and actually having enough left to finish the route. And like anything else, recovering well is a skill you can practice. 1. Get your hips close to the wall. Whether you’re using an outside edge, opening your hips or changing your body position, try to get your hips as close to the wall as possible. The more weight you can transfer through your feet, the less you’re asking from your hands and forearms. 2. Relax your grip. We love a full crimp and half crimp as much as anyone, but when you’re resting, RELAX. If the hold allows it, move into a 3 or 4 finger drag and try to become as skeletal as possible. Hang rather than squeeze. 3. SHAKE OUT! Don’t wait until you’re completely pumped before you start shaking. Shake throughout the route. Even tiny micro-shakes between moves can make a difference. If you find a proper rest, use it and alternate arms rather than just hanging there gripping the hold. Some research suggests shaking above and below your heart can be more effective. Our testing using the @moxymonitor suggests swinging your arms to encourage blood flow is best (if the hold allows). 4. Control your breathing. Actually think about this one. Slow your breathing down, take deliberate and big breaths and give your body a chance to settle. You’re trying to bring everything down rather than continuing to climb in that frantic, high-output state. 5. Relax your gaze. This one gets overlooked. At a rest, you don’t necessarily need to spend the entire time staring at the crux, the next clip or everything that’s still to come. Once you know where you’re going, soften your gaze. Look at the wall in front of you or out into the distance. Relax, breathe, shake and then go again. Recovery isn’t just something you do when you’re pumped. Get good at doing these things before you’re pumped. Wellness habit:  “Try to get some protein at every meal.  Eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, cottage cheese, beans, whatever works for you.”  I’ve started paying more attention to this.  Breakfast, mid morning snack…berries with low fat greek yogurt, lunch, dinner.  Benefits reportedly:  Protein slows down how fast your body digests carbohydrates, which prevents blood sugar spikes and crashes.  Eating protein makes you feel full longer.  Spreading protein across your meals provides a steady supply of amino acids for tissue repair and muscle building.  Your body burns MORE calories digesting protein, as compared to fats and carbs. Quote of the month:  “Your body isn’t asking you to become an athlete over night.  It’s asking you to stop abandoning the movement it was built to do.”
	Join the ClimbRI email group    Most communication among RI climbers (including the AMC) is done through a Google Group called ClimbRI. There are currently just over 400 climbers in the group from RI, CT, and MA.