Michael is right. Watch this...

For individuals going willingly together into Austria's mountains, this decision sets a terrible precedent and runs amok the freedom and risks people take. Alpine club members need to advocate for a legislative solution, if they agree. #climbing #mountaineering www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

This ski mountaineering isn't really mountaineering.

I had a feeling the climbing gym would be crowded on Presidents Day. It wasn't... Until it was. Genuinely good time... Again, until I felt like I was the only adult playing while the moms watched their little crushers on all the problems.

I am enjoying the latest issue of @gripped.bsky.social. The profile of Dan Hannah might be my favorite in the first quarter.

Thoughts, boulderers in the know...? Purest testpiece? #SuburbanMountaineer #climbing #boulderer gripped.com/news/the-mos...

Hmm... #SuburbanMountaineer #climbing #mountaineering www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...

I appreciate @gripped.bsky.social for "breaking" this interesting story first. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

Confidence. We all want it. I found it's driven by purpose, and its not everything. You don't have to be confident in tennis if it's just fitness an pleasure, and you don't need it for reading financials if you have someone to guide you...

It's hard to argue with trillions of dollars of home equity, but do we give too much weight to #homeownership? It's game changing and it gets me up every morning. But let's take a moment and look at the reason why it's so hard today to be a first-time homebuyer. #life medium.com/@andrewszala...

Listen... open.spotify.com/track/6AtgHx...

My wife said she just booked our spring trip to Assateague Island. Everything weighing on me suddenly feels lighter now.

I actually hate watching the forecast incessantly closing work and schools before anything starts. It might be fine it might really not. But if I can sled AWESOME. If I can be in person after just a delayed opening GREAT. Eh. Either way. #letitsnow #snow #snowday

Climbing is not at its best as a spectator event. Historically it has been at it's best as storytelling activity--after the fact. It is athletic, but more of a personal game than a sport. And where it gets into scored competition, it's a different activity. #climbing #alexhonnold #rockclimbing

This one made my day. (Pathetic, maybe. But still...)

Another example of how climbing is therapeutic (even if not genuine therapy.) #climbing #mountaineering #rockclimbing #boulderer www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Found a hardcopy of 92 (that's Alpinist Magazine issue 92) at a local bookshop here in Peaklessburg. It includes my review of Sarah Boon’s 'Meltdown.' (It’s succinct, maybe too succinct, but that's print sometimes.)

I found this Mountain Hardwear in a folder of stuff I kept from 25 years ago. It really resonated with me. Still does, a little. #hiking #hiker #mountains #climbing

Feels good to publish again.

Where ever we put our energy, that's where we grow. I want us all to find balance and strength and simplify this complicated life. I'll be writing on finding and making a life that's lighter, not louder on Medium. Follow me... Or don't. I trust your judgment. medium.com/@andrewszala...

So in the new pyramid, are we supposed to eat more at the top or the bottom?

"The strength that I have learned to have, is through the people I have chosen to listen to." --Sasha DiGiulian on growing and who we choose to be. (She's a world-class rock climber, in case you didn't know.)

"I believe that managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly, you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.” —Tommy Lasorda #leadership #management #baseballfan

I am enjoying the sunshine of this coming of a new year. Well, this pic was from last night. Cheers and have a good 2026.

I still read the local paper from my old neighborhood and sometimes there is something just worth sharing with everyone even outside the community, like this about New Year's Day:

Please no more "Year in Review" emails, articles, and blog posts. Come up with better content.

I had a great day. And now I don't have to move a damn elf until next December. 😌

Jeremy said it better than me...

Daniel Light perpetuates a myth: “From medieval times, Europeans had contemplated mountains with fear and superstition, their frozen heights of witches and lairs of dragons, with the souls of damned lying incarcerated in the glaciers below.” Dawn Hollis' research has debunked this. #mountaineering

My old cap is now over 10 years old. And it has a unique quality about it. #baseballfan #baseball #birdland #orioles

I love the team-specific cap on the cover of this young-adult novel. #baseballfan #orioles #baseball

So perhaps it's right to say climbing us therapeutic? #climbing www.climbing.com/culture-clim...

I keep coming back and re-reading this one. #climbing #alpineclimbing #mountaineering explorersweb.com/partner-char...

What great style! #climbing #Adventure #Alps #alpineclmbing gripped.com/news/six-day...

Great news, and not sure hownI missed this: Cochamó has been preserved. I first learned about it from writing and working with Chris Kalman. #climbing #Patagonia #rockclimbing gripped.com/news/histori...

Okay, to be clear this is Vertebrate Publishing's top 10 of 2025, but still, 'Extreme Rock' is still being published... #mountainlit #climbing #climbingbooks

I woke to a winter wonderland outside my door.

I don't follow comp climbing so I hadn't heard of Gord McArthur, but he has a self-published book coming out in January called 'Throwing Hope' about the challenges and hardships that made his ice climbs. I'm dubious about it, but maybe... #mountainlit #climbing www.gordonmcarthur.com/product-page...

Ah. Duly noted. gripped.com/news/the-ifs...

Intrepid machine.

My brief book review of 'Meltdown' by Sarah Boon (2025) will be in Alpinist Magazine issue 92 shortly.

Geez... How many covers of 'Last Christmas' by big popstars does the market need?

It's the best money I spend. (Sorry, kids.)

ICYMI, like me... 'The Corridor', a memoir by Iain Peters, won this year's Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. Well done, Mr. Peters. #mountainlit #climbingbooks #climbing

I can't relate exactly but I totally understand. #rockclimbing #climbing www.climbing.com/news/tim-emm...

I miss when Thrivent Financial only supported Habitat for Humanity. No offense to other causes.

Phaistos Disk, named for the ancient Greek town it was found in, has writing that's a bit of a mystery and, despite the controversy about its legitimacy, introduced some wonderful things about the people then. explorersweb.com/fraud-or-fin...

This is awesome! #merrychristmas #baseballfan

The pies and fried chicken (yes, fried chicken) were the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal, the charcuterie platter was an outstanding surprise.

I agree on 'The Wager' and made me interested in the Buckley bio.