Kyle Broxterman

Novelty Is The Antidote To Time's Invisible Erosion I'm been thinking about this concept a lot recently. In my life I crave novelty above most things....I guess its the explorer in me. During this constant pursuit of novelty in my life I've found that it directly relates to our sense of time when we look at what we've done with our life retrospectively. Our brains are literally prediction machines constantly building models of the world to anticipate what comes next. When we spend too much time in deep routine our memory collapses; our brain sees no reason to store redundant information. When something unexpected happens our brain is forced out of autopilot, and that is where the power of novelty lies. Time not only slows down around novel moments, but when we look back at how we spent our lives, the cummulation of these novel moments literally shape our sense of time. Our brain encodes time not by the clock, but by the density of memories. That is why I love adventure trad multi-pitch climbs. I can’t think of a better way to interject novelty into our lives. Every new climb, every new move, every new gear placement, every new conversation had with a partner, every fall, every close call…nothing is guaranteed, everything unfolds before you as you lean into the unknown. What MAGIC! This is a reminder to purposefully introduce more novelty into your life. It could be anything new. Take a dance class, cook a new meal, hike a new trail, take a new way to work, try a new podcast….anything to break the routine and snap your brain out of autopilot and into the real world. You will live a longer life. This is Adventure Punks (10d) | Red Rock Canyon

Episode 112 | Jason Niemeier: An "Eldo" Accident is Now LIVE!

Jason met a new climbing partner through a Facebook group, vetted him over a few conversations, and went to Eldorado Canyon for their first route together. Twenty feet up the Yellow Spur, his partner fell onto a ledge—rope behind the leg, face-first impact... broken wrist and severe facial trauma. This episode walks through the accident sequence, the rescue, and what Jason feels went wrong. Despite multiple outreaches, his injured partner stopped communicating with him after the accident and has left Jason to process and reflect on the accident alone. He reflects on partner vetting, extending gear on traverses, communication during high-consequence terrain, attentive belaying, and processing the guilt of an accident where someone gets badly hurt and disappears. In this conversation we cover topics such as: finding partners online, multi-pitch trad climbing, ledge fall dynamics, first aid response, and helmet effectiveness.

🎙 Watch the full episode on Youtube OR listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

Well...THAT was close. 😅 🫣

Ignoring that I almost dropped a black Totem from 800ft up...there is a controversial lesson here. The black totem isn't ALWAYS the best option...I know....hard to believe. After placing the black totem and the .2 z4 bunch....I've found that the .2 z4 is just slightly smaller and is a perfect alternate when the black totem is just a little big. 👌

kicks back 90 degrees and immediately starts going vertical. The key to pulling around the lip is to fight for the constriction high up in the crack. The jam you get here is so good I even cut feet and moved my left hand all while on a single jam. Not sure if you can catch that in the video.

You thinks its over and then the crack instantly opens up to 4s and then 5s within a few feet. Leaving you desperately spilling out of the crack. With some chicken wing magic and using key footholds I was able to free all the moves of this beast.

Will I come back for the redpoint? Probably not. 😅

To be transparent this "send" is heavily edited for your viewing pleasure. I took 3 times on my onsight attempt and edited them out so you can watch all the moves.

Cover photo: .jaworski

Expect The Unexpected

The line between complete control and the unexpected is quite thin. While I was in no real danger here with a small cam at my waist and a bolt about 10ft below me, an unexpected foot slip like this could be a serious problem under different circumstances.

This is Yellow Brick Road (10c) | Red Rock Canyon

⚠️ Foot Slip While Placing Gear 700ft. Off The Ground ⚠️

Pumped out of my mind on Rostrums p7 11b crux trying to place gear before getting to the stem rest...and my foot pops! Thankfully I had spent the time to get a solid right hand and was able to save it and pull through the crux into the rest without falling.

Its hard to tell in this video but this section is overhanging by a decent degree leaving a huge amount of free space below you on these airy powerful moves.

What a fight! 💪

Well...THAT was close. 😅 🫣

Ignoring that I almost dropped a black Totem from 800ft up...there is a controversial lesson here. The black totem isn't ALWAYS the best option...I know....hard to believe. After placing the black totem and the .2 z4 bunch....I've found that the .2 z4 is just slightly smaller and is a perfect alternate when the black totem is just a little big. 👌

Don't Take The Whip If You Don't Have To...

This route had been on my list for years! After onsighting Fiddler on the Roof much quicker than we expected and I decided to go after this route to wrap up the day. This is the crux of pitch 2.

The edge of the arete leaves you wanting more positive holds; sometimes requiring thin crimps on patina. And the feet get super thin. Once you gain the arete the pump clock starts ticking especially for the right hand...taking time to read the rock as the twilight light quickly faded and not having draws ready on my left side burned me enough to bring me right to the edge of control.

Do I climb till I fall? Or do I downclimb back to my draw and rest. Considering it looked like the moves went out right (which they did) if I fell after pulling around the sharp arete cutting my rope would be a real hazard. Plus all the other factors that go into a leader fall. In my experience when I get to this place, when the pump clock is ringing, I will place and rest or downclimb back to my pro and rest.

Sure enough, after taking the time to de-pump and calibrate I sent the rest of the route clean.

Choose safety over sends my friends!

This is Delicate Sound of Thunder (11b) in Red Rock Canyon

Trying To Fit A Three Piece Anchor Into The Only Spot Available 🤔

The anchor at the top of p3 of Velvet Revolver was not super straight forward....at least for me. Purple was great black totem was less than ideal .0 was great but tiny....after some consideration I saw a great constriction for a nut, which replaced the dodgy black totem and became the most secure placement of the three.

What are your opinions? I know you have them. 🙃

Hey Everyone! LIVSN’s Winter End of Season Sale is closing soon, and what’s left is moving fast!

Unpopular Opinion. It Is OK To Take.

In the earlier stages of our climbing careers, it can be easy to get caught up in the "Onsight or Die" mentality. As a climber who primarily enjoys on-sighting routes this was an easy trap for me to fall into.; climbing until my very limit at all costs...taking on gear didn't occur to me. Lately, however, realizing that I can take and rest when I'm pumped or about to fall has opened up MUCH harder grades and a more enjoyable climbing experience for me.There is a time and place to try hard and fall, but it's certainly not every time. When you do go for it and risk whipping make sure you know your gear is good and the fall is clean... Because the most dangerous part of climbing is falling.

Do you agree?