As our friends over at Climbing Narc noted, "While the interpersonal relationships of climbers is not normally appropriate for discussion on this blog, Beth and Tommy had built a pretty powerful brand around their being a climbing couple so the fact that they are no longer together seems like “news”. " But more importantly for GoBlog, it seems like the entry of two hot climbing ladies back into the dating pool has got the hormones running of quite a few lonely climbing dorks and it's driving mad traffic to the site. Over 75 people a day looking for information on these divorces. We call that newsworthy, at least in the sad fantasy lives of hundreds of climbers around the world. That's the only thing we can think of when we look at our search logs and scratch our heads at the sheer volume of traffic the words "beth rodden divorce" and "step davis divorce" drive to the site. So naturally we were curious what Google had to say as a gut check, so we pulled the numbers from their the Ad Words Keyword Selector tool. Here's the data they gave:

Phrase	Google Global Monthly Search Volume
steph davis divorce	46
beth rodden divorce	58

Looking through our logs, we'll have to say this is just directional and its underestimating the query volume by a large magnitude, because we see over 50 visitors a day alone searching for information on Beth Rodden's divorce. Less from Steph Davis. It's truly bizarre. Are the guys, and you have to assume it's 99% guys doing these searches, sitting in front of their computers going, "She's so hot, now I have a chance at her. Let me just confirm she's divorced and it's on!" And for that matter, why are they not searching Step Davis as often? Is she not as desirable as Beth when it comes to climbing dork fantasies hierarchy? You could also slice and dice this data and get anonymous demographic data. Like some lonely guy from Yale searched "tommy caldwell and beth rodden divorce" during his lunch hour today and a guy from Seattle searched "beth rodden divorce". Maybe we should put the data together and give it to Beth so she can avoid the towns with high rates of stalkers/searchers. And just to be honest, it's not just the hot climbing lady celebrities that get all this attention. People are always Googling "Chris Sharma girlfriend" to see if he's single. Because, you know, they have a shot if he is...Internet. Truly a weird and scary place.

So says 7x7, the local San Francisco magazine nobody outside of San Francisco has heard of, in their annual The Hot 20 Under 40. The amazing thing about choosing Katie is she admits she's semi-retired, studying to be an apparel designer. Does that mean she's was "hot", still is "hot", or will be "hot" in the future once she goes to work for the North Face? Curious minds want to know. 

Accomplishment is nothing new for Katie Brown. She began sport climbing in Kentucky at the age of 13, and today is heralded as one of the world’s best, achieving in 14 years more than many climbers do during their entire careers. This includes winning the X Games and a climbing World Cup. She’s also completed an onsight (free-climbing without knowledge of the route) of the northwest face of Yosemite’s Half Dome, and, along with climber Lynn Hill, the first female free ascent of the Leaning Tower. Brown moved to Berkeley from San Diego last year, in part because of its proximity to Yosemite. “It’s so vast, so awe-inspiring,” she says. “You could climb there your entire life and never get bored.” And while El Cap was part of the reason for her relocation, she also moved to attend the Fashion Institute, with plans to eventually work in the outdoor industry as an apparel designer. “Being a climber is all I’ve ever known,” Brown explains. “It’s wonderful, and I love it, but it leaves you ungrounded. I want a more rooted lifestyle.” Though it’s hard for mere mortals to imagine an athlete retiring at the top of her game, for Brown there’s no heartache about her decision to make climbing a hobby rather than a profession. “Right now I’m pretty content,” she says. “I’ve climbed where I wanted to climb. 
I’ve done what I wanted to do. Not everyone can say that.”

You use climbing shoes to help you grip the rock and avoid foot fatigue/injury, chalk to reduce perspiration, and tape, why not slap on a pair of hydraulic hands and really give your climbing a boost? Imagine the possibilities? Just another tool in your climbing toolbox no? A team of scientists have developed a "mesofluidic" hand, with 25 moving parts, that can deliver 20 pounds of pinch force, or twice what your hand currently delivers. Plus, of course, it doesn't get tired:

Mesofluidics is the study of applying pea-size hydraulics to applications requiring significant power in a limited space.

So far, the team at the Tennessee laboratory has developed an artificial finger made up of 25 moving parts. It can deliver 20 pounds of pinch force, about double that of a human finger, while remaining lightweight and rugged.

Key innovations were a small, 200 psi hydraulic pump that produces about 30 watts of hydraulic power, as well as miniature high-performance valves that control motion.

The next stage in development is a full hydraulic hand. It could have prosthetic applications similar to DARPA's Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program--described in this "60 Minutes" video--which aims to create an artificial arm with full motor and sensory functions.

First we bring you the future of outdoor/indoor shoes, now the future of climbing. Our prediction? Rock climbs will be grouped into two types in the future. Mechanically aided, and au naturale. Much like mountaineering summits are differentiated by use of 0². You read it here first. Unless of course you read it first on Crave, where we saw it.

So says The Alpinist:

In late August Dean scrambled up the west ridge of the Eiger searching for a new jumping spot. He had scoured the same ridge a year before and found nothing. “I went back this year with positive energy and believing,” Dean says. “And this year it was right there in front of me.” Two-thousand vertical feet higher than the standard launching mushroom, Dean leapt from the ridge for the highest (9,000’ vertical), farthest (nearly six kilometers) and longest (almost three minutes) BASE flight ever recorded.

At least he's realistic about the long term potential of his athletic endeavors:

Dean admits that sometimes he questions the pursuit of his dream. “This past year, six people I’ve known have died climbing and BASE jumping,” he says. “Just recently, about a week ago, my friend flew into a wall and died. On a personal level it makes me wonder about myself. That’s the real selfish way to look at it…. Life is the most sacred thing there is. I see both sides.”

His ultimate goal of course is to fly and land, alive.