5 Great Last Minute Climber Xmas Gifts

Okay, there’s not a lot of shopping days left ‘til Christmas but there is Express Mail and Fed-X to get those last-minute gifts delivered to the climber on your ho-ho list. Here are a few quick suggestions of some gear and clothes that I wouldn’t mind receiving…hint hint!

Black Diamond Icon Beanie. Just your warm basic beanie for brisk bouldering days at Hueco Tanks and cold afternoons climbing desert towers. Prices from $26.96.

Petzl Nomic Leashless Ice Climbing Tool. An awesome ice tool that frees you from old-style ice climbing. It boasts an ergonomic hand grip; removable pick weights; and the ASTRO pick for steep drytooling.

Black Diamond Ion Headlamp. The tiny 1-oz. Ion is simply unbelievable. It’s super lightweight, has a pivoting head, and provides 15 hours on the low setting. Stash an Ion in your climbing pack and you’ll have light for that last night pitch on your one-day ascent of Zion’s Touchstone Wall or for hiking the final mile back to your car after a 3-Fourteener day. Prices from $12.49.

Trango BallNutz. Ask Santa for a set of Ballnutz cause these 5 babies are gonna be your best friends when you’re strung out on a heinous aid pitch on El Cap or free climbing a thin crack on The Diamond. I stuck 3 of them behind an expanding flake two weeks ago on a new route and each of them was bomber. From $28.35.

Forever on the Mountain by James M. Tabor. What’s winter without a great climbing read? This book, Grand Prize Winner at the Banff Mountain Book Festival, tells the riveting story of a controversial 1967 Denali expedition. Seven team members perished during a vicious 10-day storm, making it one of America’s worst climbing disasters. Prices from $2.95.

Photo above: Ian cranks an early ascent of “Rim Job” (5.13a), Castlewood Canyon.
Photograph © Stewart M. Green