The International Gay Outdoors Organization (GO) is inviting gays and lesbians to break the gay mountaineering altitude record! It was last set in May 2002 in Nepal’s Island Peak at 20,360 feet. Plans are underway to climb Mt. Aconcagua in January 2005. Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia.

With close to 300 indoor climbing gyms now dotting the country, a challenging wall is probably as close as your town's warehouse district. You can improve your endurance, hand strength, and agility with the three routines outlined below, recommended by Chris Bloch, a four-time X Games medalist and former national speed-climbing champion. Commitment is the first hurdle.

Imagine dying or being crippled because proper equipment facilities were not made available to you. This scenario is all too real. Porters die each year from preventable altitude and cold-related illness. Many others are crippled by frostbite or snow blindness.

The training regimen below is ideal for the climbers interested in climbing major mountains in the Cascades, Alaska, Andes, Himalayas or Alps. 

When belaying a follower, it's normal to face out, usually with the anchor at your back as you look down to watch for your partner coming up.

Climbers rely most heavily on a dozen or so different knots and some hitches.

Your position relative to the anchor or anchors when belaying off your harness is straightforward: make sure you are tied in as close as feasible to the anchors, with no slack, so that you won't be jerked about by a severe fall.

Consider the strength of the stance alone, apart from any attachment to an anchor, since in most cases it is primarily the stance that prevents you from being jerked around by a fall or reduces the consequences of being tossed about.

A simple top-rope belay is a basic way to let your partner climb up to you with little danger of any serious fall.

Let's look in a little more detail at what happens when I slip off the rock as you are belaying me up.

The way to reduce, if not eliminate, the risk for the leader is for the leader to place protection as he/she climbs.

Most belay devices amplify the friction of the braking hand by passing the rope through an opening and wrapping it around a post.

The Munter hitch is a very effective method of using only the rope and a carabiner to provide the friction necessary to stop a fall.

Significant trade-off in risks must be considered when choosing a belay method.

You'll get a few tips here on selecting good anchors for belays.