Eli Powell
  climbinghouse.com webmaster
- April 10, 2010

FRB: Name?

Eli: Eli Powell.

FRB: Age?

Eli: 26.

FRB: Height/Weight?

Eli: 6’1”, 163 lbs.

FRB: Location?

Eli: Boulder, CO/ 2001 Toyota Tacoma.

FRB: Web site/Blog/Facebook, etc?

Eli: Climbinghouse.com.

FRB: What was the motivation to start climbinghouse?

Eli: Climbing House was the name of the old run down house where we lived in college.  I started the site to share some of my writing and training advice.  The contributors are all old friends of mine, and the site is a way to stay connected and share our views about climbing.

FRB: Tell us a cool/funny/interesting story about the
          startup process of climbinghouse.

Eli: Well, I knew I needed to start the site when I kept sending out mass emails about climbing (read: spam) to all my friends.   I recently redesigned the web site. Instead of making all the changes at climbinghouse.com, I bought an explicit sounding web site address, built the new site there, and then switched everything over.

FRB: How many/Who's involved in the day to day operations
         of climbinghouse?

Eli: I guess you could call me the webmaster/ senior editor of the site.  There are a total of 6 contributors, with some of the guys living in Nebraska (gasp!), Boulder, Los Angeles, and a truck (currently in Escalante, UT).

FRB: What's it like/how do you create /maintain a blog
          by committee?

Eli: The contributors were brought onboard over time, and we have a few guidelines we use to try to maintain quality and voice on the blog.  Everyone does a really good job, and we all try to edit each others’ work as needed.  I handle most all of the layout/ formatting/ webmaster stuff, so if anyone wants something done, they just ask.

Climbinghouse crew, Red Rocks, Nevada

FRB: What does your Tag line  mean?  'where climbers live'.

Eli: It means we identify our selves as climbers, but recognize there is MUCH more in our lives.  Functionally, it means there are articles on the blog not directly discussing climbing.  For example, we may discuss the give and take of climbing with other commitments in our lives (family, work ,etc.), or I may post some recent ‘artsy’ photos or something.

FRB:  Where do you guys like to climb?

Eli: Even when we all lived in Nebraska, our “local” crag was Eldorado Springs (7 hours).  Weekend warrior trips were/ are the norm.  Now that some of us live in Boulder, we probably climb at Eldorado, Shelf Road, and Boulder Canyon the most.

FRB: What kinds of climbing do you like to do?

Eli: That varies with season and whom you’re asking, I suppose.  Kris, our contributor in L. A., boulders in Yosemite and Joshua Tree all the time.  Around Boulder, we usually climb on gear if it’s a small group, and clip bolts when everyone comes along.

FRB: Do you climb indoors?

Eli: Yeah, a lot.  Learning to climb in Nebraska, the gym was the crag.  We’d climb there everyday, setting hard routes just to have something to work, sitting around the gym all night, etc.

Now that many of us live in Boulder, we usually climb at the Boulder Rock Club.  It’s great going to the gym and always seeing a friend.  The BRC has treated me well, responding to suggested improvements, and providing friendly service.

FRB: Do you compete?

Eli: I’ve had a blast completing in the past, but don’t do it much now.  Adam (one of the Boulder contributors) recently tried out the BRC’s climbing competitions, with mixed results. Click here.

FRB: What kinds of media does climbinghouse.com focus on?

Eli: We try to mix it up.  I love making video shorts, but they’re a lot of work.  Photos, creative writing, trip reports, engineering type analysis are all fair game.

FRB: What kinds of articles (pieces) does climbinghouse put out?       

Eli: When we’re traveling, it’s more trip report/ photo diary type stuff.  When we’re at home, there will be more training and analysis type articles.

FRB: Tell us about that ground runner belay article.      

Eli: Adam is a physics PhD student at the University of Boulder.  He did a little research about the effectiveness of a ground running belay.  [This belaying technique involves having a directional piece of protection at the base of a climb, and the belayer running backwards to take in slack if the climber falls].  It turns out that having the directional “ground runner” allows the belayer to take in significantly more slack during a fall.

FRB: What specifically is there to learn from
          the ground runner belay article?

Eli: The ground runner can potentially save a climber from decking.  Take, for example, a climber with a piece at 10’ off the deck.  In a traditional belay, the climber will probably deck if they fall from 19’.  If the belayer runs backward to take in slack, the climber may be able to fall from 25’ before deck.  If the ground runner technique is used, the climber may be able to fall from 32’ before decking.  This may seem impossible with a piece at 10’, but the ground runner technique allows the belayer to take in slack much faster than other methods.

Eggman V6, East Egg block, Eldorado west	Red Rocks, Nevada

FRB: What other interesting articles has climbing house done?

Eli: Probably the most talked about article was a measure and discussion of the amount of advertisements in climbing magazines.  The basic results were that Dead Point Magazine (which is free) has about 22% ads.  Rock and Ice is about 42%, Climbing is about 47%, and Urban Climber appeared to have the most ads (at over 60%). Article here. With a bunch of discussion here.

FRB: What interesting/cool articles or concepts is climbing house
          going to regale us with next?

Eli: There’s an old Silo facility in Omaha, NE that some of the guys are working to convert to a climbing gym.  Look for continued updated about this process.  I’m traveling a bunch, so there will continue to be nice photos of the desert (Indian Creek is next).  Additionally, we’re working on an article about making mead (the delicious alcoholic beverage.)

FRB: What are the most difficult things about running/operating
          a web site like climbinghouse?

Eli:  It can be hard dedicating enough time to make it as nice as it deserves, but since I recently left my day job I’ve had more time to dedicate.  My fiancé always reminds me that this is my passion, it shouldn’t feel like work or an obligation.

FRB: Why should anyone read/visit climbinghouse?

Eli: We provide a unique prospective on the climbing life and good photos & videos.

FRB: Who are you in partnership with?
         (who are your backers or aids or mentors, etc?)

Eli: Brian Runnels of climbingnarc.com has provided some mentorship with regards to the site.  And I really admire and want to emulate the work of Tim Kemple and Renan Ozturk.  We don’t have any sponsorship or financial support yet, but I’m working on it.

FRB: What does the climbinghouse crew do
          besides run climbinghouse?

Eli: Most everyone is technically educated (engineers or scientists).  Some of us are unemployed and traveling/climbing.  But most are working a 9-5 job, hitting the gym in the evenings, and climbing on the weekends.

FRB: What is your favorite c-house piece (article), Eli?       

Eli: My favorite piece we’ve made is here.

FRB: What do you want people to get out of
          reading/viewing/listening to climbinghouse?

Eli: I want people to get psyched to climb, train, learn, and live.  Some people work too much, and some people take climbing to seriously.  Smile, you ARE having fun.

FRB: If the house is dirty or the lawn needs mowing.
          Who cleans the climbinghouse or mows the
          climbinghouse yard?

Eli: We used to have rules like, “when you can’t pile the trash any higher, you have to take it out,” or “whoever is the first to be grossed out by the bathtub has to clean it”.  Of course, this leads to a messy place, but it also allows more time for climbing.

FRB: Thanks for the Interview, Eli and climbinghouse crew.

Eli: You're welcome. Thank you.

Nightscape climbinghouse.com style

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