UNICORE - Beal's "Special Ingredient"

We have some exciting news and we just can't wait to tell you all about it.


Imagine yourself rock climbing. You're seconding up a route that you partner just finished leading while fighting the worst rope drag due to numerous rock ledges and roofs. As you climb, your partner heaves on the rope to take in the slack. The next thing you know your rope looks like a snake trying to shed its skin and you are dangling from what looks like a bundle of white nylon threads.

At some point along the timeline of a climbing rope's life the sheath will get wet, cut, grated, and definitely stretched. This leaves the core of the rope to be exposed or free to make parallel movements inside the sheath.

Many people have been to a climbing gym and seen how the sheath of the ropes are all bunched up at the ends. And some have even seen the result of when the sheath is cut while climbing as illustrated above.

"Sheath slippage" is no joke. It's actually dangerous. And that is why Liberty Mountain and Beal brought a phenomenal game changer to the US market last spring...UNICORE.

UNICORE is the industry leading method of securing the core and sheath of a rope together without changing the rope's performance and durability properties. UNICORE is much like the biological tissue/membrane that keeps the skin attached to the rest of the body.


With a UNICORE rope, climbers won't experience their sheath bunching at the ends and the core will not be overexposed from sheath slippage if the sheath gets cut. That alone will allow any climber to retreat on a rope whose sheath is cut and still be able to pass it through the chains, carabiners, and belay/rappel devices.

In the video below a demonstration is given to show what happens to a weighted rope when the sheath is cut. The first rope does not have UNICORE and the second one does. See the difference.



UNICORE is stretchy, supple, and compatible with Beal's special water and abrasion treatments. This means that the UNICORE technology can be used on both dynamic and static ropes as well as ropes intended for dry and wet condition.

Now you are probably wondering what the big news is that we are so anxious to share, seeing how UNICORE has already been on the market for a hand-ful of months. Well, as of now there are only three ropes that are vested with the honorable UNICORE, e.g., Beal's Diablo, Wall Master, and Wall School ropes. So our big news today is that there will be more...we just can't tell you which ropes yet.

At the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in August, Liberty Mountain and Beal will reveal the extended collection of ropes that will reign supreme with UNICORE. Keep an eye and ear out for this big announcement and receive it directly by subscribing to our blog and social media pages on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

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Beal qualifies as the worlds’ premier manufacturer of climbing and security ropes. This leading position is explained by indisputable technical advances in the production process, and sales of over 8 million meters of rope annually.

Liberty Mountain is the exclusive U.S. distributor of these French made ropes, making Beal a leading brand that is seen in many, if not most of the outdoor retail shops around the nation. Liberty Mountain also directly sells Beal products to the general consumer through LibertyMountainClimbing.com.

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Shattered - Featuring Steve House

Today we'd like to share a short-film by Tyler Stableford called Shattered, featuring our very own Grivel athlete Steve House.

Elegantly written, Steve House tells his story of feeling empty and unresolved after some of his big successes in the mountains. Tyler Stableford does a wonderful job in directing this film that places you right next to House as he free-solos a remote frozen-waterfall.

We are proud to have Steve House on the Grivel Athlete Team. His drive and influence in the climbing industry has been a great asset for everyone. Thanks Steve for all your hard work.

Photo courtesy of www.stevehouse.net

Edelweiss Athlete Is The Youngest To Solo The Nose In A Day

In 1958, after 47 days, Warren Harding and his team stood on top of Yosemite's El Cap by means of climbing The Nose. This tall and technical route was first thought to be unclimbable, but Harding's team opened a "flood gate" that has now made The Nose to be "The Route of Accomplishment." Many climbers set out to be the first or the fastest to climb The Nose in a certain way.

The Nose is a 31 pitch route on a massive 2,900 foot granite prow and it beacons to be climbed. The first rope-solo climb of The Nose was made by Tom Bauman in 1969. It was Lynn Hill that finally made the first free ascent in 1993, taking her just 4 days to do so. Hill also nabbed the first free ascent in a day in 1994. Even to this day the battle of the male and female speed records continues.

Just recently we received word that one of our Edelweiss Athletes positioned himself as the 9th and youngest person to solo The Nose in a day.

Cheyne Lempe, age 21, spent a total of 19 hours on the route by himself. With a grigri for his solo device, 4 liters of water, and his iPod he rocked his way to the top. Lempe used the 70M Edelweiss Performance 9.2mm rope as he linked the 31 pitches into only 16 pitches.

Vaude 2013 Workbook Now Available.

For your convenience, there is the option to
view it online or download a PDF version

Along with all of our other catalogs, the Vaude 2013 Workbook is now available. Check out the future line of VAUDE backpacks, urban bags, sleeping bags and pads, and tents.

Make sure you visit our booth during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market this August. We will have a lot of these products on display and you can even pick up a hardcopy of the workbook. Otherwise, feel free to request you own copy by emailing us your mailing address.

Make special note of the following NEW items in this workbook:

Liberty Mountain Employee Climbing Night - June

The end of June was upon us and the hot temperatures outside were getting to be unbearable. We needed shade and we needed it fast. The idea of trying to pinch a rock in 100º F weather when you are 30 feet off the ground is almost insane. But that didn't stop us.

Sheltered by the position of the cliffs and the denseness of the trees, we were able to evade the rays of the late-afternoon sun. It was after 5pm and one-by-one our group grew larger at the crag as employees emerged from their offices. On this evening we traded in our computers and desk-chairs for a harness and climbing rope and enjoyed an evening of camaraderie.