Fitness matters.

Skill matters.

But good judgment is often the most valuable safety tool you carry.

Choosing to turn around isn't admitting defeat. It's investing in every adventure that comes after this one.

Some projects take strength. Others just demand that you stop doing the wrong thing.

I finally managed to put together an ascent of Cradle Robber (V8) in the Magic Kingdom area of the N Wall Boulders on the Stawamus Chief in Squamish. It was one of those crisp June days where the granite felt sticky, the clouds were mostly elsewhere, and there was one less excuse for not sending.

In climbing, injury is rarely a single catastrophic moment. More often, it is a whisper that grows louder — a tendon that stiffens in the cold, a shoulder that hesitates under compression, an elbow that protests on the redpoint burn.

These setbacks can feel like exile. But they are not an ending.

They are an invitation to pay attention.

At Elios Health, we see recovery not as retreat, but as refinement. Registered Massage Therapy (RMT) becomes part of that process — a deliberate return to tissue quality, joint motion, and nervous system calm. It is hands-on work grounded in anatomy and informed by the demands of steep limestone, granite cracks, and long belays under coastal skies.

RMT addresses what climbing asks of the body. It reduces the simmer of inflammation in overloaded tendons. It restores glide to forearms braced in crimp. It coaxes rotation back into thoracic spines stiffened by hours on the wall. It creates space — not only in tissue, but in the mind of an athlete who has begun to doubt their durability.

Learn more about how ultrasounds are used in our clinic, by Dr. Marieta Buse, ND. Visit Dr. Marieta in our Main Street physio clinic, at the corner of Main Street and King Edward. Marieta works together with our group of Vancouver physiotherapists, acupuncturists, and RMTs to support your performance and recovery.

A majority of training in recreational climbing is often hangboards, weight-lifting, and some dry-training (speed work). Unfortunately this appears to work only on the ends of the training spectrum. Elite climbers incorporate a significant portion of power into their training. This is known as contrast training. Contrast training is an advanced method for improving both strength and power through combining high-load strength exercises with plyometric movements targeting the same muscle groups. Research shows that heavy loading of a muscle induces a high degree of central nervous stimulation lasting from 5 to 30 minutes.

How do you know if your pain is just something from last weekend's adventure or a sign of something more long-term? In this post we look at signs and symptoms of chronic and acute injuries, and what to do when you think it is something more than leftover stiffness.