Hey! It's almost November!

Now that the Fall season for wall gear is winding down, the next big event is Christmas.  I know, I hate it too, but now is the time to start thinking about it.  Things like portaledges take a while to make, especially since I am probably out climbing a bit myself this November, so early orders are appreciated.  Our last shipping day for Christmas delivery will probably be December 18th.

Also, watch the monthly specials on our site for some cool stuff at great prices.  Novembers special will be something that everyone can use and will make a great Christmas gift... hint, hint.

We're back!

Ok, it is mid August and we're back it the shop and ready to get some work done.

It is like a bomb went off in here so it will take a few days to get up and running and organized, but now is the time to order your Fall wall gear.  The best time to be in Yosemite is the Fall, and I know you need some stuff.  Order up!

And check out our new site while you are at it!
FISH Products

Website is as good as done!

Just some tweaks and minor changes to add at this point.  Go check it out and let us know if anything is not working, mis-aligned or jacked up.

Be sure to check out the new Monthly Special thing on the front catalog page.  We will be offering a different product each month as a limited quantity sale item.  We will update the monthly sale right around the first of each month.  Keep checking back to see if we are featuring something you might want. FISH Products site

FISH Website Overhaul

The FISH site is currently getting a long overdue overhaul.  If you have any problems with access or anything looks funny or does not work, email us at some point.  I'm sure there will be plenty of kinks to work out in the coming weeks.

Happy Snake Charmer customer!

Russ,

My sister got me a SNAKE CHARMER last Christmas, and I have to say it is one of my all-time favorite pieces of climbing equipment. I used it to good effect for my solo adventures on Mordor Wall and The Prow on Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire, where it was mission-critical. I also like the fact if you have fixed a few pitches and are claiming a line, all your expensive trinkets aren't hanging out there tempting people to jug on up and take them.
Thanks,
Chad

Happy Ledge customer!

Hi Russ,  after almost 11 weeks i am finally leaving Yosemite.  I clocked up 20 nights in my ledge over 3 solos (the prow, zodiac and tangarine trip) and Mescalito with a partner.  Also the atom smasher worked out great as a day bag on a 9 hour run up leaning tower.  So thought i'd just say thanks again for all the great gear you have made.  hopefully i'll find the time to come back again soon as there are a lot of routes to be done on the captain!

cheers

Oli

Happy Ledge Customer!

Fly received. Thanks again man!

By the way, the ledge kicks ass! I have not used very many brands of ledges or many ledges at all for that matter ... yet... so my opinion doesn't have a lot of weight behind it but... I did however, practice with several other brands of ledges and also practiced and climbed with yours. I found myself struggling to get other ledges set up and did not care for the suspension systems for most. They were awkward, uncomfortable, heavy and not practical. Yours on the other hand, I can set up from a hanging belay in the matter of a couple of minutes. The suspension is solid and stable in just about any position and hanging out on the ledge was cozy and comfy. One of the mornings I woke, I swore I slept better than home. 

Better materials. Lighter. More comfortable. More stable. Easier and faster to set up..... I'm pretty proud to sport the FISH ledge and understand why the demand for these things are so high.

Thanks again,

Wade

Layton Kor, a little support for his family

Here is the link to the official fundraiser for Laytons family.  Give a buck or two.  How about a buck for every route or feature you know that has "Kor" in it?  

http://www.youcaring.com/memorial-fundraiser/support-for-layton-kor/55319

The paste below is from the fundraising site:

The climbing world suffered the loss of a legendary and beloved icon on 21 April 2013.  Layton Kor had been suffering from illness for some time, and he died in his sleep among his family in Kingman, Arizona, less than two months shy of his 75^th birthday.  His lengthy illness generated significant medical expenses, many of which are not covered by insurance.  Now his wife, Karen, and son, Arlan, are both grieving and trying to figure out how to pay those bills.  

Everyone who met Layton, read his writings or climbed his routes, holds him in a special, reverent place.  He was one of the great personalities and legends of our sport and a gracious and bright spirit to the end.  

Arlan captured some of Layton's most beloved qualities when he wrote shortly after his dad's death:  "Rock climbing to my father was a passion which he loved and held dear ‘til his older years, sharing many experiences and adventures with close friends and making great friendships along the way within the climbing community which are displayed in many publications.  He always treated each and everyone he met with respect and took an interest in them not for what they accomplished but rather for who they were as a person." 

Layton’s climbing contributions are almost mythical and include innumerable first ascents throughout the United States and Europe.  Among the ultra classic new routes he established, many are household names to generations of climbers: The Naked Edge, Ruper, and Yellow Spur in Eldorado Canyon, the Yellow Wall and the Diagonal on the east face of Long’s Peak, the Cruise in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and the West Face of El Capitan and the South Face of Washington Column in Yosemite. Layton was also the driving force in opening up the American desert with first ascents of Castleton Tower, the Titan, Monster Tower, and Standing Rock in Utah, and Fast Draw and Bell Tower in Colorado National Monument.

It has been said that if Layton had a dollar for every time a climber repeated one of his routes he would have been a wealthy man.  Layton always felt that he was rich beyond measure in the friends that he had and the life that he felt so fortunate to have lived. 

Layton made all of our lives richer by his kindness and compassion.  His unflagging energy and drive inspired us to reach our potential and exceed our limits.  His family needs our help during these sad and difficult times and we have the opportunity to do so and to thank Layton. 

Whether you knew Layton personally or knew of him, whether you’ve climbed his many stellar routes or aspire to do so, please give generously in appreciation of the difference Layton made in our lives and to support his family in this difficult time.

Photo Credits. Layton West Face: Galen Rowell; Portrait of Layton: Jim Herrington; Photos of Layton and Karen: Pat Ament; Photo of Layton and Arlan: Cam Burns; All other photos: Layton Kor collection.

We're BACK!

We will be back on the program on March 18th.  If you have been sitting on a order waiting to send it in, now is the time.  Things will be pretty busy for the first week or so as far as emails and catching up on all the stuff that has rolled in while we were gone.  Sit tight, we'll get to you.

Winter Hiatus 2012 / 2013

All of our 2012 Christmas orders are shipped and due to arrive on or before your Drop_Dead_Date.  Thanks for making this another great year!

If you had an order in here with a due date of sometime just after Christmas, those will also be in the works and delivered on time.

So, as we do every year, FISH will be mostly shut down until sometime in mid March.  If you want anything, you must email us first to see if we are even around.  You can still place orders for a delivery in late March or later, and we would encourage you to do so.  Get them orders in early so we can plan production and get the stuff out the door in time for your Spring and Summer plans.  See you in 2013!

Christmas Deadlines for 2012!!!

The last day to order anything and have any hope of getting it under the tree this year is December 19th, Wednesday.  Even then you are cutting it way close.  If you don't really need it under the tree, but it would be nice to have, let us know if we have any slack.  Some guys will be heartbroken if the stuff does not arrive on time, and clogging up the system if you don't really care would sorta suck for them.
And if the whole end of the world Mayan Calendar thing works out, it won't matter anyway.
Cheers and have a great holiday!

WideBoyz film review

If you like offwidth, be sure to check out the WideBoyz movie.  It will make a great X-Mas gift.

Available here:  http://hotaches.com/shop/wide-boyz/

Here is a link to my review on our sister site WideFetish.com

http://widefetish.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=764.0

Order NOW for Xmas 2012 Delivery

Start thinking about getting your Christmas orders into us as soon as you can.  If you want a Portaledge under the tree this year, the order should be in here around the 1st of December to ensure delivery by the 25th.  And remember, after Christmas we usually scale back all things FISH until Spring.  Orders can still come in, and we will be shipping stuff out, but response time can get slow.  Plan accordingly.

El Capitan film restoration

Only a few more days left to pledge money to get this project done!

See the link below for all the info and a big thanks to all that have already helped out with a KickStarter pledge.

http://fishproductsblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/el-capitan-film-restoration-via.html

Old Ads

Back in the olde days, we used to run advertising on some online sites and in the print mags.  Some of those ads were pretty funny, odd, outrageous and occasionally pot-stirring.  I'm going to start putting them up here on the blog for posterity.

We'll start with "Romero".  I think the first Romero ad ran in either Rock and Ice or Climbing, or both.  I'll try to narrow the year down, but it was right around 1993 or so.  The line was pulled from the Heminway novel, The Sun Also Rises.  The ad was conceived and published by Chris Persinger, the in-house ad guy, seamstress, and bar tender at FISH Products at the time.

The banner ads below were all put up on RockClimbing.com when it first got going.  The infancy of the web made stuff like this very affordable since nobody really even knew how many people were viewing pages or actually clicking on ads.

Haul Bag shoulder strap attachment

To attach the upper part of the shoulder strap simply thread the 2" webbing through the slider from top to bottom.  Then, and this is the key, run the webbing back up and over the buckle and thread the webbing through the top of the buckle again.  This will bring the 1" tail to right near the 1" buckle that actually does all the holding.  Look at the pic real close and follow the threading pattern.  If you don't do the second pass with the 2" webbing on the top of the buckle, there will be an uncomfortable gap in the connection of the shoulder strap to bag since the shoulder strap will hang too low.  When done correctly, the padded part of the shoulder strap should be snug up against the body of the bag.

The bottom of the bag has two brightly colored tabs sewn into the underside of the main haul straps.  The idea is to girth hitch the 1" webbing around the main haul straps and through these tabs.  Just using the tabs will not be as strong or as stable.  Just using the main haul straps will pull funny on the lower bond stitching where the main haul straps are attached to the bag.


This is what it should look like when attached properly.

El Capitan film restoration via KickStarter

 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1765735821/el-capitan-film-restoration

The digital restoration of the classic 1968 Rock climbing film, El Capitan.

Launched: Oct 1, 2012Funding ends: Oct 31, 2012

"Even though El Capitan was no longer being distributed, I continued to get inquires and requests for the film. When very, poor, quality bootlegged copies started showing up on the Internet, I knew I had to do something. I decided to look at the original film, that ran through the camera, and to my surprise after almost 45 years, it still looked pretty good. I had it digitized (scanned) in high definition. The new technology is of such high resolution that every little scratch and bit of dirt on the film showed up crystal clear. In order to restore the film to its original condition, over 86,000 frames, one frame at a time, has to be digitally cleaned and repaired. With digital software we are able to reconstruct the film with all the original effects, restore the color, and make it look even better than the 16mm film prints.

After several years of being repeatedly asked, “Whatever happened to the climbers?” I approached them with the idea of making a film that would reveal their lives today, and have them recall their memories of filming El Capitan. About a year ago, I started filming and have captured some delightful and insightful moments of their lives and accomplishments. Though still being edited, the film is turning out to be candid and entertaining. When it is finished, it will be included on the DVD with the restored El Capitan.

With the money that I hope to raise from Kickstarter contributors, I will be able to complete the El Capitan film restoration, finish “Whatever happened to the climbers?” (working title) and prepare the DVD master.

After being out of distribution for over 10 years, with your help, the classic film, El Capitan, will finally be available again, restored in HD and looking better than ever.

If you would be inclined to pass this information on to your friends by way of Twitter and Facebook, it would really help.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Fred Padula"

We're Back!

Back in the office starting right now.... things will be a bit slow for a few days while we get back into the groove.  Go easy on us.

Hey!  The heat is almost done and Fall wall season is coming up fast.  Get your orders in now for the rest of the season.  Ledges are a 3 to 4 week delivery time and haul bags and stuff should be about  a week or two from when you order.  Don't wait!  Order up soon!

Summer Hiatus

FISH will be sorta closed starting June 1st until maybe the end of July.

What this means is email confirmations of orders and inquiries might take a few days until we can get back to you.  Panic orders for large items are probably not going to happen within that time frame.  Feel free to ask if we are around and might be able to make you something, like a Haul Bag, some Aiders, perhaps a few Daisy Chains etc... Stuff like that should not be a problem.

If you are going to want something like a Portaledge for your Fall wall season, now would be a good time to get that order in here so we can plan it out and get you the goods when we return.  Use the order form on the site and send it on in with your drop dead date and all the vital info.

If you already have an order in here, it will be produced and shipped according to your drop dead date.  Our summer hiatus should not affect you.

Have a great summer and let us know if you have any questions.
Cheers!

Ps:  EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:  We're are also moving or now have moved out of the Indian Cove area, so don't do any flybys and scare the renters that are now living in the house.

We're out of town!

We will be out of town from May 3rd until May 12th, or so... 
Adjust your panic accordingly.  If possible, I'll try to check on emails and such, but a reply could be slow in coming.

You can still send in orders and all that other jazz, but you will have to wait on getting a confirmation.