Episodes

Majka Burhardt is a professional climber, author, and mother of twins. Her new book is More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood. We talk to Majka about the struggle to find that elusive balance while holding out hope for having it all. But first, Chris gets the bad news that he’s been fired from the show, and will be replaced with a host who has more followers on Instagram. (We will report anyone who points out how, of the two hosts, Chris is the one with more followers—never mind tha...

Lynn Hill needs no intro. She’s best known as the individual who completed the first free ascent of the Nose of El Capitan, as well as the first person to free El Cap in a single day. The ascent broke gender barriers and progressed the sport. Today, Lynn is returning to the fundamentals, through a new video series that is designed to help climbers learn how to move as naturally, efficiently, and effectively as possible. We sat down with Lynn in her Boulder home to catch up with one of the sport’...

Thomas Huber is one of the most accomplished and beloved climbers of all time. Along with his brother Alex, Thomas helped pave the way for modern free climbing on El Capitan with FreeRider, Golden Gate, and host of other first free ascents. He’s a Piolet d’Or recipient for his first ascent with Iwan Wolf of the north pillar of Shivling. And his new book is “In Den Bergen ist “Freiheit” — “In the mountains, There is Freedom.” (If you’d like to hear an extended bonus interview with Thomas, join u...

New Year, New Us. We connect for the first podcast of 2023, and Chris shares his aspirations of becoming a climbing warrior while Andrew is back on his usual bullshit of planning for another year of truly unimpressive mediocrity. Hazel Findlay comes to the rescue, with an inspiring conversation about her approach to mental training through her Strong Mind training program. She offers her wisdom on everything from what makes us all afraid to fall (and fail), to why Alex Honnold is, mentally, so ...

What’s the best way to belay with a GriGri? How should you build an anchor? Is that CE-certified piece of webbing really strong enough for real-world climbing? The internet has an opinion on this and more! Walk with us through the muck of know-it-alls offering their two cents on everything. Next, one of our favorite writers Jeff Smoot returns to the show to plug his new book All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, and regale us with his own experiences in this darkest of dark arts. Last but neve...

We kick it with Alex Honnold, the rock climber who was once on 60 Minutes. He has even done a few other impressive things since then … you know, like free soloing El-fucking-Cap. It’s been a big year for Honnold, from traversing the polar regions of Greenland in search of a 4,000-foot unclimbed sea cliff while doing extreme climate science, to going deep into the pain cave on his epic HURT traverse in Red Rock, to nearly killing Magnus Mitbo, to perhaps, most importantly, becoming a dad. All whi...

We’ve got a double-header today with two amazing guests. Our first guest is Scott Johnston, a coach, trainer, and co-author of Training for the New Alpinism, with over 200,000 copies sold. Scott recently left his perch at Uphill Athlete to continue his work at Evoke Endurance. We talk to Scott about a healthier approach to training for comprehensive fitness, whether on the rock or in the big mountains. Next, we speak to Libby Sauter, a family nurse practitioner and trad climber who holds the w...

Last month, an 8-year-old boy and his dad “climbed” El Capitan with the help of two other anonymous climbers who presumably guided the father-son team, fixing all the ropes so they could jug up the wall. We look at the media attention this ascent received, and discuss our concerns over claiming these kinds of records. Our main guest is a woman who Lynn Hill once called, “the greatest female sport climber” — Katie Brown. Katie has produced a new memoir about her precocious life as a world-class ...

If there is one thing you can say about this show, it’s that we are the most fair and balanced climbing podcast in the world. Following last episode’s discussion about Yosemite’s proposed overnight permits for big-wall climbers, we are speaking to two guests from the opposite side of the debate: Jesse McGahey is Yosemite National Park’s head climbing ranger. And Timmy O’Neill is a longtime professional athlete, founder of Paradox Sports, and board member of the Yosemite Climbing Association. Our...

The Yosemite National Park is attempting to make its Covid-era rule in which climbers are required to have a permit to spend the night on a big wall permanent—and predictably, climbers aren’t happy about it. We spoke to two of the most active big wall climbers in Yosemite in recent years about the current state of affairs in the Valley: Gena Wood is a former climbing ranger and a veteran of more than 20 ascents of El Cap. And Lance Colley has also worked for the park service, and has completed 2...

Who doesn’t love booty? Finding gear on a route can make a climber’s day, but what are the best practices for finding the owner’s gear? Court’s in order for your friendly podcast hosts as they debate the finer points of booty while litigating one listener’s story of being accused of not doing enough to return booty to its “rightful” owner. Our main guest today is Jeff Jackson, aka “Jefe.” Jeff is easily one of climbing’s most prolific route developers and greatest writers and storytellers. A fo...

Jonathan Siegrist, one of the world’s best sport climbers, returns to the show to share the news of his recent send of Rifle’s hardest route. We catch up on the latest in the climbing world in a casual conversation that traverses freely and honestly across the climbing landscape. But first, your friendly neighborhood podcast hosts explore what climbing may — or may never — mean for our kids, and how we think about raising the next generation in an era of social-media-fueled pressure to be “rad”...

Our guest today is Seb Bouin, one of the best rock climbers on Earth and the author of DNA, one of three 5.15d rock climbs established thus far. We talk to Seb about grades, how he measures success, the benefits of climbing outdoors vs. training indoors, and where the future of rock climbing is heading next. But first, we take a somber look at a recent accident on Half Dome, in which a young woman fell 80 feet and badly injured herself. In the aftermath of this terrible accident, calls are soun...

To start, we grimly remark on the latest round up of avalanches, landslides, and glacier collapses and what that means for mountain travel in the future. Our main guest today is Cody Townsend, a self-proclaimed “rock climbing gumby” but a true all-mountain badass, free skier, ski mountaineer, and extreme-sports ambassador. Cody offers a wonderful outsider-looking-in perspective on our self-serious sport. He also dishes up the latest from Ski the Fifty, a multi-year effort to ski all 50 of the c...

Connor Herson returns to the show, a few years older, a few inches taller, and more than a few impressive ticks under his belt. One of his latest ascents is “Empath” on gear—potentially one of the harder gear leads ever recorded. Carlo Traversi first climbed Empath and proposed 5.15a. After quickly sending the route as a sport climb, Connor had the idea of trying it on gear. In this episode he shares his experience with that process, his thoughts about the difficulty of the route, and his vision...

Hard, scary trad climbing is all fun and games until someone breaks their back. That’s what happened to Molly Mitchell on Crank It, a 5.13+ sport climb in Boulder Canyon that Molly was attempting to headpoint on gear. Nevertheless, Molly sought redemption and returned to the climb years later and ultimately sent it on gear. But what she discovered about her self, and her health, ended up being the real prize of this inspiring journey. But first, the hosts take a closer look at how one of the bi...

We begin with a conversation with Ben Hanna, the newest member of the prestigious USA Climbing National Team. At 23 years young, Ben is a longtime crusher from Santa Fe who we’ve watched go from being a young grommet at Rifle to throwing down at World Cups with the world’s best. Ben talks to us about what the current comp scene is like, a short-lived controversy with the IFSC, and how living in a training house with some of the best climbers in the world upped his game. Next, we speak with Wali...

Carlo Traversi is having one of the best climbing years of his life. He’s sending V-insane, 5.15b sport, and 5.14c trad — all while managing a successful business that immeasurably improves the lives of climbers in his own community. He’s got a healthy perspective on the sport, everyone respects him, and he’s also super smart and has interesting opinions on everything. Yeah, we hate him too! Just kidding! Carlo is the man! We recorded this conversation earlier this year just after Carlo ticked ...

What’s better: cragging it up in a full-on scene filled with gumbies and noobs, spray bros and crusher queens? Or going off to some obscure choss pile in the middle of nowhere and enjoying the quiet solitude of nature all by yourself? We debate the pros and cons of scenes vs solitude and come to the conclusion that, no matter which one you choose, either way the only person laughing at your jokes is still just you. Next, Freddie Wilkinson and Renan Ozturk join us to talk about their new film Th...

Will a new film from Reel Rock encourage climbers to engage in risky behavior and not use their rubbers on the rock? We discuss Barefoot Charles and his conspicuously well-coifed mane of hair. Next we speak to Lauren DeLauney Miller, a writer and climber who has released a wonderful new book of first person essays from the significant women, both well known and perhaps lesser known, who have made contributions to Yosemite climbing history. Finally, we share the guitar-picking music of climber ...

After not watching the Oscars because who cares, we talk about the thing everyone was talking about and recall some of the more famous slaps that have been seen at crags around the world and throughout history and lore. Our main guest is Matt Segal, professional climber for The North Face, coffee entrepreneur, and publisher of the newly released Brine Magazine—a printed zine that looks at the intersection of food, adventure, and people, featuring gorgeous Drew Smith photography, and words writt...

A new climbing management plan in Joshua Tree National Park redefines bolts as installations. We pore through this ominous plan to try to figure what the hell is going on in J-tree, and what this may mean for climbing in Wilderness locations around the country. Then, we sit down with Dr. Jared Vagy, AKA The Climbing Doctor, a physical therapist based in Los Angeles who specializes in treating climbing injuries. Our conversation runs the gamut of everything from finger tweaks to back pain, and u...

Ned Feehally is one of the few climbers ever to have flashed V14 (8B+). He is also one of the founders of Beastmaker, a U.K. climbing company that ushered in an era of fine wood hangboards that you just don’t mind grabbing cause they’re just so cushy. His new book is ”Beastmaking: A fingers-first approach to becoming a better climber,” and is a comprehensive look at training techniques that anyone can use. We discuss training philosophy with Ned, the rise of guru-dom in the training world and th...

Friend of the pod and crusher of granite Jordan Cannon returns to the show with an update from his life on the road. We dive into a range of topics across the climbing spectrum, while trying not to be old-shamed by our young friend. But first, tragedy strikes in Patagonia as the climbing world loses one of its best: Corrado “Korra” Pesce, who died while descending Cerro Torre on January 28th. His partner Tommy Aguilo experienced serious injuries and attempted to descend alone, and was ultimatel...