Episodes Feed
EP 250: Beth Rodden
Beth Rodden is one of the best female rock climbers of all time. We talked about her kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, facing backlash after her divorce, reflections on her climbing career, her history with Magic Line, disconnecting self-worth from achievement, the unwinnable game of climbing, personal evolution, why she loves human stories, and much more. Her new book, A Light Through the Cracks: A Climber’s Story is available now.
EP 223: Aidan Roberts Returns
Aidan Roberts returns to the podcast! Aidan is at the cutting edge of bouldering and is one of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of talking to. We talk about professional climbing and today’s media landscape, and he brings us up to speed on the last year and a half of his climbing and shares the full stories of ‘Spots of Time’ and ‘Arrival of the Birds’, two new boulders proposed 9A/V17.
We recorded this a couple of days after my chat with him and Sam on their podcast. I was honored to join them and I loved the conversation. Check it out for some reflections amongst the three of us about our podcasting and climbing.
EP 216: Maddy Cope
Maddy Cope is a world-class rock climber and the head of education for Lattice Training. We talked about Maddy’s transition from dancing to climbing, living in a shack in the woods in Chamonix, and lessons from her personal reflections on climbing. We also talked about Lattice’s new online training course that Maddy was in charge of creating and gave a discount for listeners!
EP 215: Nathan Williams
Nathan Williams is obsessed with ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ 9A/V17, and estimates he has spent 100+ days trying it. We talked about getting mentored by Jimmy Webb and Kasia Pietras and sending his first V10 within one year of climbing, why he took a year off, falling in love with ROTS, how to stay psyched after bad days, friction control, climbing with a purpose, gaining legendary finger strength in a few minutes per week, static feats of strength, and much more!
EP 177: Tiba Vroom
Tiba Vroom is a Dutch professional climber and cofounder of Wildflower Climbing Gym. We talked about the pressure that comes with early success, her first trip to Magic Wood and sending Riverbed 8B, confronting fear of failure, separating self-worth from performance, being the 8, starting a non-profit gym in the Netherlands, taking responsibility for your life, dream climbs in Fontainebleau, and more!
EP 175: Ady Wright
Ady Wright is a climbing instructor and routesetter based in New York. We met up in Red Rock and recorded a nice long chat in the van, covering her introduction to climbing and routesetting, why she pivoted from veterinary science, being raised by a cautious father, analyzing risk, the benefits of meal prepping, losing her grandmother to cancer, the pressure that comes with opportunity, the rebellious act of existing, and much more!
EP 174: Bernd Zangerl
Bernd Zangerl a bouldering legend from Austria. We talked about his early climbing and making the 2nd ascent of Dreamtime, some of his proudest FAs, how he recovered from a career-ending injury in 2016, his mindset for highballs, meditation and the power of the mind, believing in love, our impact as climbers, sustainability, and discovering world-class bouldering in the Himalayas.
EP 150: Luke Mehall
Luke Mehall is the creator of The Climbing Zine and The Dirtbag State of Mind podcast. In this episode, we take turns interviewing each other. I ask Luke why he started The Climbing Zine, what lessons climbing has taught him, what themes connect the stories he selects, and how to sustain creative work. He asks me about my origin story with The Nugget, what all of these interviews have brought to my life, and the difficulties I’ve faced along the way.