EP 18: Mikey Schaefer (Part 1)
May 18, 2020
Mikey Schaefer is a photographer, filmmaker, and an all-around climber whose accomplishments range from dangerous first ascents in the mountains to 5.13+ big walls, 5.14 sport climbs, and V10 boulders. We talked about some of Mikey’s most meaningful first ascents, experiences on Liberty Bell, balancing risk and reward, becoming a jack of all trades, and building his pyramid. You can learn more about Mikey at https://www.mikeylikesrocks.com/about
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Google Podcasts
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
How To Make The Perfect ‘Eggsadilla’:
Recommended:
‘The Force’ video - Mikey’s FAs in Patagonia
Little Big Man - Mikey featured in Climbing Magazine
The Runout Podcast EP 9 - Mikey talking about his experience filming ‘Free Solo’
Resources:
Training Beta Podcast EP 91 - Lattice Training on Males vs Females
Lattice Training on The Training Needs of Males vs Females (podcast transcript)
Routes Mentioned:
‘Retrospective’ 5.11+ R, Fairview Dome, Tuolumne, CA
‘Father Time’ 5.13b, Middle Cathedral, Yosemite, CA
‘Thin Red Line’ 5.12, Liberty Bell, WA
‘Liberty Crack’ 5.11a C2, Liberty Bell, WA
‘Liberty Crack Free’ 5.13b, Liberty Bell, WA
’Liberty and Injustice for All’ 5.12-, Liberty Bell, WA
‘A Slave to Liberty’ 5.13-, Liberty Bell, WA
‘Dark Side of Liberty’ 5.13+, Liberty Bell, WA
‘Southeast Ridge of Cerro Torre (Compressor Route)’ VI 5.13b, Patagonia
‘Mr. Yuk’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Scarface’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Moonlight Buttress’ 5.12+, Zion, UT
Mikey’s Links:
Nuggets:
3:03 – The ‘Eggsadilla’
6:56 – Mikey’s first major FA on the South Face of Mt. Bradley (‘Little Big Man’)
14:32 – The Dancing Dihedrals feature, and the A3 rating
18:10 – Getting old/soft (joke), how Mikey’s risk profile has shifted, and balancing risk and reward
21:44 – Putting up first ascents, “Who’s experience am I doing this for?”, and Mikey’s perspective shift in putting up new routes
25:33 – Learning by making mistakes, and when to push your limits
30:22 – Preserving the experience of routes
32:53 – Liberty Bell and the arc of Mikey’s climbing progression, rope soloing, father time, and putting up the hardest big wall route in WA
45:55 – Finding the gem (‘Dark Side of Liberty’)
49:54 – Being called a sandbagger and Mikey’s thoughts on grading routes
56:31 – Mikey’s tendency to not think he’s as strong as he is, “good” vs “great” climbers, and a shifted paradigm
59:00 – Being a jack of all trades, balancing multiple disciplines, how different disciplines help each other in a spiral, and climbing Cerro Torre
1:04:17 – The ‘Why’ behind Mikey being a jack of all trades in climbing, his influences and personality, and being the swiss army knife on productions
1:08:10 – Why Mikey doesn’t set long-term goals or make long-term plans, letting opportunities arise, and not knowing what’s next with COVID
1:13:18 – Varied approaches between different climbers, “There’s no recipe for success”, finding clues, and making the most of the cards you’re dealt
1:17:35 – Adding the training and bouldering bricks to the pyramid
1:19:03 – How Mikey trained to climb his first 5.14, repeaters using the Beastmaker App, weighted pull-ups, and muscle-ups
1:33:20 – Using video recordings as a tool, and front levers with Alex Honnold
1:37:13 – Being a shorter male climber (5’3”), different strength requirements for men and women, and an interesting comparison between Mikey and SJ
1:44:20 – The main benefits of bouldering and training the “try hard muscle”