Episodes Feed
EP 142: Aidan Roberts
Aidan Roberts is a 23-year-old from the UK, who has emerged as one of the strongest boulderers in the world. We talked about training for his trip to Switzerland to try Alphane V17, differences among top boulderers, how Aidan developed his climbing style, addressing finger weaknesses, training using replicas, his goal-setting philosophy, plans to train for Burden of Dreams V17, considering our environmental impact as climbers, and much more.
EP 127: Jesse Firestone
Jesse Firestone is an elite boulderer, a climbing coach, and a climbing philosopher. He’s also a good friend of mine from Oregon. We talked about quantum leaps in our progression as climbers, Jesse’s top 3 tips for climbers at different stages, non-physical factors that affect our performance, tips for flashing hard boulders, training changes after age 30, and much more.
*If you liked my episodes with Emil Abrahamsson and Martin Keller, don’t skip this one!
EP 117: Yves Gravelle
Yves Gravelle is a V15 boulderer from Canada and a 3x APL World Champion (i.e. grip competitions). We talked about lessons from grip training that we can apply to climbing, the importance of simplicity and consistency, how to break down a bouldering project, basing your training on the demands of a specific goal, top 3 finger training methods, how to train full crimps, and much more.
EP 115: Jordan Cannon
Jordan Cannon is a professional climber who exploded onto the Yosemite scene in recent years with multiple in-a-day free ascents of El Capitan, and hard big wall linkups. We covered Jordan’s climbing origin story, playing college soccer, seeking adventure in Yosemite, van life tips, big wall pooping stories, free climbing El Cap in a day vs. multiple days, the value of dirtbagging, and much more.
EP 113: Ned Feehally
Ned Feehally is Shauna Coxsey’s husband. (Just teasing Ned!) Ned is a top-level boulderer from the UK, the cofounder of Beastmaker, and the author of Beastmaking. We talked about his background in climbing, how Beastmaker got started, Ned’s approach to finger training, the benefits of board climbing, using ankle weights for body tension, and much more.
EP 109: Martin Keller
Martin Keller is a Swiss boulderer, climbing coach, and teacher, and is known for his long-term dedication to his bouldering projects. We talked about spending 150+ days projecting his FA of ‘Ninja Skills Sit’ V15/16, how to change our brain chemistry, how Martin trains on his outdoor projects, and how changing his mindset unlocked his hardest climbs.
EP 105: Brent Barghahn
Brent Barghahn has rope soloed ‘The Nose’ in a day, freed multiple routes on El Cap, and is a former engineer at Black Diamond. We talked about how Brent combined van life and “house hacking” to effectively retire at 28-years-old, about motocross and extreme unicycling, cutting his teeth on hard trad routes in LCC, and his setup for redpoint rope soloing.
EP 104: Amity Warme
Amity Warme is one of the most badass trad climbers you’ve never heard of. She also has a master’s in nutrition. We talked about her incredible season in Yosemite including ground-up free ascents of ‘Freerider’ and ‘Golden Gate’, the importance of logistics in big wall free climbing, what she learned growing up in gymnastics, training plans, and eating more to do more.
EP 97: Austin Hoyt
Austin Hoyt is an 18-year-old kid from New York whose tick list rivals some professional climbers. We talked about balancing school with climbing, what he learned from his first coach, his FA of ‘Flashing Lights’ V14, his love of The Gunks, making old-school climbing films, the support from his dad, and his ongoing goal to develop the bouldering scene in the Northeast.
EP 90: Josh Wharton
Josh Wharton is one of the most badass climbers you’ve never heard of. He does it all at an elite level. We talked about tips for hard flashing and onsighting, how alpine climbing relates to rock climbing, training to flash El Cap, the value of taking risks in life, being a climbing parent, climbing in Pakistan, how to find an adventure without flying overseas, and the benefits of stiff shoes.
EP 86: Dylan Barks
Dylan Barks is an elite-level boulder and sport climber, and a dark horse in the climbing scene. He sent ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’, his first V16, just two weeks after this interview. We talked about how Dylan uses a spray wall for 95% of his training, how he prepares for both bouldering and sport climbing trips, and about recovering from an eating disorder to climb his hardest ever.
EP 73: Kyle O’Meara
Kyle O’Meara is a high-level boulderer, route climber, and successful climbing coach. He’s a total lifer. We talked about his early climbing and development in the PNW, some of his favorite first ascents, outdoor bouldering vs. indoor training, climbing and life goals, discovering coaching, leading by example, and sharing the love of climbing with his team.
EP 58: Carlos Tkacz
Carlos Tkacz is a teacher, author, and lover of literature. He also lives in a van and climbs V13. We talked about many things, including a reading list given to him by his friend, impactful quotes, lessons learned from students, starting climbing in his 20’s and discovering training, writing a training book, self-publishing sci-fi novels, public speaking advice, and sharing ideas.
EP 38: Solomon Barth
Solomon Barth is a Stanford University graduate and software engineer. We talked about Solomon’s impressive two-week trip to Smith Rock, working with Alex Bridgewater to improve his footwork and bulletproof his fingers, training endurance using up-down-ups, veganism, working in tech, his desire to help make positive change in the world, and gunning for 5.15.
EP 33: Mike Kerzhner
Mike Kerzhner is a software engineer, an accomplished Yosemite climber, and an impressive all-rounder. We talked about growing up climbing and competing in Russia, moving to the States and climbing at the Red River Gorge, his path to trad and big wall climbing, free climbing El Cap, writing, poetry, speaking Russian, and discipline born out of necessity.
EP 30: Connor Herson
Connor Herson is the kid who free climbed ‘The Nose’ at fifteen years old. What most people don’t know is that he is also an incredible sport climber. We talked about his sport climbing goal at age fourteen, his path to free climbing ‘The Nose’, big wall tactics, gear recommendations, headpointing, training power during COVID, recent sends, and future goals on El Cap.
EP 26: Ben Herrington
Ben Herrington is a professional route setter and likely Washington’s most prolific boulderer. We talked about why Ben performs best as a “weekend warrior”, his three go-to training sessions, mistakes he sees other boulderers making, climbing vs. skateboarding, his history with drug abuse and addiction, the path to sobriety, some of his most meaningful FAs, and V15 potential in Washington.
EP 25: Nathan Hadley
Nathan Hadley is a professional route setter and an all-around rock climber. We talked about completing the Canadian Alpine Trilogy, the benefits of training using bouldering circuits, how to practice onsighting skills in the climbing gym, establishing the first 5.14 at Index, WA, and the importance of following the psych. You can learn more about Nathan at nathanhadley.com
EP 23: Jasna Hodzic
Jasna Hodžić is part writer, part scientific researcher, and part badass rock climber. We talked about sending her first 5.14a, ‘To Bolt Or Not To Be’ at Smith Rock, about practicing her anti-style to climb a route called ‘Voodoo’ 5.14b, and about her struggles with a misdiagnosed finger injury, compartment syndrome, and RED-S.
EP 11: Shanjean Lee
Shanjean Lee is an orthopedic surgeon and a badass climber whose accomplishments range from V10 boulders, to 5.14a sport, to 5.13+ trad and multi-pitch climbs. We talked about how SJ trained to climb ‘City Park’ during her residency, some of her biggest challenges, differences between men and women, dating your climbing partner, and the importance of self-belief.