EP 223: Aidan Roberts Returns
June 10, 2024
Photo by Jim Pope
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.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Check out other episodes with Aidan:
EP 142: Aidan Roberts (Oct 31, 2022)
Follow-Up: Aidan Roberts (Feb 2, 2023)
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Show Notes:
Related Podcast Episodes:
References:
Aidan’s post about The Midnight Project
Aidan’s 1st post about Spots of Time
Aidan’s 2nd post about Spots of Time
Films:
How Aidan Roberts Trains For Hard Bouldering Projects
Aidan's Hardest Challenge Yet • Bouldering Projects Update
An Unusual Choice • World-class Bouldering In Finland Ep.1
Mastery: Aidan Roberts Pushing the Limits of Bouldering | Climbing Documentary
Aidan’s Links:
Nuggets:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:04:59 – Recooperation phase
00:08:18 – Powering through
00:10:24 – Course corrections
00:13:58 – Climbing as his work
00:21:45 – Enduring austerity
00:24:17 – His role as a pro climber
00:29:28 – Our relationships with climbing
00:35:54 – Navigating pro climbing
00:45:44 – Valuing integrity
00:49:11 – Climbing media & being impressionable
00:52:51 – Reflecting on experiences
01:04:23 – Aidan’s last year and a half
01:08:54 – The Midnight Project (Arrival of the Birds)
01:33:30 – Trying Burden last Fall
01:41:47 – Ticino with Shawn Raboutou
01:46:41 – Back to The Midnight Project
01:50:28 – The Helvellyn Project (Spots of Time)
02:03:39 – Training in the UK last winter
02:07:03 – Sending Spots of Time
02:08:18 – Sending Arrival of the Birds
02:30:31 – Glimpsing mastery
02:33:33 – Appreciating the places we climb
02:38:06 – Proposing grades
02:52:01 – Is Arrival of the Birds 9A+?
03:08:35 – Exhausted & reexamining eating
03:12:42 – His foot injury & next climbing steps
03:14:23 – Plans for an EXTRA
03:18:22 – An adventurous attitude
03:20:04 – Burden of Dreams
03:26:03 – Finnish bouldering
03:32:48 – Wrap up