EP 04: Alan Watts
Feb 10, 2020
Alan Watts is widely regarded as the founding father of Smith Rock, and was a key player in the development of sport climbing in America. He established the first 5.13d in America with ‘East Face’ in 1985—just shy of the world standard. We talked about eating every other day, his paradigm shift from freeing aid climbs to face climbing, wearing Wolfgang’s shirt, meeting Adam Ondra, and his “little slice of contribution” to the sport of climbing.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Google Podcasts
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
Videos:
Pioneering Smith Rock with Hydro Flask Ambassador Alan Watts
Podcasts:
RunOut #26: More is More with Bill Ramsey (the episode Alan referenced regarding Bill’s training)
Books:
Adam Ondra at Smith Rock:
Vlog #7 - ‘Scarface’ 5.14a onsight (Alan - "There I am. What the hell?")
Vlog #8 - ‘To Bolt Or Not To Be’ 5.14a (onsight attempt)
Vlog #9 - ‘Assassin’ 5.14d redpoint
Vlog #10 - ‘Just Do It' 5.14c onsight (w/ footage of Alan)'Just Do It' 5.14c onsight (uncut footage with commentary)
Alan Watts and Adam Ondra—Alan's 80's Project on The Awl
Facebook:
Adam’s post with Mt. Jefferson in the background (Alan - “Oh my god he’s here!”)
Adam's post - "It was such an honor to meet Alan Watts yesterday..."
Instagram:
Adam’s photo book (Alan - "How did I make the cut?”)
Routes Mentioned:
‘Midnight Lightning’ V8, Yosemite, CA
‘Grand Illusion’ 5.13b/d, Lake Tahoe, CA
‘The Stigma’ (aka ‘The Renegade’) 5.13b/c, Yosemite, CA
‘Lion’s Chair’ 5.11a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Zebra Direct’ 5.11a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Wartley’s Revenge’ 5.11a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Shoes of the Fisherman’ 5.11b, Smith Rock, OR
‘Sunshine Dihedral’ 5.12a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Watts Totts’ 5.12b, Smith Rock, OR
‘Chain Reaction’ (aka ‘Corner No. 1’) 5.12c, Smith Rock, OR
‘Darkness at Noon’ 5.13a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Double Stain’ 5.13a/b, Smith Rock, OR
‘East Face’ 5.13d, Smith Rock, OR
‘Punks in the Gym’, 5.14a, Mount Arapiles, AUS
‘French Connection’ 5.13b, Smith Rock, OR
‘To Bolt Or Not To Be’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Scarface’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘White Wedding’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Badman’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Just Do It’ 5.14c, Smith Rock, OR
Guidebook:
Nuggets:
2:21 – The evolution of dirtbagging, early road life, Smith as a safe zone, “there were no routes”
7:12 – Eating every other day
19:52 – Abstainers vs moderators
24:07 – Bill Ramsey, UO, and climbing “every variation imaginable” at the Columns
29:08 – Connecting with the people you need
31:45 – Inferiority complex and pushing to improve
33:09 – Paradigm shift from freeing aid climbs to climbing faces
39:16 – Stumbling upon sport climbing and going from being a decent climber to a really good climber
41:34 – Redpoint tactics, ethics, and borrowing from the Europeans
45:44 – ‘Corner No. 1’, how ‘Chain Reaction’ got its name, and reaching the world standard at Smith Rock
47:33 – 11b to 13d in six years, ‘Punks in the Gym’, and pushing world standards
48:49 – Meeting Heinz Zak and Wolfgang’s t-shirt
51:57 – Pioneering Smith Rock film by Hydro Flask, and going back to the summer of ’85, and ‘East Face’ 5.13d
57:06 – Other hard crack climbs and ‘Double Stain’
58:30 – 7 days prepping ‘Sunshine Wall’ and the story of ‘To Bolt or Not to Be’
1:04:39 – Climbing ever day, injuries, and killing the goose that laid the golden eggs
1:15:20 – Hip surgery and meeting Adam Ondra
1:24:05 – Adam’s post about meeting Alan, and Adam’s onsight of ‘Just Do It’ 5.14c
1:29:57 – Adam’s photo book (Alan-“What the hell? How did I make the cut?”)
1:31:22 – The Awl project, “I do not want to FAIL!”
1:33:49 – Bolting futuristic projects, thinking anything was possible, and bolting ‘Just Do It’ for a TV show in 1989
1:41:28 – “I used to visualize before that was what you were supposed to do”
1:45:05 – “Fucking hard green route”
1:47:20 – Alan’s finger strength, hanging from one hand for (almost) a minute, and gym vs. outdoor climbing
1:54:23 – The updated Smith Rock guidebook
1:55:31 – Alan’s box of tights
1:58:25 – The 100 book list and projecting difficult books
2:03:32 – Working on the guidebook and connecting with the people
2:08:24 – The (lack of) ways to connect with Alan
2:10:06 – A slice of contribution in a little tiny sport
2:12:58 – “He’s cheating”, and Alan’s funny recurring dream