EP 299: Herm Feissner
May 14, 2026
Herm on the first ascent of The Practitioner V11 - Leavenworth, WA
Herm Feissner is a lifer climber based in Fort Collins, CO. We talked about doing the FA of The Practitioner V11 in Leavenworth, WA, in the early 2000s, his training philosophy at 53 years old, how his relationship with climbing has improved, balancing an engineering career with traveling and climbing, discovering and understanding moves, the boulder he is most psyched to complete, and much more.
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Show Notes:
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References:
Nuggets:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:01:38 – FA of The Practitioner V11
00:08:38 – Getting into climbing in 1987
00:22:18 – Climbing with stronger people
00:27:51 – Evolving through the disciplines
00:33:12 – CATS
00:37:11 – Herm’s training philosophy
00:44:32 – Aging & improving
00:55:22 – Avoiding the expiration date
01:01:05 – How Herm’s climbing has changed
01:07:35 – How hard Herm climbs
01:10:27 – Who will push bouldering to the next level?
01:20:27 – Herm’s grading criteria
01:27:25 – How his relationship with climbing has improved
01:30:35 – Relationships
01:38:22 – Boarding school & engineering
01:50:12 – How to be outside
01:58:57 – Discovering & understanding moves
02:02:59 – I Portici
02:08:02 – Wrap up