EP 90: Josh Wharton
October 11, 2021
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.
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Check out other episodes with Josh
Follow-Up: Josh Wharton (Mar 11, 2022)
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Films Mentioned:
Alpine Lessons in the Canadian Rockies
Josh winning the Ouray Ice Fest
Other References:
Article in Gripped: Wheeler Peak
Other Related Podcasts:
EP 74: Tom Randall (from Lattice)
Route’s Mentioned:
Eternia V11, Upper Chaos, RMNP, CO
Emperor Face on Mount Robson
Wild Thing on Mount Chephren
‘Old World Lullaby’ 5.14b, Black & Tan, St. George, UT
Wheeler Peak
‘Romantic Warrior’ 5.12b, Needles, CA
‘The Scenic Cruise’ 5.10d, Black Canyon, Gunnison, CO
‘Lightning Bolt Crack’ 5.11, Black Canyon, Gunnison, CO
‘Tague Yer Time’ 5.12, Black Canyon, Gunnison, CO
‘Shattered Glass’ ?, Black Canyon, Gunnison, CO
‘Necessary Evil’ 5.14c, VRG, AZ
‘City Park’ 5.13+, Index, WA
‘Mr. Yuk’ 5.14a, Smith Rock, OR
‘Freerider’ 5.13a, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘Crack of Fear’ 5.10d, Lumpy Ridge, Estes Park, CO
‘Hallucinogen Wall’ 5.13, Black Canyon, Gunnison, CO
‘Aeolis Mons’ 5.14, Charlston, NV
‘Grand Ol’ Opry’ 5.14b, Monastery, CO
Nuggets:
3:55 – Josh’s age, and physical vs. technical/tactical progression
5:40 – How Josh manages to be such a good all-arounder and still climb 5.14
9:13 – Trying to do every route in the Black Canyon and Rifle
11:42 – Uber loc(al)s, and using obscure easy routes to prepare for big mountains
13:02 – Josh’s flash and onsight ability, tips and tricks, and climbing with a lot of confidence
17:01 – How to get better at onsighting and flashing
18:49 – Why Josh made the decision to stop redpointing routes he knows he can do
20:11 – Overlapping flashing or onsighting
22:30 – Josh’s go-to schedule for combining onsighting with projecting on a trip
24:22 – How being a parent has changes Josh’s climbing priorities, rock climbing and alpine climbing as different sports, and the rewards of alpine climbing
30:53 – “Everything is training, and nothing is training”, and alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies
35:43 – Having dinner with Barry Blanchard
37:03 – A message from Jonah, and what Josh has learned from each type of climbing
40:26 – Variety as a source of motivation
42:20 – A glimpse into Josh’s experience climbing Wheeler Peak
48:04 – Patron question from Timothy: Why did Josh climb in the Black Canyon so much? What routes had the biggest impact on him?
54:03 – Latok and Ogar
56:21 – The cost of a trip to Pakistan
59:48 – What a trip to Pakistan looks like, and “Expectations often define an experience.”
1:01:17 – More about Latok
1:03:50 – How Josh would prepare for another attempt on Latok
1:09:02 – Sport dry tooling, and winning the Ouray Ice Fest three years in a row
1:12:48 – Learned about training from dry tooling competitions
1:16:27 – The evolution of Josh’s training, and principles of training
1:22:05 – The secret sauce
1:25:02 – Josh’s training staples, and working with Lattice
1:29:54 – Getting away from having to perform well every time you go climbing
1:32:24 – Prioritizing climbing vs. training
1:33:24 – Josh’s 60-degree campus board (joke), and how the Lattice training is going
1:37:04 – Josh’s goal for 2021 (try to flash Freerider)
1:39:55 – How Josh set the boulder problem on Freerider to spec
1:41:37 – Preparing for the Monster Offwidth
1:43:50 – Yuji’s article about trying to onsight El Cap
1:45:14 – Patron questions from Henry: How much has parenthood reduced your tolerance for risk?
1:50:55 – Hera, and Josh’s parallel universe in the NBA
1:52:40 – Using climbing as a tool for travel, and more about climbing as a parent
1:55:26 – Josh’s early climbing with his dad
1:57:16 – Patron question from Garret: Any CO areas that don’t get the respect they deserve?
1:59:12 – Patron question from Randall: Favorite zone or route in Montana? Other favorites in the States?
2:02:10 – Patron question from Benjamin: Thoughts on the new Scarpa Boostic?
2:05:35 – Shoe stiffness for Rifle, and analyzing the soft shoe trend
2:07:42 – Shoe sizes, and Josh’s shoe plan for Freerider
2:10:03 – Patron question from Benjamin: If Josh could only climb in one discipline for the rest of his life, what would he choose?
2:10:41 – What’s next for Josh?
2:14:55 – Gratitude