EP 33: Mike Kerzhner
August 31, 2020
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.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Google Podcasts
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
Videos:
Emily Harrington climbs ‘Golden Gate’
Summersville Lake - Deep Water Soloing (Tara’s film)
Mike’s Writing:
“Grass is Golden on the Other Side”
Books:
The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey
Elevate Your Excellence by Christina Heilman (psychology book by the author in SLC)
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
The Naked Mind by Annie Grace (alcohol book)
Poetry:
“The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
“The Lesson of the Moth” by Don Marquis
Routes Mentioned:
‘PreMuir’ 5.13+, El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘Muir Wall’ 5.13b/c, El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘The Nose’ 5.14a, El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘Flight of the Gumby’ 5.9+, New River Gorge, WV
‘Romantic Warrior’ 5.12b, The Needles, CA
‘Astroman’ 5.11c, Yosemite, CA
‘Freerider’ 5.13a, El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘Golden Gate’ 5.13b, El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘El Corazon’ 5.13b , El Cap, Yosemite, CA
‘The Rostrum’ 5.11c, Yosemite, CA
Mike’s Links:
Nuggets:
2:05 – Savory oats
3:33 – “Eat, then sleep, then climb.”
4:05 – Big wall food, water weight, and radishes
6:13 – PerMuir, corners, and send cookies
9:04 – Excerpt from Mike’s writeup on the PreMuir, and writing
10:59 – Mike’s internal conflict with social media and sharing about experiences
12:20 – Patron Question: How does Mike contrast computer-heavy career choices with a lack of digital presence?
13:45 – Early climbing and competing in Russia
20:37 – Moving to the states, the EBS competition scene, reckless biking, and getting beat by his younger brother
24:26 – Transitioning from a gym kid to a Red/New River Gorge kid
28:36 – Traveling out West from the Red
29:44 – Why Mike switched from La Sportiva to Scarpa, and getting his shoe-game dialed
33:16 – Going to Stanford, taking a year off of climbing (to drink beer), trad climbing, and ripping a pitch on ‘Romantic Warrior’
39:39 – Climbing ‘Astroman’ with Chicken Pox, getting benighted, and descending in broken flip flops
41:07 – Jailhouse, balancing climbing with drinking, and getting psyched in Bishop
43:10 – Mike’s transition back to trad climbing
46:47 – Mike’s climbing philosophy
48:26 – ‘The Rostrum’, offwidths, and the ‘Freerider’
54:08 – Two-day ascents, ‘Golden Gate’, and making it happen with work constraints
56:14 – Try-hard mode, and screaming
59:41 – Stemming corners, and why Mike struggle with the “medium” 5.12 and 5.13- climbing on big walls
1:03:07 – PreMuir excerpt #2, and what Mike learned from Sam about skill and analysis
1:08:28 – The professional mindset, and learning more by getting on harder climbs
1:09:30 – Mike’s pet peeve, and aspirations
1:10:30 – Chaos and anxiety
1:12:42 – Discipline vs. necessity
1:17:27 – How Mike feels at age 33 (and a half)
1:18:41 – Mike’s experience with the Lattice Training Assessment, 12c finger strength, and climbing V13
1:23:37 – What climbing is for Mike, and why he sucks at training
1:24:43 – Patron Question: The Red vs. the New?
1:25:26 – Summersville dam
1:27:21 – The New
1:27:52 – Patron Question: Favorite sector at the Red? The New?
1:28:55 – Patron Question: Climbing heroes?
1:29:59 – Poems
1:31:14 – Lunch (in Russian), baking bread, and speaking Russian
1:33:52 – The man with no arms, growing up in a starved Russia, and a lot to be grateful for
1:35:27 – The Salathe Headwall, Just Do It, and hanging up the boots
1:38:44 – Plans with Nathan Hadley, route development, learning from others, and surviving ‘Vanishing Point’
1:41:42 – PreMuir excerpt #3