Sport Climbing

Andy Raether is a prolific sport climber, boulderer, and developer based in Las Vegas, NV. He also owns a climbing hold company and created the Woods Board. We talked about his intro to climbing and making holds, bringing routes and crags to life, sending his hardest boulder (Midlife Crisis V14) at 40 years old, how he trains on The Woods Board, how to master terrible holds, and much more.

Adam Ondra is the greatest climber of all time. We talked about his trip to Smith Rock in 2018, onsighting Just Do It, what he was like as a kid, his 9c projects, Soudain Seul 9A, the Imhotep project, how he trains for long boulders vs routes, the Olympics, The Dawn Wall, climbing ethics, the monster within, why he thinks he can push his level for 7 more years, and much more.

Randy Leavitt is a climbing pioneer, prolific route developer, pilot, and surfer. We talked about training on the Dune Cracks with Tony Yaniro, inventing the Leavittation offwidth technique, his journey from mountaineering to sport climbing, bolting Jumbo Love and other famous routes, why money equals freedom, his passion for surfing, reflections from almost drowning, aging gracefully, and much more.

Chris Sharma is one of the greatest climbers of all time. We talked about his rapid ascension as a teenager, the knee injury that almost ended his career, why La Dura Dura was a turning point, reinventing ourselves as climbers, the importance of finishing what you start, what he does in the off-season, mini objectives, embracing competition, finding contentment, having kids, and much more.

Felipe Camargo is a professional climber from Brazil and the first South American to climb 9b (5.15b). We talked about his humble beginnings in climbing and selling soda to fund his first competition, training for 5.15 on a 3-meter spray wall, how signing with Red Bull changed his life, why we climb, what he learned from Patxi Usobiaga, his new film Tropical Lines, climbing hotspots in South America, his current projects, and much more.

Alex Megos is a German professional climber and a living legend. He recorded this podcast from the Flatanger campground during his recent sending spree in Norway. We talked about sending Change 9b+, why he is practicing his kneebar skills, future 9b+ and 9c projects, what it meant to him to send Bibliographie, his America Tour in 2013, how onsighting Estado Critico changed his career, making changes to reach his full potential, how many carrots he eats in a day, future competition goals, and more.

Stefano Ghisolfi is an Italian professional climber and one of the most accomplished sport climbers in the world. We talked about racing bikes growing up, discovering climbing, using humor in his YouTube videos, how having fun helps him send, why he loves projecting limit routes, chasing the impossible, trying ‘Silence’ 9c, sending ‘Excalibur’ 9b+, two drills for legendary endurance, supporting his girlfriend Sara through hard times with her health, and much more!

Anak Verhoeven is a professional climber from Belgium and one of the most accomplished female sport climbers ever. We talked about growing up with her mom as coach and dad as trainer, why she quit competitions, dealing with a strange injury that plagued her for 3+ years, winning her first World Cup, building 9a+ endurance with mediocre training facilities, making up rules in the gym, her onsighting strategy, being public about her faith, and much more!

Jakob Schubert is one of the greatest competition climbers ever. In 2023 he won the World Championships in both lead and combined, secured his ticket to the Paris Olympics, sent his first 9c with his FA of ‘B.I.G.’, and sent his hardest boulder with ‘Alphane’ 9A. We talked about his incredible year, learning from Adam Ondra’s risky and efficient climbing style, what he learned from failing on ‘Sleepwalker’ V16, plans for more 9c’s, and much more!

Matt Segal is back on the podcast! Matt is one of the boldest trad climbers of his generation and just had his best climbing year ever at age 39. We talked about his new YouTube channel cooking show, his top cooking tips and the key to making delicious food, how he prepared to send Kryptonite 9a, and his ascent along with teammates Jesse Huey and Jordan Cannon of the famous Todd Skinner route ‘Cowboy Direct’ on the Nameless Tower in Pakistan.

Karly Rager is back on the podcast and is joined by Casey Elliott to talk about the factors that affect climbing performance. We’ve got three engineers in one podcast, and we geek out on the data! Do things like weight, height, and ape index affect how hard you can climb? Is max finger strength more important than days spent climbing outside? Listen to find out!

Drew Ruana is back on the podcast and is joined by his friend Cameron Hörst, who is one of the best young sport climbers in the country. We talked about lessons they’ve each learned from recent sends, what it was like growing up as kid crushers, training for bouldering vs. sport climbing, how to stay strong while projecting, Drew’s thoughts on climbing V18, and Cam’s thoughts on climbing 5.15c.

Neil Gresham is a British climber and coach who has been at the cutting edge for over two decades. We talked about using ballet as part of his training for his FA of ‘Lexicon’ E11, the importance of developing your finishing game, extensor training for stronger fingers, go-to ring and TRX exercises, sticking our training in the bank, thumb crimping, climbing his first 5.14c (8c+) at age 45, and much more.

Matty Hong is a professional rock climber, photographer, and filmmaker. We talked about what it was like to grow up in a climbing family, about making the first repeat of ‘Flex Luthor’ 5.15b as well as a history of the route and his thoughts on the grade, training for sport climbing projects on his home wall, climbing waterfalls in Japan, and balancing photography and filmmaking with climbing.

Joe Kinder is one of the hardest-working route developers in North America. We talked about his recent ascent of ‘Kinder Cakes’ 5.15a in Rifle, CO, putting up routes in mediocre rock, leaving a legacy through route development, his love of projecting, current training approach, fashion influences, creating LOV, and his experience with cancellation and rebuilding a new life.

Boone Speed is a photographer, innovator, and was the first American to climb 5.14b with his route ‘Super Tweak’ in Logan Canyon, UT. We talked about Boone’s upbringing, discovering climbing in American Fork, most memorable routes and trips, bolting and training in the Hell Cave, creating the Grasshopper Board, and his vision for the future of artificial climbing.

Steve McClure is one of the best rock-climbers in the world, having made the FA of the hardest sport route in the UK at 9b (5.15b), at age 46. We talked about early hitchhiking stories, discovering sport climbing, the three parts of climbing ability, how to improve over the long haul, foot-on campusing, and much more.

Chris and Heather Weidner are a hardcore climbing couple, both with many 5.14s under their belt across multiple rock climbing disciplines. We talked about drink counting, New Year resolutions, current injuries, the steps to becoming a kneebar wizard, projecting tips, hard conversations, and balancing climbing goals with maintaining a healthy relationship.

Jon Cardwell is a professional rock climber who specializes in bouldering and sport climbing. Jon’s tick list includes V15, multiple 5.15a’s, and hundreds of 5.14s. We talked about lessons learned from ‘Biographie’ and ‘La Rambla’, about his off-season and pre-training modes, about bouldering for sport climbing, and about his current 5.15 project at The Fortress in Colorado.

Dru Mack is a professional rock climber who spent his formative years in the Red River Gorge, and is now traveling full time pursuing hard sport climbing. Nat Gustafson sits in on our conversation to talk about hard projecting, tricks for maintaining power and finger strength, an update on “The List”, training recommendations, hype up songs, and Dru’s battle with ‘The Crew’ 5.14c in Rifle.

Solomon Barth is a Stanford University graduate and software engineer. We talked about Solomon’s impressive two-week trip to Smith Rock, working with Alex Bridgewater to improve his footwork and bulletproof his fingers, training endurance using up-down-ups, veganism, working in tech, his desire to help make positive change in the world, and gunning for 5.15.

Audrey Sniezek is a software engineer for Microsoft and a former professional climber. We talked about her beginnings in both computer science and climbing, becoming a morning person, her 4 a.m. warmup routine, starting a climbing gym near the Red River Gorge, coaching in China, self-talk for confidence, and her most recent 5.14a.

Mike Doyle is an elite-level rock climber who balances climbing with a career as a software engineer. He also has a long history of competition climbing and coaching. We talked about lessons learned from 10+ years of coaching, his training philosophy, onsighting tips, go-to climbing shoes, surfing, and the best breakfast he’s ever had.