This conversation is with New York based climber Anyssa Lucena (@genuineclimbing). Anyssa re-found climbing later in life and incorporated it into her already busy life - a single mum of three kids. Not only did she find space for it, it saved her in a difficult period in her life. She felt such a passion for climbing, and it had such a deep person…

This episode is with Swiss machine Nina Caprez. Nina is known for her hard, adventurous ascents including Sibergier, Wogu, Merci La Vie, Never Ending Story…the list goes on. She has a really interesting attitude towards the mental side of climbing and an unusual relationship with fear. We talk about her experiences on hard routes and what she learn…

Andrew is a successful writer and social commentator in the world of climbing. He is the founder of evening sends a website that hosts in-depth writing and articles from himself and other writers. He’s also co-founder of the runout podcast with Chris Kalous. He’s maybe best known for unapologetically saying what he thinks. Something of a rarity onl…

Recently, we have entered into a collaboration with Steven Dimmitt of The Nugget Climbing Podcast who is helping us with the editing, sound and production of our podcast. Steven's podcast is great, with loads of fantastic episodes to choose from. He is also a whizz at all the technical things. As part of this collaboration we are producing some min…

This episode is a conversation between Mina and British climber Hamish McArthur. Hamish is 20 years old and current World Youth Champion in both Bouldering and Lead climbing....a pretty impressive feat. But he isn't planning to stop there, Hamish has big goals and isn't afraid to name them. This conversation is both interesting and empowering. Hami…

Steven Dimmitt chats to Mina on his podcast 'The Nugget Climbing Podcast' about her early life and living in India, learning about impermanence from her dad, chasing flow state, memorable high ball boulders, learning to try hard, becoming a mama and much more... We highly recommend his podcast! You can find it here Enjoy!…

Hazel chats to Alex H-bomb Honnold about his current life as a father to be, his environmental foundation the Honnold Foundation, affective altruism and also a bit about climbing! This podcast was edited by Steven Dimmit of the Nugget Climbing podcast. If you would like to help us keep the podcast going you can donate here or if you also enjoy his …

This episode is an eye opening chat with Andy Cave. Andy is a rock climber and a mountaineer who has a lifetime of stories to tell about his adventures. Climbing aside, he grew up in a mining community in the north of England and his first job was down the pits. Andy has a special way of being able to describe and paint a picture of his experiences…

In this episode Hazel talks with Mina and Steven Dimmitt of the The Nugget Climbing Podcast about their respective recoveries from under-eating/over-training. Although their stories look a little different they both managed to get into a position of poor health in the bid to get stronger and lighter for climbing. Both have since made a full recover…

Steven Dimmitt chats to Hazel on his podcast 'The Nugget Climbing Podcast' about mental training, the ego, fear of falling, fear of failure, her experiences with Magic Line and much more... We highly recommend his podcast! You can find it here Enjoy!

This episode is a conversation with Katy Whittaker aka The Grit Kid. Katy is a life long climber. She started young in a family of climbers and outdoor enthusiasts living in the picturesque village of Edale in the Peak District, UK. Katy became known on the UK scene for a number of things; her stand out achievements on hard, scary gritstone trad ro…

John Kettle is a movement coach based in the UK. He's been the teaching climbing for 20 years. We talk about: his story with his own climbing and what led him to be a coach and interested in movement, why don’t we focus more of movement and technique, what are the many climbers missing, elite climbers versus beginners, what drills can people do, th…

This episode is with Mina and Sports Dietitian and climber Marisa Michael and we actually recorded it back in November (sorry for the delay Marisa!!). We cover a bunch of different areas in this podcast, from her academic and clinical background to her work and research in climbing as well as busting some common nutrient based myths that commonly c…

Maddy and Hazel talk about topics that interest them including women's training, body weight and body image, diet and nutrition, hormonal contraceptives, optimising performance in the menstruation cycle, menstruation and psychology/stress tolerance.

Maddy just turned 30! We know that's not old but it's a good enough excuse to have her on the podcast to talk about her life (so far). This is the first part of a two part chat. The first part focuses on Maddy and her climbing the second part we talk more about issues that interest us.

In this episode Mina (18 weeks pregnant at time of recording) chats to Stacy Sims about all things about training and exercise in pregnancy. Pregnancy can be a confusing time in one’s body and experiences of pregnancy also vary hugely. Stacy specialises in exercise physiology and human performance with a particular interest in female athletes throu…

In this episode Hazel speaks with paraclimber Anna Foo and psychologist Doreen Hoerold who is Anna's friend and sight-guide. We talk about climbing blind, living blind, the relationship between climber and sight-guide, politics of disability and 'blind activism', what sighted people should know about blind people, paraclimbing competitions and much…

This episode is a a conversation between Mina and Dave MacLeod. Dave is a Scottish professional rock climber and mountaineer who is known for his systematic and scientific approach to training that helped him become a high level all round climber, climbing F9a sport routes, V15 boulders, Scottish XII mixed routes and E11 trad. Dave has authored two…

Rosie is a runner and climate activist. This episode is all about climate change and how the outdoor community can be more sustainable. We talk about: how the pandemic could be a good opportunity for a fresh start, individual versus big change, hypocrisy within our community, what we find aspirational, community effort and taking the emphasis away …

This is a conversation between Mina and Dhillan Chandramowli, who’s psyche and drive is infectious. And it’s not just about climbing. Dhillan puts his passion into everything, he is one of those people who lives to find and realise potential in its many forms. Whether it’s developing new bouldering areas in remote Himalayan villages, organising mar…

Paul was a pro climber in the 80’s putting up or repeating many serious routes on sea cliffs, big mountains and scrappy little quarries in Lancashire. In 1997 he won the Boardman Tasker award for his book Deep Play. With the money he went on a trip that took him to the Totem Pole, a sea stack in Tasmania. It was here that he almost lost his life af…

How much of what we do in life and climbing, is controlled by the mind? When you fall on a route do you blame your physical strength/endurance or do you look to your mindset and thoughts? How much does your mind affect your experience and enjoyment?This episode is a chat between Mina and Hazel about Hazel's work as a mental training coach. Hazel ha…

Lynn and Hazel talk about Lynn's climbing career and what she has learnt along the way. They hit these topics among others: how she started, nature and nurture question when it comes to talent and passion, is there an ‘adventure gene’, climbing as a male dominated sport - especially when she started, taking responsibility for our climbing experienc…

Periods. A bloody nuisance or bloody brilliant?? This episode is a conversation with academic Natalie Brown about her research and work in the field of the female athlete and the menstrual cycle with a focus on education and communication around these issues. I (Mina) first met Natalie when I participated in some athlete interviews she conducted ab…

In this episode Hazel and Arno Ilgner geek out about Mental Training. They talk about lots of things including: fear of failure, fear of falling, awareness, mindfulness, following your passion is, process versus outcome, trusting the process, goal seeking, attention, connection, positive psychology, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, motivation, beliefs,…

Tom Herbert aka @usefulcoach is a performance coach and nutritionist who specialises in working with climbers. Tom is quite the character; a creative, enthusiastic and knowledgeable person who has really set his mind to helping and supporting the people he works with however he can. He’s also passionate about doing it the right way, creating and nu…

Hazel speaks with Trev about racism. She’s known Trev all her life but they’ve never really spoken like this about racism. It is eye opening to sit down with Trev and hear all the personal stories one needs to hear to be convinced or reminded that racism is still a thing. Trev has climbed for 35 years all over the world and has taught climbing for …

Anoushé Husain is a civil servant and paraclimber in the UK and a champion for all those experiencing barriers and self-limiting beliefs. Born missing her right arm below the elbow, living with multiple health conditions, a cancer survivor, a Muslim and coming from an ethnic minority, Anoushé has never let what society or culture thinks she should …

What makes a good film or documentary? Is it seeing someone’s personal journey or their character depicted with authenticity; a sense of real-ness or honesty? Or is it the wild landscapes and the sense of adventure that you can vicariously indulge in through the film maker’s lens? Is it a simple story to follow, to learn a lesson from or find meani…

Hazel talks to Emma Wood about the mind in climbing. Emma is a cognitive hypnotherapist based in Sheffield, UK. Find her website here. They talk about a lot of things including: fear of falling, fear of failing, coaching, what is cognitive hypnotherapy, therapist/coach relationship, social validation, emotions, meditation. Support our podcast here…

This episode is a conversation between Mina and Dr Stacy Sims. Stacy is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand where she specialises in exercise physiology and human performance, specifically looking at sex differences in training and nutrition.Stacy really stands behind a motto of #womenarenotsmallmen and she is ac…

In this episode Hazel speaks with Sky Yardeni about grief. Sky is a therapist and social change maker, originally from Israel but is based in Santa Fe, NM. He is currently the Therapeutic Director of the Climbing Grief Fund with the American Alpine Club. https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund They talk about his work with the Grief Fund, his own …

In this episode Mina talks to Charlotte Gibbs who is a runner and ultra endurance athlete. She was the winner and course record holder at the Beacons 50 mile race in 2018, and has taken part in Skyrunning races in the UK and Europe. After suffering with stress fractures and amenorrhea, she was diagnosed with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport at t…

Hazel speaks with Iranian climber Nasim Eshqi. If you’re a climber in the West you may have imagined that your experiences and opportunities might be different if you’d grown up, and become a climber, in Iran. Especially if you’re a woman. Or you may not have thought about it at all. Whatever your preconceptions about Iran, Iranian culture, gender …

In this episode Mina talks to Prerna Dangi, a Dehli based climber. Prerna mixes her climbing time between bouldering, trad climbing, ice climbing and alpinism - she has a taste for everything about the mountains. We talk about her experiences getting into climbing, how it is to be a female climber in India, doing a world cup event, body image in he…

In this episode virologist Levi Yant walks us through the science of Covid - 19. We discuss what a virus is, what makes Covid 19 different, why we're in a global pandemic and what we can do about it. If you're feeling confused by all the information out there and you're unsure of what is right and wrong in this mad new world we live in, take a list…

This conversation is all about flow state. Also known as 'being in the zone'. This psychological state could be responsible for our best climbing performances but also our most enjoyable moments. Mild flow can feel like a heightened focus or presence and deep flow states are more immersive and unique in character. Cameron has a phD in flow and has …

In this episode Mina talks to Madeleine Crane who is a Sports Psychologist and Systemic Coach based near Magic Wood in Switzerland. As a strong climber herself, Madeleine takes a special interest in working with rock climbers from all disciplines. In this podcast we talk about her background, confidence in performance, comparison in sport, body ima…

This episode is the first of a few that we plan to do together. Each one will have a focus and in this episode Hazel talks to Mina about health and performance, where they intersect and how in her experience they have also diverged. We talk about Mina's climbing history, her journey with Rainshadow (9a), the lead up to her RED-S diagnosis as well a…

In this episode, Mina talks to Gilly McArthur, a life long climber, who has in recent years found a love for cold-water swimming. Gilly swam every day in January in the lakes and tarns of the UK to raise money for Mind Charity. In this episode we talk about the physiological and psychological experiences and benefits of cold-water swimming, paralle…

In this episode Hazel talks to Nikki Smith about:- climbing on rock and ice near to home and further away- first ascents - travel - photography - her experiences coming out, transitioning and becoming herself- social media and the problem of privacy - doing better as a communityNiki is an ambassador for Mountain Hardware, REI, Scarpa, Grivel, Beal …

In this episode Mina talks to US-based climber Nina Williams. Nina is well known for her ascents of highball boulder problems such as Evolution Direct (V11), Ambrosia (V11) and the absolutely massive Too Big to Flail (V10) as well as many other hard boulders up to V13. They discuss a bunch of interesting things including Nina's brave Rock and Ice A…

In this episode Hazel talks to professional climber Beth Rodden about: - looking back; what she'd do differently - body image and eating disorders - achievement versus learning - happiness versus success - compatibility of good health and high performance - social media, including ethics of sharing stuff about her boy - motherhood - her book that s…

What's this podcast shizzle about? Who are we? Why are we doing it? What kind conversations will be on it? How are we doing it? When will episodes come out? A somewhat haphazard into to our podcast plans. Stay tuned for the first proper episode soon (ish).