Lara Neumeier is a German climber known for her composure on demanding, heady terrain. Her notable ascents include a repeat of Psychogramm (5.14a trad), Silbergeier and End of Silence—two of the iconic multipitch alpine routes that form Europe’s so-called Alpine Trilogy—as well as El Corazón and the Pineapple Express on El Capitan. Before diving in…

Fallon Rowe is a climber, writer, coach, teacher, researcher, and many more things. Her new book is called Pay No Mind: A Memoir of Climbing, Abuse, and Survival. Beyond discussing the traumatic story that she tells in her book, we enjoyed listening to Fallon bring her always thoughtful, grounded perspective to the way she approaches movement, risk…

On June 8 Kate Kellegan and Laura Pineau (aka Mademoiselle Fissure) became the first women to complete the Yosemite Triple Crown. That means the climbed El Capitan, Half Dome and Mt. Watkins in a day. Their time was 23 hours, 36 minutes, and 40 seconds. In this conversation, Kate and Laura share the tactics they used to achieve their big link-up, i…

Danielle Sarli is a kindergarten teacher, musician, and passionate climber. She is the author of Little Climber, a new kids’ book illustrated by Amanda Joy Hogan. We discuss how to tap into that kid-like innate urge to climb, and kindle the joy that we all feel when stand on top of the world—or our own projects. But first, your inquisitive show hos…

In 2017, a climber was murdered outside of Squamish. His body was found with gunshot wounds, inside a smoldering, burnt vehicle. He was suspected to be the climber known as Jesse James, a Squamish dirtbag who made his mark on the scene, both in real life and online. In fact, it took three years for investigators to discover his real name and his in…

Nate Liles is a photographer, filmmaker, and development director at the American Safe Climbing Association. Today’s conversation with Nate centers on the state of bolts and bolting in America today, and the tenuous landscape of route developers, local climbing organizations, land managers, and community-organized bolting events that keep the state…

Andrew Kornylak is a photographer, filmmaker, writer, and longtime climber. His new book is Spare These Stones. We speak about the rich culture of climbing in the. south, and how this place and its people have helped inform his work and inspire his latest book. But first, we talk about a climbing influencer who is using rage-bait free solo videos t…

Emily Weinstein is a New Yorker, radical activist, rabid Met’s fan, and climber who lives on a house boat in the San Francisco Bay. Her new book is called Turn to Stone: A Memoir. But first we catch up what’s happening in our climbing worlds, from stancing out out projects to taking a stance on fear. Our final bit is an excerpt from a standup comed…

Will Moss is a trad climber originally from New York. He recently flashed Free Rider on El Capitan, becoming the first to do it in a day and only the second person ever to flash an El Cap free climb. Will’s preparation to flash this route was insanely detailed, involving pouring over every video clip he could find, and person he could talk to. He e…

Tanner Wanish and Michael Vaill are two of the best speed climbers in Yosemite today. They currently hold the record for the historic Yosemite Triple Crown with a time of 17 hours and 55 minutes, and they’re also the only climbers to also add in a fourth big wall on top of that feat—a linkup they dubbed the Quad. We spoke to Tanner and Michael abou…

Jon Glassberg is a photographer and filmmaker, and Emily Harrington is one of America’s most prolific professional climbers, whose all-around feats span summits of 8,000 meter peaks, 5.14, National Comp podiums, and free ascents of El Capitan. Their new film is Girl Climber, which is profile of Emily and her quest to free climb Golden Gate on El Ca…

Jordan Cannon is a professional climber, known for his free and speed-climbing feats on El Capitan. Mark Hudon is one of the fathers of big-wall free climbing, best known for making a very early and audacious free attempt of the Salathé Wall in 1979 with Max Jones, nearly a decade before El Cap was officially first free climbed by Todd Skinner and …

Sonnie Trotter is a professional climber from Canada, whose notable ascents include the first ascent of Cobra Crack in Squamish, The Shining on Mount Louis, and the Pineapple Express on El Capitan. His new book is called UPLIFTED: The Evolution of a Climbing Life. But first, is it aid? One of climbing’s most perennial questions comes up in a way th…

Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard is the executive director of Urban Native Collective, the host of the Life on the Margins: An Urban Native Experience podcast, the co-founder of the Indigenous Field Guide, and a collaborator with the American Climbing Project. She recently stepped down from the Red River Gorge Climbing Coalition Board of Directors over t…

Mark Synnott is a professional big-wall climber, expedition sailor, and writer whose books have included The Third Pole and The Impossible Climb. His latest book is Into The Ice, an epic read about his recent voyage across the infamous Northwest Passage and the historical mysteries that lie within. The 6,736-mile journey takes 112 days, allowing Ma…

Earlier this year, the Bears Ears Resource Management Plan dropped, outlining rules regarding camping, waste management, dogs, and, perhaps most controversially, fixed anchors for new routes across the monument, which includes, of course, Indian Creek. Jason Keith is a senior policy advisor at the Access Fund who has spent his career navigating the…

Hannah Schubert is an Austrian climber who has podiumed at the World Cup and the World Championships. Now retired from professional competition, Hannah was recently profiled in Der Spiegel, one of Germanys’ largest publications, where she opened up about her struggles with eating disorders during the height of her competitive career. Our conversati…

The Protect America’s Rock Climbing Act was signed into law at the end of President Biden’s term. The PARC Act mandates that various government departments issue guideance recognizing rock climbing as a legitimate use of public lands, including the placement and maintenance of fixed anchors in Wilderness. This historic act was the result of a multi…

Jason Kehl is a hold shaper, iconclast, and highball bouldering legend, perhaps best known for his first ascent of Evilution in the Buttermilks. Today, he lives in El Paso, Texas, where he continues to establish first ascents all over Hueco Tanks. He is also continue to work with So Ill to create climbing holds. Our conversation traces the evolutio…

Ryan Devlin is an actor who has appeared in such shows as Brothers and Sisters, Cougar Town, and Grey’s Anatomy. Climbers, however, will know him as the host of one of our favorite climbing podcasts, The Struggle Climbing Show. In this episode, we catch up with Ryan after he redpointed his hardest rock climb to date at the Red River Gorge, and hear…

Though just 21, Chris Deuto has already amassed an impressive lifetime of climbing since first starting the sport at age 7. Having ticked 5.14c and V14 and done national-level competitions, Chris has shifted his focus to more alpine-centered climbs, from Aconcagua to Fitz Roy. Most recently, he made the first free rope-solo winter ascent of the Dia…

Fred Nicole’s name is synonymous with hard bouldering. The dude is legend, responsible for establishing the world’s first V14 and first V15, always while bringing an artistic, quiet approach that has defined the soul of bouldering for over four decades. Today Fred works as a shoe designer for So Ill, and continues to explore the forests of his nati…

Today’s guest is climbing’s Captain America, Tommy Cadlwell. Tommy’s latest film is called The Devil’s Climb, and it documents an epic adventure in which he and Alex Honnold rode their bike’s to Alaska and enchained all the summits on the striking and infamous Devil’s Thumb massif. The film was pitched as an environmental film, but the directors de…

Today we’re honored to be speaking with Jerry Moffatt. Jerry was one of the most influential and best climbers in the 1980s and ‘90s, whose groundbreaking first ascents pushed the limits and also was incredibly influential on the direction of our sport. His autobiography Revelations is one of the best climbing books ever, and a must read for everyo…

Armando Menocal was a civil rights lawyer and climber who helped found the Access Fund. It’s safe to say that without Armando’s silent but hugely significant contributions, climbing would look very different today. Sadly, Armando recently died at the age of 83 from cancer. Here today to help memorialize Armando is Armando’s friend and colleague Bra…