Filtra per genere
- 171 - RunOut 124: How Jesse Grupper is getting Psyched and Ready for the next Olympics
Last fall, Jesse Grupper took home the gold medal at the Pan Am games, securing his spot on Team USA for the Paris Olympics in 2024. Now just a few months out from the Games, we caught up with Jesse to hear about how he is preparing and getting psyched to represent our country in lead and bouldering at the Olympics—all while balancing life as a mechanical engineer pushing the limits of soft robotics to improve people’s lives.
But first, yr sticky, sweet podcast hosts get into a debate about glue and when it’s appropriate to use it to fix boulder problems that break. This discussion comes after one of Colorado’s oldest and most historic boulder problems broke, and locals put the question to the community for a vote.
Buster Jesik, IFMGA / AMGA mountain guide, lays down a sick drum track for today’s final bit.
Show Notes
Jesse Grupper Wins PanAM
Watch Jesse flash Livin' Astro
Follow Jesse Grupper on Instagram
Mental Standard Has Broken — Instagram
Mental Standard — Mountain Project
Mountain Project Thread
Follow Buster Jesik on Instagram, Youtube, or contact him for guiding buster@coloradomountainschool.com
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 30 Apr 2024 - 54min - 170 - RunOut 123: How NFL Lineman Wes Schweitzer Uses Rock Climbing to Move Better and Get Stronger
Our guest today is #71 for the New York Jets: Wes Schweitzer, an offensive guard whose injuries sent him down a curious path of recovery: rock climbing. Since discovering the sport, Wes has fallen in love with climbing and uses it as a tool to improve his performance on and off the field. At 6’4” 330-pounds, Wes is considered one of the strongest lineman in the game, putting up 765-pound deadlifts well over twice his body weight. As a true professional athlete, Wes delivers some fascinating insights into how both football and climbing training mentalities could benefit from each other.
But first, yr favorite climbing podcasters play a game of Fuck, Marry, Kill with climbing gear.
Our final bit is a track from Harris Freif called “Tortillas and Peanut Butter” off his album Guitar 2.
Show Notes
Follow Wes Schweitzer on Instagram and Twitter
“Meet the 330-pound NFL Lineman Addicted to Rock Climbing”
Check out Harris Freif on Spotify
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 16 Apr 2024 - 1h 06min - 169 - RunOut #24: So Long, Supertaco
For unknown cosmological reasons, the Supertopo forum became one of the most popular and prolific forums in climbing. When people spoke about “Supertopo,” they typically meant the forum, not the guidebooks, as good as they are.
Here on the forum, which came to be called Supertaco, or just The Taco, climbers of all stripes and pedigrees could rub virtual elbows with climbing luminaries like Jim Donini, John Long, and Royal Robbins while debating issues and sharing opinions and stories.
The Supertopo community was decidedly California-centric, and skewing to a generation of climbers who came of age when the Stonemasters were at the height of their powers.
Over the past 18 years, the Supertopo forum produced over 2 million posts that covered a range of topics. At its worst, Supertopo was place to engage in circular debates about religion and politics, and even slander individuals, myself included. At its best, Supertopo was a record of important climbing history that may have otherwise been lost or forgotten.
As of June 1, 2019, Supertopo forum will become an online museum—closed for new business, but preserved in the online ether as a point of reference for nearly two decades of climbing discussion and debate.
This is Andrew Bisharat. I’m here with Chris Kalous, and you’re listening to the Run Out. Today we’re speaking to our mutual friend Chris McNamara, a co-founder of Supertopo, about why he decided to shut the Taco down now, and what it means for the future of online climbing discussion.Wed, 05 Jun 2019 - 29min - 168 - RunOut #23: Offwidths Getting Called Out
The rarified world of hard offwidthing enjoyed a little dust-up this month when Tom Randall of Wide Boyz fame posted a polite but insistent argument that Pamela Pack’s infamous routes Dark Passenger and Kill Artist were considerably easier than the posted grade and considerably safer than the hype implied.
Supertopoand Mountain Project threads ensued and 10s of pages of witty repartee later, left me, as usual, dumber than when I’d started.
And really, we meant to talk about the tradition of the call
out in climbing AKA the letters, articles, and posts where one climber publicly
questions another climber’s motives and integrity. And we do cover that a bit,
but god damnit if those silly offwidths didn’t just keep sucking us back in.
So looking and all this offwidth tit for tat essentially between only a handful of climbers that operate at the 5.13 and up level got Andrew and I wondering about some essential questions concerning offwidths: How are the curiously specific hard grades assigned without reference routes to build upon? Where is all the odub hype coming from in the first place? And finally, is it a worthy style, or just a place where otherwise poor climbers can eke out some fame?
These questions led to few answers, more questions, and even a couple of our own call-outs on today's show. So lube up those big cams and kick back for a free-wheeling offwidth discussion by two wide-crack pretenders.Fri, 24 May 2019 - 40min - 167 - RunOut #22: Room to Reproduce with Eric Chabot of Hawkwatch International.
Spring is here and love is in the air. In the case of nesting closures at your local crag, we mean this quite literally. Across the country and the world, land managers tasked with protecting several species of cliff nesting raptors, find themselves baring climbing on routes and walls and whole areas so that sensitive birds can just have a little peace and quiet to get it on and raise their fledgling young.
Despite crowing pretty nonstop about how much we love the outdoors and wild places, climbers can get pretty cranky pretty quickly when told we can't do what we want, when we want, wherever we want. But in our defense, nesting closures can seem pretty scattershot from place to place, agency to agency, making us wonder, what exactly do these birds need to make the love connection.
In light of a substantial increase in closures this spring in Indian Creek in Utah, AKA the climby chunk of the newly minted Bears Ears National Monument, we here at the RunOut decided to look for some answers to the how and why of nesting closures. We are joined on this episode by biologist/climber Eric Chabot of Hawkwatch International. Eric is intimately familiar with nesting closures in Indian Creek, around the Wasatch Range, and Western Desert, and can also shed some light on the science and resource pressures behind the nesting closures at your local area.
I'm Chris Kalous, and joining us as usual is Andrew Bisharat, and you are listening to the RunOut. Oh, and if what you hear on today's show doesn't satisfy your cravings for the secret lives of randy birds, Eric can be reached at echabot@hawkwatch.org and is more than happy to field your appropriate questions.
Hawkwatch InternationalWed, 08 May 2019 - 33min - 166 - RunOut #21: Jeff Smoot Relives Hangdog Days
In the 1980s, the rules of rock climbing were in a state of entropy.
Climbers clashed over the fairest and most ethical approach to climbing and how to advance difficulty within these parameters.
Depending on whom you spoke to, hangdogging was either a serious taboo—or the path to righteous radness.
Of course, one trip to any sport crag anywhere on earth today will offer an obvious clue as to which side ultimately won.
That hangdogging was once taboo now sounds as anachronistic as using a Rand McNally Atlas to navigate your car, while simultaneously fast forwarding your Phil Collins tape to get to the part of In the Air Tonight when the drum solo drops.
But such was the 1980s.
To push the ethical boundaries in the 1980s was to also accept the risk that you might just punched or taunted back at the campground.
Yet when a climber achieved an inspiring ascent, by hook or crook, often times nothing more needed to be said.
This is Andrew Bisharat, I’m here with Chris Kalous, and you’re listening to The RunOut.
In this episode, we speak to Jeff Smoot, a climber of the era of big hair, bad attitudes, and bolts galore. Jeff, of course, has nothing resembling a bad attitude, despite the fact that we experienced a number of frustrating technical difficulties during the recording of this episode.
Nevertheless, we managed to hang dog our way to the anchors and eek out a pretty great conversation about this era, which he has captured in his new book called “Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change, and the Race for 5.14.”
And now, please enjoy our conversation with Jeff Smoot.
Hangdog Days is available from Mountaineers Books.
Jeff's Book Tour ScheduleSat, 27 Apr 2019 - 35min - 165 - RunOut #20: Jim Reynolds’ Free Solo on Fitzroy Changes Everything/Nothing
If I told you a climber from California had free soloed three major formations in Patagonia—not only free soloing up them, but also free soloing down them, without using a rope to rappel—you’d be forgiven for thinking that I was talking about Alex Honnold.
In fact, that climber was Jim Reynolds, a guy I had never really heard too much about before now.
He’s a 25-year-old climber hailing from Weaverville, California. He works on the Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) team in the summer, wears rectangular frameless glasses, plays renditions of Slayer on a mandolin, and considers mental training to be wielding a wooden samurai katana in the sun-dappled light of a ponderosa forest behind the YOSAR campsite.
Last month Jim made a big statement in Patagonia. He free soled up, and down, Fitz Roy, St. Exupery, and Rafael-Juarez. He did so without any fanfare, Insta-spray, or Oscar trophy waiting for him back home.
Pretty bad ass.
I got to speak to Jim shortly after his groundbreaking ascents, and break this story with an article I wrote for National Geographic. In this episode, Chris and I go through some of the details of Jim’s incredible ascents, and naturally we got into a discussion about Free Solo, the now Oscar-winning documentary film.
But it is interesting to consider if the prominence of the film might influence our sport. Will the film be that extra jolt of motivation that pushes young, impressionable minds to go through with their crazy ideas?
Or are these artists of the mountains the free-thinking spirits they make themselves out to be, and are we the ones whose weak minds are sentencing us to lives of mediocrity and sin?
This is Andrew Bisharat, and you’re listening to The RunOut.Fri, 12 Apr 2019 - 33min - 164 - RunOut #19: Nanga Parbat and Modern Remote Mountain SAR
In the spring season many 8,000-meter peaks are increasingly crowded with guides who are all but carrying their clientele of C-level executives and trustfunding thrillseekers to the summit.
But in winter, when temps plunge to -60 below and the winds tear at a maddening clip, the 8000-meter peaks finally reveal themselves to be the truly savage and wild places that they are.
This inhospitable desolation calls like a siren to the “young and angry,” as the great Polish alpinist Krzysztof Wielicki put it in his seminal “Winter Manifesto,” which summoned the next generation of alpine climbers to complete the 8000m peaks in winter.
Thus far only one 8000-meter mountain remains unclimbed in winter. That would be K2, arguably the toughest one of all.
And for the second consecutive year, an incident on Nanga Parbat has required climbers on K2 to sacrifice their own shot at claiming this last great prize in order to come to the aid of their fellow mountaineers.
This is Andrew Bisharat. You’re listening to The Run Out podcast. And I’m here with Chris Kalous.
In this episode, we try to unpack some of the drama that unfolded on Nanga Parbat this year, in which the lives of two incredible mountaineers were lost. Also for the second year in row, we saw the climbing world attempt to navigate the bureaucracies of Pakistan, using social media and crowdfunding in real time in order to help aid the search mission as it was assembled.
It’s another year, and yet it’s the same story we’ve seen again and again.
Unfortunately, it’s a story that likely won’t be going away anytime soon.Sat, 30 Mar 2019 - 38min - 163 - RunOut #18: Old Skool Chipping Dust-up.
In the world of Rock Climbing, few actions are more socially
taboo than manufacturing holds – except, of course, wearing man-pris.
And yet, if you climb limestone sport routes, your chubby digits have likely dry-fired off chipped, glued, or comfortized holds more times than you realize or are willing to admit.
Yes, chipping is sport climbing’s dirty open secret. Really, more like privileged information or flat out denial.
Yet, when does it go too far? Becoming wholesale manufacturing paraded in front of us like a gaudy Mardis Gras float of ego and bad judgement?
A recent open letter to the climbing community was published
by local developers from Tensleep, Wyoming
decrying and pulling the veil off routes, cliffs, and whole areas of completely
and blatantly manufactured outdoor climbs. The authors’ collective outrage prompted
this manifesto against the offending developers and asked others to sign on in
protest. The fury of the internet ensued.
An open letter in the digital age felt old skool, and since we are, too, Andrew and I felt compelled to discuss the grey area in the subject of chipping. We asked questions you should be asking yourself if you sport climb outdoors: is chipping ever ok? Does climbing on chipped holds tacitly condone the practice? And should there be a background check to buy a Hilti or Bosch?
I’m Chris Kalous with Andrew Bisharat, and you are listening to the RunOut.
Original Letter Post at Facebook
The Letter thread at Mountain Project
The Letter thread at SupertopoTue, 12 Mar 2019 - 28min - 162 - RunOut #17: EPIC Michigan Ice Fest
Here are some fun facts about Michigan that you may not know. It is home to the world’s largest limestone quarry, the largest deposit of native copper, the largest cement plant, the largest crucifix, the largest bronze horse sculpture, the largest manufacturer of magic supplies, and the largest ice climbing festival in the world.
OK, that last one might not technically be true. But the Michigan Ice Fest is certainly on its way to becoming one of the biggest and best ice climbing festivals in the country.
Our bold co-host and roving gonzo podcaster Chris Kalous braved epic winter conditions to make it to the Upper Peninsula for a weekend of drinking beers and screaming barfies, swinging tools and putting crampon holes in his $500 Gore-tex pants. He made it home, weary and battered, with a cold, thousand-yard stare in his eyes and million dollar smile across his face.
This is Andrew Bisharat and I’m here as always with Chris Kalous, and you’re listening to The Run Out.Tue, 05 Mar 2019 - 21min - 161 - Runout #16: Training Trends With Dan Mirsky
Training is everywhere … actual climbing, less so.
Are climbers training to get better at training, or are they training to get better at climbing? It’s hard to tell just based on what you see on social media. That’s why we decided to bring in an expert, someone who could to help us decipher what the latest trends in training for climbing, and maybe learn about what’s legit and what’s a waste of time.
Joining us today is Dan Mirsky, a professional trainer and a perpetually psyched rock climber. He is one of the few guys I know who literally warms up on 5.14.
This is The RunOut Podcast. Thanks for turning in. I’m Andrew Bisharat, and I’m here as always with my co-host Chris Kalous. In this episode, we ended up not covering as much territory as I would’ve liked. In fact, once the mics went off, we actually started getting into some more interesting stuff, such as why doing routes in the gym is a complete waste of time, even if you’re interested in training endurance. I think we’ll probably have to get Dan on again so we can to dive into some of these other training topics.
If there’s anything you’re interested in hearing discussed, feel free to email us.
On that note, since we’ve been doing these episodes now for a few months, I think we’re starting to find our groove. We really haven’t done much in the way of promoting the podcast, so it’s been especially surprising and meaningful to see so much great feedback already. So, thank you for that. It means a lot. Obviously any reviews on iTunes help, and just sharing the episodes with your friends is also really appreciated.
Anyway, let’s get to it. Here we are with Dan Mirsky.Thu, 07 Feb 2019 - 39min - 160 - Runout #15: Alpinist Kitty Calhoun of Chicks Climbing and Skiing
Its January 2019, and we are shivering our way through Ice Festival Season with perhaps the most renown of them all, the Ouray Icefest in Ouray, Colorado, just around the bend. Ouray, known by most Outta-Staters as OOOray, is also home to Chicks Climbing and Skiing. From management through to clients, Chicks Climbing and Skiing is likely the only all women mountaineering school in the world.
They will be celebrating 20 years of teaching and inspiring
women at this year’s Ouray Icefest with a panel and film about the mindset of
women facing challenge in the mountains.
On today’s Runout, we are joined by Chicks partner and pioneer in women’s alpinism, Kitty Calhoun. When Kitty first started scratching up ice in the 70s, she was practically the only American women aspiring to the big peaks. Her career took her to the mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, and the Himalaya. There, she became the first American women to climb Dhualigiri, and the first woman to climb Makalu - leading an expedition that tackled the extremely technical West Pillar.
Kitty continued a legacy of guiding and leading small, technically oriented alpine style expeditions to big mountains worldwide. She got involved with Chicks Climbing and Skiing from its inception 20 years ago and finally was inspired to become an owner/partner in the school.
This is Chris Kalous, and I had the pleasure of hanging with
Kitty some years back at the Cody Icefest, and let me tell you, she’s a women
of power and grace, and just a lot of fun to be around. Joining me as usual, is
Andrew Bisharat, and you are listening to the Runout.Sat, 19 Jan 2019 - 24min - 159 - Runout #14: What happened in 2018?
2017 was an incredible year for climbing. Adam Ondra established the hardest rock climb to date, and Margo Hayes and Angy Eiter pushed forward the limits of female sport climbing. Oh, yeah, and Alex Honnold free-soloed El Cap.
But what happened in 2018? Off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of much … but in fact, it was year in which everyone’s levels just seemed to rise. Although there weren’t any single significant breakthroughs on par with what we saw in 2017, 2018 was a year in which there seemed to be just many personal breakthroughs across the board.
I’m Andrew Bisharat, and you’re listening to The RunOut podcast. I’m here with my co-host Chris Kalous. And today, we’re joined by James Lucas, an editor at Climbing Magazine. We invited James on to help us turn back the wheel of time and review one of the most forgettable yet surprisingly significant years in climbing. And even make predictions for what’s ahead.Sat, 12 Jan 2019 - 36min - 158 - RunOut #13: What’s the Future of Bear’s Ears?
In 2016, President Obama declared Bears Ears as a new national monument, protecting 1.3 million acres of land in southeast Utah. Thanks to the work of many different groups in the outdoor industry, particularly the Access Fund and Patagonia, climbing was specifically designated as a legitimate activity in this monument—home to Indian Creek and many other vertical adventures.
The climbing world hailed the declaration as a success.
Of course, within a year, popular-vote-loser Donald Trump issued one of his many legally questionable executive orders to slash the size of Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent.
“The decision to reduce Bears Ears is expected to set off a legal battle that could alter the course of American land conservation, putting dozens of other monuments at risk and possibly opening millions of preserved public acres to oil and gas extraction, mining, logging and other commercial activities,” wrote the New York Times.
Indeed, since then, a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of Trump’s order, has been issued through the Access Fund as well as a number of other groups, many in the outdoor world. That lawsuit is currently moving forward in a Washington D.C. district court—and what’s amazing is that it’s just one of many, many projects that the Access Fund is working on on behalf of us climbers.
This is Andrew Bisharat, and you’re listening to The RunOut podcast. I’m here with my co-host Chris Kalous. And today, we invited Erik Murdock, policy director at the Access Fund, to bring us up to speed on Bears Ears, as well as all of the other projects the Access Fund is juggling. The scope of their work is just incredible. What this organization does for us behind the scenes is worth supporting, I think—in all sense of that word.
As I wrote last year in a rant on my website Evening Sends, “If you think that Bear Ears, or our oceans, or any of our National Parks are ‘forever protected,’ it’s time to think again. These are all just proclamations on pieces of paper. They mean nothing. The real power is found in our collective vigilance. This is a responsibility we can’t ignore. It’s time to get motivated and carve off a little bit of that legendary climber stoke, and dedicate ourselves to getting involved.”
Sat, 29 Dec 2018 - 33min - 157 - Runout #12: A Chip Chace Eulogy
Chip Chace dedicated his life to the practice of climbing—which is to say, that he had dedicated his life to the practice of living.
Chace was no household name in the climbing world, yet his contributions to climbing—such as the first ascent of Fine Jade, inarguably one of the best and most popular 5.11 desert towers—gave him a stature of respect and admiration within the core climbing community. Chace rarely spoke about his climbing, and yet you’d have to go really far to find a route he hadn’t done or an area he hadn’t explored. This silent passion, in which accomplishments speak for themselves, left an indelible mark among his closest friends and admirers. On November 3, at the age of 60 years old, Chace died of pancreatic cancer following a relatively short yet extremely painful battle with the disease. He died in his meditation room in his home in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado, surrounded by his closest friends and his wife, Monika.
In the last weeks of his life, he wrote a letter to his friends and patients, whom he served as a practitioner of Chinese medicine. It’s a powerful letter that speaks to what an extraordinary spirit Chase embodied. Here’s an excerpt:
First and foremost, I want my death to be an act of creative transformation, that is to say, I want to die well. I’ve been training for this my entire life and I’m well prepared. I would have preferred to die in the mountains, and that is indeed what Monika and I had envisioned for me. I got this instead. Yet, here is precisely where I want to be. I cry from the raw wonder and intensity of the experience but never because I’m sad or afraid.
I’m grateful for every second I’ve lived so far and for whatever moments I have left. When I’m writhing in pain I scream thank you. When I’m puking my guts out I retch thank you…and sometimes FUCK!!!!!. I’ve been practicing more or less this way for a long time.
I think what Chace is saying here is that climbing might not just be a good way to practice living. Perhaps it might also be a way to prepare ourselves for the inevitability of death.
This is Andrew Bisharat, and I’m here with my co-host Chris Kalous. Today we have two guests: Jamie Logan and her son, Michael Logan. Jamie was a peer to Chace, a close friend and climbing partner. As a younger man, Michael considered Chace one of his most formative mentors. We invited Jamie and Michael on to do something that, ironically, might have caused Chace himself to grimace: put into words the significance of Chip Chace’s accomplishments as a climber.
Our deepest condolences go out to all those who loved and admired Chip Chace.
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 - 32min - 156 - RunOut #11: Connor Herson Frees the Nose.
On November 19th, Connor Herson, a 15-year-old high school freshman from Emerald Hills, California became the 6th human to free-climb the Nose, only missing the 5th ascent to Keita Kurakami’s extraordinary free rope solo by a few days.
Supported by his father Jim, a longtime valley climber, Connor freed the famous climb in a three-day push, only falling on, then redpointing, the Changing Corners pitch rated 5.14a.
Connor has been surrounded his whole life by a climbing family including his dad, his mother Anne, and his badass older sister Kara, who, incidentally, climbed Half Dome in winter and the Nose in a Day sans jumars as a mere tween.
On today’s RunOut, Andrew Bisharat and I – two climbers well past their prime - grill Connor Herson – a climber only on the cusp of his vast potential – about what makes him tick.Fri, 30 Nov 2018 - 29min - 155 - RunOut #10: Adam Ondra’s Near Onsight of the Salathe Wall
What do you consider to be a casual, non-serious climbing trip? Maybe it’s bouldering with your homies. Maybe it’s a few weeks of sport climbing on some Mediterranean island where the you end up spending as much time cragging as you do at the beach, drinking ouzo and snacking on roasted goat meat.
For Adam Ondra—who is between comp seasons, which apparently demand much more serious attention and focus—a casual climbing trip means going to the United States to try to onsight a few moderates …
Only in this case, “moderate” means the Salathé Wall on El Cap. 32 pitches, 5.13b. A crack-climber’s dream.
Had any other Euro showed up in Yosemite with a goal of onsighting the Salathe, we Americans would’ve scoffed and laughed. But Ondra earned mad street cred two years ago when he swooped in and completed the second ascent of the Dawn Wall in less time than it takes me to get through a single issue of Alpinist.
On November 3, Ondra enlisted the belay and simul-climbing skills of Belgian badass Nico Favresse to join him in a single-push, sub-24-hour onsight attempt of the greatest crack climb on earth.
Leading everything, Ondra just cruised … He onsighted the Boulder problem pitch, the 12c roof, the monster off width—he got himself all the way up to the famous Headwall crux without a fall. However, his dream came up short. By then, there was no gas left in the tank, and he came away empty handed in some respects, but seemed to be just as happy and fulfilled to have gotten the opportunity to climb an amazing route like the Salathe. Who could argue with that?
This is Andrew Bisharat and I’m here with my co-host Chris Kalous, and we caught up with the Ondrasaurus himself to hear more about his magnificent failure on the Salathe.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 - 29min - 154 - RunOut #9: Mikey Schaefer and the Fourth Wall
To free solo or not to free solo, is not the question of today’s podcast—but whether it is ethical to film it.
Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s documentary film Free Solo remains just about the biggest thing happening in climbing right now. It’s something that has haunted me and co-host Chris Kalous since we saw it a few weeks ago. To be honest, we haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
And you can hear our initial discussion in episode 7. That episode is merely an attempt to dry out our sweaty palms in the aftermath of watching this film.
However, now, with clearer heads, we wanted to dig in and go a little deeper. Free Solo is not just a spectacle of Alex Honnold’s obscene tolerance for risk, it also dances dangerously close to discussing the ethics of filming a guy risking his life.
This film breaks the fourth wall—the behind the scenes story of struggling to shoot Honnold is as much a part of the story as Honnold’s free solo of El Capitan.
We invited our friend Mikey Schaeffer to speak to us for today’s episode. Mikey is a longtime climber and just one of the true, authentic energies of our sport. He was also a DP, a director of photography, on Free Solo. Honnold selected him as one of the few guys he could trust to be hanging on a rope beside him and have confidence that Mikey wouldn’t drop a lens on him or cause some other horrific outcome.
Mikey also has one of the more interesting roles in Free Solo. Of all the camera operators, he was the one who seemed to be most genuinely distraught by what he was witnessing. If you’ve seen the film, Mikey is the one whose face they cut to repeatedly during the climactic montage of Honnold’s big climb.
He’s grimacing. He literally can’t bring himself to watch—and yet, like we in the audience, he also can’t look away.
I recognized this as a device often utilized in horror and suspense films—Hitchcock was perhaps the original master of this technique. In this regard, Free Solo isn’t just a documentary; it fully fits in the genre of suspense and thriller.
And yet, the thrills aren’t moot or for mere casual entertainment. The consequences are horrifyingly real.
We spoke to Mikey to hear more about what it was really like to have worked on this film for the past two years. I personally really enjoyed this interview. Mikey shared some really surprising details and insights into his own experience. He also gave some really fascinating insights into the black box that is Alex Honnold’s mind.Thu, 01 Nov 2018 - 32min - 153 - RunOut #8: Caves, Plato, and the future of adventure
In the Republic, Plato presents an allegory of a cave in which prisoners have been shackled their whole lives, and their only understanding of reality derives from the shadows that are cast on the bleak cavern wall before them. It’s a way to tackle the philosophical problem of how our own subjective experiences limit our understanding of reality, keeping us imprisoned in our own heads.
I don’t need to ever become a caver to know that the idea of plunging into the bowels of the earth sounds like an absolutely dreadful idea. I’m a climber. I like being out in the open, not closed in. I like to go up, not down. Is there anything worse than rappelling?
In my job as a full-time writer, part-time journalist, I’ve been covering various caving expeditions for National Geographic. I started out knowing nothing about caving, and while my understanding of the sport still places me very much at a gumby level, I’ve been fascinated, dare I say, impressed, by the commitment and adventure of some of the today’s leading caving explorers.
I’ve always viewed caving as a low-grade cousin to our sacred sport of rock climbing. There are similarities to be sure. We both use ropes and harness and we both love to indiscriminately place bolts in virgin rock. And yet, caving just seems so dreadful, so claustrophobic. Do they even need to train?
And yet, cavers seem to be just scratching the surface of exploration of the world’s biggest, deepest and most impressive caves. The state of caving right now seems to be where climbing was in the 1800s—a blank map ripe for the pickin'. And as I scroll through the latest news feeds of climbing as a sport, filled with the latest spray about the newest climber to do some route or mountain that was actually first done before they were even born, I can’t help but find myself drawn in, wondering what is real, or if everything I know about climbing is just a bunch of shadows on the wall.
Before I do something crazy like trade in my Scarpa Dragos and kneepads for a waterproof onesie and an 12mm static line, I wanted to talk to my show co-host Chris Kalous, who actually has some experience plundering the depths of the earth, to talk me out of it.
Here's my story about the Rainier fumarole ice caves.
And here's my story about the Veryovkina flood survival epic.
Kalous in Groaning Cave, Colorado. c. 1991
Climber Larry Coats in Groaning Cave, CO. c. 1991
Kalous inside Groaning Cave, Colorado. c. 1991
The mouth of Groaning Cave, Colorado. c. 1991
Searching for Fixin to Die Cave, Colorado. c. 1991
Magic Mushrooms, Groaning Cave, Colorado.
Climber Jim Erickson reads the map of Groaning Cave. c. 1991
Scott Fitzgerald and Kalous, Honkers Cave, Colorado. c. 1991Fri, 19 Oct 2018 - 32min - 152 - RunOut #7: Free Solo Film and the Sweaty Palm.
It was only a few weeks ago that the Dawn Wall seized the Mylar Throne as best climbing movie ever and thrust a misunderstood Kevin Jorgeson deeply into our hearts. Incidentally, the Mylar Throne is made from melted down Masters of Stone VCR cassettes.
But like a resplendent child emperor, the Dawn Wall, though magnificent, has been cleanly eviscerated after its very brief reign by this week’s release of Free Solo. Jimmy Chin, Chai Vasarhelyi, and Alex Honnold’s film of Honnold’s incredible free solo of the Free Rider on El Cap has delivered an awesome portrait of obsession, dedication, and accomplishment. And simply put, the most astounding climbing footage ever filmed.
Andrew Bisharat and I finally gave up on receiving our invitations to any of the premiers and bought tickets for a showing in Aspen, Colorado at the historic Wheeler Opera House. The raucous crowd (often too raucous for our tastes) was comprised mostly of outdoor enthusiasts likely very familiar with Alex Honnold and Jimmy Chin, and no doubt, the entire local climbing community was there.
On today’s show, we give you our thoughts on Free Solo, the climbing film that crushes all other climbing films like Alex crushed the Free Rider. And of course, spoiler alert. We all know that Alex free soloed the Free Rider without plummeting to his death, but we also reveal a few other twists and turns of the film, like the fact that Alex Honnold is the only one alive, and we’ve all been dead the whole time.Sat, 06 Oct 2018 - 29min - 151 - RunOut #6: Olympic Dreaming
The old adage "sport climbing is neither" is now a sad relic of atavistic time in climbing—a time before there were gyms, before there were World Cups, and before there were climbers capable of onsighting 9a+ but who instead choose to spend 30 hours a week training indoors, six to eight months a year, all in preparation for a single event when they are finally released by their coaches onto a competition stage, like animals out of a cage.
It was a time that most climbers today will not even remember.
Climbing is making its big debut in the 2020 Olympics. When this news was jointly announced by the International Federation of Sport Climbing and the International Olympic Committee two years ago, no one, it seemed, was very happy about it. Grizzled old chuckleheads read the news as yet another omen that climbing had been utterly yuppified, while the most hardcore competition climbers were seemingly united in their disappointment with the proposed format of combing lead, bouldering, and speed.
This September, during the biennial World Championships, the IFSC got its first chance to show the climbing world not only why this combined format would be great, fair and just and even exciting to watch—but also that this format would translate to a successful event in the forthcoming Olympics.
So, did the IFSC win over the naysayers? Was the World Championships everything world-class comp climbers had hoped for and deserve? And what does this all mean for our sport, the outdoor industry, and the future of climbing?
Since neither Chris nor I know squat about comp climbing, we invited our mutual friend and colleague Chris Parker to be our guest for this episode. Chris is a former editor at Rock and Ice magazine and now he works as a content creator for Black Diamond. He got to travel to Innsbruck to witness and report on the entire World Championships. You can check out Black Diamond’s website for his report. It explains the format, what works, and where some serious and legitimate concerns remain.
One quick show note. I referenced an Iranian speed climber, whose name I didn’t know at the time. His name is Reza Alipour, and he is a total major beast.Wed, 26 Sep 2018 - 40min - 150 - RunOut #5 Michael Kennedy and the North Ridge of Latok I
In July of 1978, after climbing all but a few hundred feet of the 8000-foot-tall North Ridge of Latok I in Pakistan, Michael Kennedy, Jim Donini, George Lowe, and a fatefully ill Jeff Lowe chose to descend shy of the unclimbed summit. What was subsequently dubbed the “magnificent failure” was soon held up as a futuristic alpine climb done in the best possible style. The mountain itself was climbed a year later via the south face in antiquated siege style.
The North Ridge repelled more than 30 attempts over the next 40 years by some of the best in the business.
This summer, 2018, two important developments – one tragic and one triumphant – may have left the quest for the North Ridge all but satiated.
Michael Kennedy joins us today to reflect on his ascent in 1978 and discuss the climbs this summer of both the North Ridge and the second ascent of the mountain. I’m Chris Kalous with Andrew Bisharat, and you are listening to the Runout.
And if because of technical problems, I sound like I’m stuck in a well, be assured that Michael Kennedy does most of the talking and the rumble of his baritone is like listening to the North Ridge itself speak from the heights.Sat, 15 Sep 2018 - 29min - 149 - RunOut #4: Wales, not Whales.
We all know about whales. Sperm whales. Humpback whales. Blue whales. Killer whales. Just kidding, those are dolphins. But what about Wales the country? What’s going on there? The Run Out had to go find out for itself.
Wed, 05 Sep 2018 - 29min - 148 - RunOut #3: The Tradition of Truth.
In 2013, two French alpinists, who you’ve probably never heard of, climbed a central pillar on Annapurna in pure alpine style. They hung it out there so far, that their ascent very nearly cost them their lives. In any other year, their ascent would’ve landed them a Piolet d’Or award, if not global acclaim and sponsorships galore.
The only problem, the late Ueli Steck had soloed the exact same line a few days before the French climbers left basecamp. Steck claimed to have soloed the 10,000 foot futuristic face in 28 hours round trip, an utterly astonishing feat that landed him a Piolet d’Or the next year.
Ultimately, Steck offered no concrete evidence for his ascent of Annapurna as he didn’t bring a GPS, had no camera, and his altimeter failed during the ascent.
Steck, of course, died in 2017 on Nuptse while acclimatizing for a link-up on Everest. He was soloing when he fell from near the top of the 6,000-meter mountain, but the reasons why he fell, like the details of some of his more controversial ascents such as Annapurna, remain unknown.
That year on Everest, Kilian Jornet, the Spanish ultra-runner and endurance mountain athlete, claimed to have climbed Everest twice within a period of 5 days, each time climbing solo and logging a speed that would nearly break the fastest known time on Everest. Like Steck, Jornet was also solo during his speed ascent. And like Steck, he was unable to offer much more than his word. His GPS failed. His camera failed. All that he had was his word.
But is that enough?Sun, 12 Aug 2018 - 38min - 147 - RunOut #2: A Speed Climbing Paradox.
On June 2, Tim Klein and Jason Wells, two highly experienced Yosemite rock climbers, fell during a speed ascent of El Capitan.
Four days later, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold, also two highly experienced rock climbers, set a new speed record on the Nose of El Capitan, climbing the 3,000-foot route in 1 hour 58 minutes and 7 seconds, breaking the fabled 2 hour mark and besting their own previous record, which had been set two days earlier, by 3 minutes.
The question of speed climbing in Yosemite, a tradition dating back to the first in-a-day ascent of the Nose in 1975 by John Long, Jim Bridwell, and Billy Westbay—were turning to questions about whether it was getting too dangerous. Outside Magazine posted an article entitled: Has Speed Climbing Gotten Too Deadly?
In that story, the author says, “Honnold told me that one of the reasons he wanted to climb with Caldwell was that he "can really trust him. Tommy cares about safety. He's a family man and won't do anything crazy up there.”
Is speed climbing a sport only reserved for those who won’t do anything, quote, crazy up there? And what is crazy, really?
I sat down with my good friend Chris Kalous, of the Enormocast fame, who either enjoyed or endured his own latest ascent of El Cap and discuss the uncanniness of how these events unfolded. On one flank of El Capitan, triumphant success, lauded across all mainstream news platforms. Just around the corner, a horror story that shocked the community into questioning the very thing it’s so quick to celebrate.Fri, 10 Aug 2018 - 30min - 146 - RunOut #1: What’s Your Dawn Wall (Movie)?
Today's topic is The Dawn Wall Movie.
The film premiered way back in March at the SXSW festival in Austin Texas. By most accounts, those folks lucky enough to be in attendance were awestruck.
But then the movie just disappeared.
Its almost feels like yesterday, but its been over three years since Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson completed the FFA of the Dawn Wall route on El Capitan in Yosemite. The ascent was as famous among climbers for its audacity and difficulty as it was infamous for the media circus that surrounded the climb. The mainstream media interest in the final ascent was unprecedented, but the climbing community had been witnessing a struggle lasting 7 years.
In the intervening 3 years since the climb, the mainstream media has largely moved on from the story, while in the climbing community, “What’s your dawn wall” became something of a meme - first inspirational and now solidly satirical, though no love has been lost for Tommy and Kevin. Tommy, in particular, has stayed in the spotlight and recently cracked the 2 hour barrier on the Nose with Alex Honnold.
Also, the Dawn Wall saw a relatively drama-free and quick 2nd ascent by Czech phenom Adam Ondra. Something the mainstream media completely ignored. In fact, the US climbing media seemed somewhat nonplussed despite the fact that Ondra deigned to even practice much in Yosemite before dispatching the route in what amounts to much better style than the 1st ascent. Go figure.
So what happened to the Dawn wall movie after its premier in March? It traveled to couple festivals we’ve never heard of on the two coasts and then a screening for industry insiders at Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Denver, Colorado. Not a peep otherwise.
Josh Lowell and collaborators are keeping their cards close to their chests about its wider release, though rumor has it, the public might see it this fall. Nevertheless, our own industry insider, Andrew Bisharat, was at the premier in Austin and feels its hot time for a review of the film.Mon, 06 Aug 2018 - 27min - 145 - RunOut 122: Will Moss Leaves No Stone Unclimbed
Will Moss is a comp climber turned traddie from New York City, who has been quietly ticking some of the hardest gear-protected routes in the country over the past couple of years. His most recent notable ascent is the FA of the Gunks hardest: The Best Things in Life Are Free (5.14d R).
But first, we wind our way into a discussion about the elusive “undercover crusher,” and whether this mythical beast actually climbed the thing before everyone else, or if this is just what some bro is saying in order to take you down a peg or two.
Last, we’re honored to feature the atmospheric music of climber and musician Jessica Kilroy, with her track “It’s Infinite.”
Show Notes
Follow Will Moss on Instagram
William Moss, 18, Establishes 5.14d R Trad in the Gunks via Climbing Magazine
R-Rated: 5.14 Climbing on Marginal Gear on YouTube
About James Litz
Nacho Sanchez on Instagram
Follow Jessica Kilroy on Instagram
Jessica Kilroy Bandcamp
Jessica Kilroy on Spotify
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.com
Will Moss on Brozone (5.14b) at the Gunks. Photo by Gregory BergTue, 26 Mar 2024 - 1h 31min - 144 - RunOut #121: Beth Rodden Reveals A Light Through the Cracks
Today’s guest is a climbing icon and legend: the great Beth Rodden. Beth was a youth national comp champ who went on to become one of the greatest female climbers of her time, with important first free ascents of El Cap and single-pitch trad test pieces such as Meltdown, a 5.14c crack that many say is harder and took a decade before it was repeated. Her new book is called A Light Through the Cracks.
But first we talk about the elusive “all-around” climber, with Bronwyn Hodgins at the top of mind. What does it take to be considered a great all-around climber? And is that the future for what we demand of our top-end climbers?
Today’s final bit comes courtesy of the extremely talented Beezer (aka Mason Earle) with the track Loggersports.
Show Notes
Follow Beth Rodden on Instagram
Pre-order A Light Through the Cracks from anindependent book store or big one
Follow Bronwyn Hodgins on Instagram
News / post about Bronwyn’s latest redpoint
Watch Bronwyn and Jacob Cook free climb a big wall
Follow Mason Earle on Instagram
Check out Beezer on YouTube
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 08 Mar 2024 - 143 - RunOut #120: Josh Wharton Redpoints the Alpine
Josh Wharton is one of America’s top alpine climbers, with light and fast ascents of iconic peaks from Patagonia to Alaska to the Himalaya. His latest first free ascent with Vince Anderson, is called Suerte (5.13a, WI6, M7, 3,500 feet) and it’s located on Jirishanca (20,100 feet) in Peru. This ascent, which took years to “alpine redpoint,” is featured in a new film headlining Reel Rock 18.
But first, yer friendly RunOut hosts discuss Kalous’ recent trip out to his namesake dance party at the Michigan Ice Fest, where there was more festing than icing.
Our final bit comes courtesy of Evan Philips, fellow podcaster at The Firn Line, with his song Close to Me.
Show Notes
Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson send Suerte on Climbing.com
Reel Rock 18 Spotlight: Jirishanca
Michigan Ice Fest
Chris Kalous Dance Party
The Firn Line podcast
Close to Me on Spotify
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 20 Feb 2024 - 1h 16min - 142 - RunOut #119: Dean Fidelman, Portraits of an Artist
Dean Fidelman is a legendary climbing photographer, whose body of work and portraitures have come as close to capturing the elusive soul of our sport as any photographer ever has. He’s perhaps best known for his Stone Nudes series of fine-art black-and-white bouldering photographs, but his career first began as a 16 year old kid with a camera, documenting the Stone Masters era of Yosemite and all the legendary characters associated with it. His latest book is “Fidelman: A Body of Work,” an ambitious retrospective that chronicles the career of climbing’s perhaps most ambitious and iconic artist.
But first, yr friendly podcasting hosts wonder whether everyone is making climbing, and training for climbing, way, way, way too complicated.
Our final bit shares an intimate moment between a father and son, resolving a typical schoolyard conflict with a bit of jamming.
Show Notes
“Fidelman: A Body of Work” is available from DiAngelo Publications.
Follow Dean Fidelman on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcastContact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 30 Jan 2024 - 1h 26min - 141 - RunOut #118: The Power of Climbing Community and Development—and the Threats it Faces
Colorado Climber Get Goin' from his EP Get Goin'
https://open.spotify.com/album/3rZ3LOjSIw92djPAPerMkG?si=wUR1_MyuQ12mJjrLYlHn_Q
Mon, 15 Jan 2024 - 140 - RunOut #117: How Two Big Wall Noobs Free Climbed the Nose
Alex Waterhouse and Billy Ridal are both 26 years old, from Sheffield, England, and have been competing on plastic since they were 12. But once slapping plastic lost its allure, these two climbers found themselves dreaming of adventure. And adventure they found, as they spent a month fumbling their way into the world of big-wall climbing during a month long trip to Yosemite National Park earlier this year. And the unlikely duo emerged from their trip with one of the greatest prizes in climbing: a free ascent of the Nose. We caught up with the lads and talked about how they pulled it off.
But first, your increasingly trivia-oriented show hosts look back on 2023 and try to recall what the hell happened.
Last, damn good Buddy Spray from RunOut RopeGun Cooper Houston.
Show Notes
Two Retired Comp Climbers Pull Off a Rare Free Ascent of the Nose on Climbing.com
Follow Alex Waterhouse on Instagram
Follow Billy Ridal on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcastContact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 29 Dec 2023 - 1h 45min - 139 - RunOut #116: Mary Catherine Eden Charms the Black Mamba
Mary Catherine Eden is probably best known for popular Instagram account @tradprincess, but she’s far more than just another online influencer. She’s recently ticked one of the hardest crack climbs in the country, Black Mamba (5.14b), joining a small group of women, if not people of any flavor, who have climbed 5.14 on gear. We talk about her love of crack climbing, progression, “eating her veggies,” and balancing it all in life.
But first, your lovable disgruntled show hosts grumble about new proposals that seek to regulate our ability to place bolts in Wilderness.
Our final bit comes all the way from Glasgow, UK, as Dan Brown combines his love of climbing with music.
Show Notes
Follow Mary Eden on Instagram
News of Mary’s ascent of Black Mamba
Access Fund report on the latest climbing management plans
Dan Brown music
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 13 Dec 2023 - 1h 18min - 138 - RunOut 115: Jakob Schubert Goes B.I.G. (Plus Jared Leto’s big TR)
Jakob Schubert is a four-time World Champion, an Olympic bronze medalist, and he has more IFSC gold medals than any other male competitor. He’s also sent some of the hardest routes in the world, including, most recently, a first ascent of Project B.I.G. in Flatanger, which he rated 9c, making it only the third route ever to be given this grade. Our interview with Jakob takes us behind the scenes on his livestream of sending B.I.G.; his ticklist of some of the hardest routes in the world, especially Chris Sharma lines; who he thinks might be a contender in the next Olympics; and his love of American football.
But first, we talk about Jared Leto’s toprope ascent of the Empire State Building, and try to figure out why everyone so mad.
Today’s final bit comes from OG local legend Joel Brady and his band d'Artagnan and the Banjoman.
Show Notes
Follow Jakob Schubert on Instagram.
Subscribe to Jakob Schubert’s YouTube Channel.
Climbing.com’s news report on Project B.I.G.
Jared Leto Climbs Empire State Building on BBC
Photo of Jared Leto climbing by Renan Ozturk on the NatGeo feed
Follow Joel Brady on Instagram
“I’m Dying” by d'Artagnan and the Banjoman
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 23 Nov 2023 - 1h 33min - 137 - RunOut #114: Kris Hampton Taps into the Power of Climbing History
Kris Hampton is the brains and brawn behind Power Company Climbing and the cohost of the podcast by the same name. His insatiable love of creating new things, whether that’s training plans for climbers or music, has led him to launch Written in Stone, a new climbing history podcast looking at monumental moments in our sport, decade by decade.
But first, we respond to a couple of show listeners who had an absolutely insane exchange with climbing’s most notorious authority. No, we’re not talking about cops or park rangers. We’re talking about the kid who gives the belay test in the gym.
Finally, we’re honored to share some new music from our super talented friend Andy Mann, a National Geographic photographer, director, and musician / storyteller. His new EP is called Full Moon Fight.
Show Notes
Power Company Climbing
Power Company Climbing and Written in Stone podcasts
Follow Kris Hampton on Instagram
Follow Andy Mann on Instagramand check out his music here
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 10 Nov 2023 - 1h 12min - 136 - RunOut #113: How a Race to Get a Climbing Record Turned Deadly
RunOut #113: How a Race to Get a Climbing Record Turned Deadly
This fall, two American women found themselves in an unlikely race to reach the summit of Shishapangma, and thereby earn themselves a place in the record books as being the first American woman to have done all 14 8,000-meter peaks (with oxygen). Unfortunately, both Anna Gutu and Gina Rzucidło, alongside their respective Sherpa guides Mingmar Sherpa and Tenjen Lama, perished in two separate avalanches about 30 minutes apart around 7,800 meters. Did this informal competition lead them to making bad decisions that ultimately cost everyone their lives? To make sense of this terrible tragedy, as well as to discuss some of the ongoing issues around competency, infrastructure, and regulations within the Himalayan guiding industry, we speak to Adrian Ballinger of Alpenglow Expeditions. Adrian has guided numerous high-altitude peaks, including many summits of Mount Everest, and his company Alpenglow leads over 30 international expeditions each year. And he has also personally climbed Mount Everest and K2 without using oxygen, and notably made the first ski descent of Makalu.
But first, your friendly neighborhood climbing podcasters think about what would happen if the Rapture came for pro climbers and they were all smite’d away from this good, green earth. Would that change anything about the climbing we know and love?
Last, today’s final bit comes from an experimental instrumental band called Les Rhinoceros, with drums and percussion played by climber and friend of the pod Jon Burrier.
Show Notes
Via Explorer’s Web: “What Happened on Shishapangma: The Climbers Speak Out”
Shishapangma Avalanche: Two U.S. Women, Two Sherpas Dead/Missing
Adrian Ballinger on Instagram
FollowJon Burrier on Instagram and check out his SoundCloud
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 24 Oct 2023 - 1h 23min - 135 - RunOut #112: America’s First Climbing Gym Owner Sounds the Alarm
Our guest today is Rich Johnston, the president and owner of Vertical World in Seattle, known as America’s First Climbing Gym (TM). He’s also the founding chairman of the Climbing Wall Association, where he served for 16 years, and a board member on The Mountaineers. Rich tells us about the earliest days of the climbing-wall industry, why he never thought climbing gyms would succeed, and how important culture and philosophy are to creating a community of climbers that abide by the inherent risk doctrine. All of this is a prelude to discussing an important bellwether lawsuit that was just settled involving a climber who didn’t clip himself in properly to an auto belay, and still came away with a whopping settlement in his favor.
But first, your favorite climbing podcast hosts talk about the nebulous rules and etiquette for passing people on a multi-pitch climb. When should you let people play through? And is it ever OK to just pass without permission?
Last but not least, our Final Bit comes to us from listener, climber, fellow dad, and self-proclaimed “normal guy” from Boise, Idaho, Alan Keller. HIs band is called Prairie Mountain Plain and this new song “North Bound and West” is from their latest album While They Sleep.
Show Notes
Climbing Mag: Gym and Auto Belay Manufacturer to Pay $6M in Settlement for Auto Belay Accident
Evening Sends: Will Climbing Gyms Survive the Lawsuits?
The plaintiff’s attorney’s press release.
Vertical World’s response
Vertical World
Andrew Megas-Russell on Instagram
Prairie Mountain Plain on SpotifyTue, 10 Oct 2023 - 1h 31min - 134 - RunOut #111: A Fine Line for Graham Zimmerman
Today’s guest is Graham Zimmerman, an alpinist, a recipient of the Piolet d’Or and a director at Protect Our Winters, a climate-advocacy group. His new book is “A Fine Line: Searching for Balance Among Mountains.”
But first, cave raves are all fun and games until your favorite crag gets shut down. Your favorite climbing podcaster hosts try to figure out where their personal boundaries lie for self-policing the climbing world.
Our final bit is an original ode to Vedauwoo by climbing couple Morgan Shannon and Ben Baltich.
Show Notes
Follow Graham Zimmerman on Instagram
Order his book from The Mountaineers.
Protect Our WintersTue, 19 Sep 2023 - 1h 25min - 133 - Bonus: Alannah Yip Sounds the Alarm on Eating Disorders
Today, we're releasing one of our bonus episodes from our Rope Gun feed on Patreon because the content is a PSA and super important for as many climbers out there to hear.
Our conversation is with Alannah Yip, an Olympic sport climber from Canada with an incredible career. This summer, Alannah started a conversation about the prevalence of eating disorders in high-end comp climbing, fears about RED-S afflicting athletes, and what many view as foot-dragging by the IFSC, comp climbing's governing body, to do much about it.
After Alannah's viral post on Instagram, she was joined by the likes of Janja Garnbret in adding her concerns to the conversation, and this topic has also resulted in two doctors resigning from the IFSC medical commission in protest over their inaction.
If you like this episode, and want to never miss important bonus episodes such as this one, please join us on Patreon! For as little as $5.14/month you'll get bonus content and other perks and help us continue to cover the best sport in the world through this podcast.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.com
Show Notes
IFSC Doctors Resign, Alleging Health Dangers in Competitive Climbing
Follow Alannah Yip on Instagram
Alannah's IG postWed, 06 Sep 2023 - 1h 00min - 132 - RunOut #110: Russ Clune is Climbing’s Lifer
Our guest today is the esteemed Russ Clune, a climbing legend of the Shawangunks in New York, where he has established notable first ascents and from where he bases in between trips to dozens of countries and crags around the world. His new book is “The Lifer: Rock Climbing Adventures In The Gunks And Beyond.”
But first, yr hosts try to figure out why everyone hates trustfunding dirtbags so much.
Our final bit is some music from Lambros Markousis, a climber, metal fabricator, musician, and amateur stop-motion animator out of Buffalo, NY. Performing as the artist Sorbmal, here is the song “Num.”
Show Notes
The Lifer: Rock Climbing Adventures In The Gunks And Beyond at DiAngelo Publications
Read: The Day I Sent Balance of Soul by Russ Clune on Evening Sends
Follow Sorbmal on SpotifySun, 03 Sep 2023 - 1h 39min - 131 - RunOut #109: John Middendorf on How Climbing Gear Precedes Progress
Our guest today is a genuine legend and one of the pioneers of big-wall climbing. John Middendorf is a mechanical engineer, gear designer, researcher, writer, and teacher based in Tasmania. His climbing accomplishments pushed the limits of big-walls, adventure, and exploration throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Most notably, he’s responsible for the first ascent of the East Face of Great Trango Tower, widely considered the largest and steepest continuous wall in the world at 4,400 feet, which he achieved with Xaver Bongard in 1992. The team used portaledges designed by Middendorf himself from his company A5 Adventures. Over the years, Middendorf has continued to refine his portaledge designs, with the D4 Designs which you can find on his website bigwalls.net, one of the first climbing websites in the world. Today, Middendorf has been engaged in an academic review of esoteric climbing journals of old to learn how the developments and advancements of gear have preceded leaps in progress thanks to the “influencers” of the day.
But first, yer friendly podcasting hosts are back on their usual bullshit after a few weeks of summer vacation.
Our final bit is some buddy spray from RunOut listener Andres Santiago. For spraying about his buddy, Andres is receiving a Yeti Yonder water bottle. If you’d like to submit spray, join us on Patreon.com/runoutpodcast to do so.
Show Notes
Check out bigwalls.net
Links to Mechanical Advantages, Vol 1 & 2: Note, these are 500mb PDFs. Download as files
Mechanical Advantage, Vol 1.
Mechanical Advantage, Vol 2.
Yosemite Climbing in the '80s by CVL
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comSat, 12 Aug 2023 - 1h 26min - 130 - RunOut #108: Colin Haley and the Lifelong Epic Quest of Alpinism
Our guest today is one of the all-time great alpinists of our time. Colin Haley joins to the show in the wake of an uneventful trip to Alaska, and explains why such missions are part of a healthy approach to pursuing a lifetime of adventure and alpine climbing in the mountains.
But first, your hosts return from separate vacations and commiserate over how easy and glamorous it is to climb abroad with kids, while still making space to sneak in some deep-water solos.
For our final bit, we present an original composition for Marimba by Jared Kohli entitled Joyous.
Show Notes
Follow Colin Haley on Instagram
Report on Alaska trip
Free soloing Fitz Roy
Jarrod Kohli on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 31 Jul 2023 - 1h 23min - 129 - RunOut #107: Speed Climbing is OK
Our guest today is Albert Ok, a YouTuber and speed-climbing coach. Albert goes by the handle Professor Ok, and creates content that breaks down movement. He tries to break climbing down into its most fundamental parts in order to best understand it. He’s also a talented speed climber, boulderer, and all-around athlete.
But first, Andrew reports on a little local controversy from Chamonix regarding one of the most decorated alpine climbers of his generation who was prosecuted by an authoritarian politician, and what all of this means for the big thorny question of fixed gear in the mountains.
Our final bit features the heavy psychedelic grooves of the band Pontiak.
Show Notes
Follow Albert OK on Instagram
Subscribe to Albert Ok on YouTube
Christophe Profit Found Guilty of Removing Safety Gear From Mont Blanc
Follow Pontiak on Instagram and SpotifySat, 15 Jul 2023 - 1h 27min - 128 - RunOut #106: Taylor Swift and Walldies. Plus: Ontario’s Climbing Nightmare
This episode is a proper mix of silly and seriousness, as we talk to Mike Penney, director of the Ontario Alliance of Climbers, who is currently pushing back on the government’s regulations threatening access to 75% of Ontario rock climbing, and even going so far as to actively chop bolts from cliffs. This a big deal, and worthy of the climbing community’s attention and energy, even if you’re not from Canada. The cliffs of Ontario are in close proximity to many midwestern climbers and our friends up north need our support to help keep climbing across Ontario open.
But first, Chris and Andrew look to Taylor Swift and her fans for inspiration on a hot new piece of gear that we predict will “change” the climbing nation — PUN INTENDED! Introducing the Walldies. You won’t want to miss them.
Last, RunOut RopeGun Nick De Haas sprays down his buddy, for which he’ll be receiving a Yeti Yonder water bottle. If you have some Buddy Spray, join us on Patreon for details on how to submit your entry.
Show Notes
Help support the access fight for Ontario climbing here: https://climbinparks.ca/
Follow Mike Penney and the Ontario Alliance of Climbers on Insta.
Ontario Crag Chopped by Land Managers
Fri, 30 Jun 2023 - 1h 14min - 127 - RunOut #105: Quad Life, Anchor Dweebs, and Keeping Print Alive
Luke Mehall is the publisher of The Climbing Zine, and the the creator of the Dirtbag State of Mind podcast. After America’s two most prominent climbing magazines either went under or went digital, the Climbing Zine now stands as an unlikely last remaining print vehicle for telling stories about rock climbing and dirtbag culture. We get into the future of print, the struggle in finding people willing to put in the work of writing about climbing, and the joys of living a creative life.
But first, Kalous deviously baits one of the most annoying corners of climbing social media by posting a photo of his new favorite anchor: the Quad. The anchor dweebs of Instagram are predictably not happy.
Last, we feature another band of climbers: Bend, Oregon's Billy and the Box Kid.
Show Notes
The Climbing Zine
Dirtbag State of Mind podcast
Follow Luke Mehall, The Climbing Zine, and DSOM on Instagram
Quad post #1.
Quad post #2.
Billy and the Box Kid on Spotify and Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 12 Jun 2023 - 1h 13min - 126 - RunOut #104: Savannah Cummins Balances it All
Savannah Cummins is a filmmaker, photographer, and all-around professional climber. We talk about some of her wildest expeditions to the farthest corners of the planet, dealing with injuries and medical malpractice, losing her partner in a tragic and freak accident in Mexico, and recently discovering a diagnosis that put all the pieces together for her.
But first, we try to keep our heads above water as our favorite local climbing area closes due to a Biblical flood. Why does God hate sport climbing?
Last, some Buddy Spray from RunOut Ropegun and Colorado College alum Tim Johnson, who encounters a climbing legend and Shaman of the animal kingdom one day out at the crags. For this, Tim will receive a Yeti water bottle. And if you’d like to submit Buddy Spray, you must support this podcast on Patreon.
Show Notes
Follow Savannah Cummins on Instagram
Check out Sav’s film on El Gavilan
Nolan Smythe accident report on Alpinist
Read AB’s story about trying El Gavilan on Evening Sends
Listen to Jeff Jackson on the Enormocast
Read Hayden Kennedy’s “Day We Sent Logical Progression”
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 31 May 2023 - 1h 11min - 125 - RunOut #103: Can Cedar Wright Keep Dirtbagging Alive?
In an era of remote work and $200K Sprinter Vans, it may seem like the archetypal dirtbag of climbing lore is obsolete if not dead. Cedar Wright is on a mission, however, to keep it alive through a new program he’s starting to try to encourage young, stoked climbers to make the most of life by living on the least.
But first, we dive into how Starlink is changing the climbing experience by keeping some climbers connected everywhere. How will this newfangled technology be welcomed in climbing areas where you could once remain blissfully offline?
Our final bit features some studio music from friend of the pod, Black Diamond employee, great climber, and even better singer-songwriter Chris Parker.
Show Notes
Follow Cedar Wright on Instagram to learn more about the DirtBag fund and other Cedar adventures.
Chris Parker on Spotify
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comSun, 14 May 2023 - 1h 31min - 124 - RunOut #102: Christian Beckwith digs in to the 10th Mountain Division
Our guest today is Christian Beckwith, a writer, podcaster, and co-founder of Alpinist Magazine and the Teton Climbers Coalition. His latest project is 90 Pound Rucksack, a historical podcast exploring the dawn of outdoor recreation in America through the story of the 10th Mountain Division.
But first, the boys catch up after a run-in with some paparazzi at the Moab grocery store, and a few trips to the Creek with some fresh eyes for the power of rock climbing.
Last, we’re psyched to share climber Harvey Merritt’s band Ponytails’ song, “Barbie and the Bam Bam.”
Show Notes
Christian Beckwith and 90 Pound Rucksack // Spotify // Apple Podcasts
Follow Christian Beckwith on Instagram
MeamsOfMoab on Instagram
Steph Davis’ Indian Creek Crack Clinic
Ponytails on Spotify
Harvey Merritt on Instagram
Ponytails on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comSun, 30 Apr 2023 - 1h 33min - 123 - RunOut #101: Will Congress let climbers bolt in Wilderness?
The Protect America’s Rock Climbing Act (H.R. 1380) is a bipartisan collaboration before Congress that aims to establish rock climbing as a legitimate activity across all federal lands, and direct relevant federal departments to include language in their management policy that addresses rock climbing and the placement and maintenance of fixed anchors. What does this bill say and what does its implications mean for rock climbing in the future? We bring in Chris Winter, Access Fund executive director, to fill us in on his ongoing efforts to lobby on behalf of the climbing community.
But first AB fills in Chris on some of the latest headlines in the climbing world, from April Fools faceplants to stealth edits on Chris Sharma’s ascent of Sleeping Lion.
Last, we have some Buddy Spray, presented by Yeti and open only to those who support our podcast on Patreon. Ben Chipman sprays downs his friends and for this welcome bit of selflessness we’re giving him a Yeti Yonder.
Show Notes
Protect America’s Rock Climbing Act press release
Read the bill
Give money to the Access Fund
April Fools: 8a and Climbing
E-Grader
Sharma Sleeping Lion news
Bishop is moistFri, 14 Apr 2023 - 1h 23min - 122 - RunOut 100: Live with Tommy
For our hundredth episode (has another podcast ever reached such a milestone?) we hosted a live conversation and Q&A with Tommy Caldwell for all of our RopeGuns, our supporters on Patreon. Join us if you’d like to support the show and be invited to our next live broadcast, whenever that is.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 27 Mar 2023 - 1h 27min - 121 - RunOut #99: Corey Rich: AI and the Future of Climbing Photography
Is climbing photography dead? In an era in which everyone has an iPhone and now generative AI can create realistic photographic “content,” what role does a professional photographer play in 2023? We talk about these issues and more with one of the most successful climbing photographers and directors of all time, Corey Rich. Corey isn’t just a talented creative, he’s a smart and savvy entrepreneur who understands the business of creating photos and videos as well as anyone in the industry. And he’s also a good friend!
But first, we chat about AB’s new film “Resistance Climbing,” which is now in theaters around the world as part of the annual Reel Rock 17 tour. The film captures a climbing community in Palestine, and we talk about how this kind of international climbing development often leads to some fraught questions about motivation and intention.
Last, Hayden O’Shea pays homage to the late El Cap pirate, Ammon McNeely, and tells the story of joining Ammon on his first voyage back up the Big Stone after losing his leg.
Show Notes
Follow Corey Rich on Instagram.
Get a copy of Corey Rich’s book “Stories Behind the Images.”
Check out the trailer for Reel Rock 17 and find a show near you.
Follow Hayden O’Shea on Instagram.
Read “The Last Iconoclast: Ammon McNeely”
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 13 Mar 2023 - 1h 34min - 120 - RunOut #98: More with Majka Burhardt
Majka Burhardt is a professional climber, author, and mother of twins. Her new book is More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood. We talk to Majka about the struggle to find that elusive balance while holding out hope for having it all.
But first, Chris gets the bad news that he’s been fired from the show, and will be replaced with a host who has more followers on Instagram. (We will report anyone who points out how, of the two hosts, Chris is the one with more followers—never mind that!) This news follows on the heels of the outdoor industry shake-up that Eddie Bauer fired its entire roster of pro climbers. Eddie Bauer makes climbing you gear, you say? We had no idea either!
Last, a rose for the bottom feeders of our latest bonus episode interview with the great French climber Antoine Le Menestrel. If you like what you smell, join us on Patreon.com/runoutpodcast.
Show Notes
Majka Burhardt
MORE: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood
Why Did Eddie Bauer Lay Off Its Whole Team of Professional Athletes? It’s Complicated.
Climbing Freed: Chasing Antoine Le Menestrel
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 01 Mar 2023 - 1h 26min - 119 - RunOut #97: Why Lynn Hill is going back to the fundamentals
Lynn Hill needs no intro. She’s best known as the individual who completed the first free ascent of the Nose of El Capitan, as well as the first person to free El Cap in a single day. The ascent broke gender barriers and progressed the sport. Today, Lynn is returning to the fundamentals, through a new video series that is designed to help climbers learn how to move as naturally, efficiently, and effectively as possible. We sat down with Lynn in her Boulder home to catch up with one of the sport’s absolute legends.
But first we get in the weeds with Viet Nguyen, a controversial coder responsible for OpenBeta.io, which has the goal of developing climbing’s first open-source route database. We try to unpack what open source means, and why it will become the future of climbing guides and apps.
Our final bit is the climber/surfer band, Wanted Noise, from San Diego, California. The track? Cruise Control.
Show Notes
Check out The Fundamentals of Climbing by Lynn Hill.
OpenBeta.io
The Future of Climbing Guides Must be Open Sourceon Evening Sends.
Wanted Noise on Youtube. And @wantednoiseca on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 17 Feb 2023 - 1h 31min - 118 - RunOut #96: Thomas Huber is Free
Thomas Huber is one of the most accomplished and beloved climbers of all time. Along with his brother Alex, Thomas helped pave the way for modern free climbing on El Capitan with FreeRider, Golden Gate, and host of other first free ascents. He’s a Piolet d’Or recipient for his first ascent with Iwan Wolf of the north pillar of Shivling. And his new book is “In Den Bergen ist “Freiheit” — “In the mountains, There is Freedom.”
(If you’d like to hear an extended bonus interview with Thomas, join us on Patreon to hear the full conversation, including what Thomas reveals about his relationship to Pitch 19. And if you have to ask, “Pitch 19 of what?” Then you really need to join us on Patreon and Become a RopeGun because you’re so far behind the conversation. )
But first, we have a conversation with up-and-coming climber and comedian Bridget Epitropakis from Australia. She’s figured out how to fund her new climbing habit by murdering audiences in laugh clubs in Denver, CO, where she’ll be returning this year for another run of shows.
Last, we finish with “Brothers & Sisters,” the latest single from Thomas Huber’s band, Plastic Surgery Disaster.
Show Notes
Follow Thomas Huber on Facebook.
“In Den Bergen ist Freiheit”
Follow Bridget Epitropakis on Twitter.
Follow Plastic Surgery Disaster on Spotify.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 30 Jan 2023 - 1h 17min - 117 - RunOut #95: Hazel Findlay Builds Strong Minds
New Year, New Us. We connect for the first podcast of 2023, and Chris shares his aspirations of becoming a climbing warrior while Andrew is back on his usual bullshit of planning for another year of truly unimpressive mediocrity.
Hazel Findlay comes to the rescue, with an inspiring conversation about her approach to mental training through her Strong Mind training program. She offers her wisdom on everything from what makes us all afraid to fall (and fail), to why Alex Honnold is, mentally, so special. Hazel reflects on her past year, in which she climbed 9a with Escalamasters, and established two remote big-wall first ascents in Greenland with Honnold, as well as battled lots of injuries. Be sure to check out StrongMind Climbing to register for Flight School, which is launching soon!
Our Final Bit comes from one of the most talented and unsung figures in the climbing and photography world, Celin Serbo, who has somehow found time to compose original music in his free time.
Show Notes
Check out StrongMind Climbingand follow them on Instagram
Of course, follow Hazel Findlay on Insta.
And you may as well follow Celin Serbotoo while you’re at it and check out his GarageBand-bedroom-project, Sancho.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 12 Jan 2023 - 1h 27min - 116 - RunOut #94: Inside Free Soloing with Jeff Smoot
What’s the best way to belay with a GriGri? How should you build an anchor? Is that CE-certified piece of webbing really strong enough for real-world climbing? The internet has an opinion on this and more! Walk with us through the muck of know-it-alls offering their two cents on everything.
Next, one of our favorite writers Jeff Smoot returns to the show to plug his new book All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, and regale us with his own experiences in this darkest of dark arts.
Last but never least, Madaleine Sorkin shares how her experience of sending the Hallucinogen Wall inspired her inner bard.
Show Notes
All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, available from The Mountaineersor wherever you get books.
Follow Jeff Smoot on Instagram.
Check out episode #21 of The RunOut for our first interview with Jeff Smoot on his last book, Hangdog Days.
Follow Madeleine Sorkin on Instagram
Listen to our bonus interview with Madaleine by joining us on Patreon.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 20 Dec 2022 - 1h 42min - 115 - RunOut #93: Alex Honnold Hits Different
We kick it with Alex Honnold, the rock climber who was once on 60 Minutes. He has even done a few other impressive things since then … you know, like free soloing El-fucking-Cap. It’s been a big year for Honnold, from traversing the polar regions of Greenland in search of a 4,000-foot unclimbed sea cliff while doing extreme climate science, to going deep into the pain cave on his epic HURT traverse in Red Rock, to nearly killing Magnus Mitbo, to perhaps, most importantly, becoming a dad. All while expanding his reach as media star. Honnold was gracious enough to come down off his perch and roll around in the muck with us podcasting lowlifes for a candid and fun conversation that traverses all the great things that we love about climbing, proving that he’s still a dirtbag at heart.
To hear an extended cut of our interview with Alex Honnold, please support the show by becoming aRope Gun on Patreon.
But first, we attend to some unfinished business in the form of arbitrating, litigating, and otherwise conversing about booty. The “crazy girl” from our recent debate about booty’d gear writes in with her side of the story, and we formally submit her complaint into the record. Court’s in session and all the booty is on the line.
Last but not least, we’re honored to share an excerpt from one of our favorite climbing podcasts in the world, the Jam Crack podcast with Niall Grimes. This interview excerpt with the great Ben Moon is not to be missed.
Show Notes
Alex Honnold in Greenland on National Geographic
Alex Honnold’s HURT traverse
Alex Honnold Free Solos with Magnus Mitbo
Part one of the great booty debate, Runout #88
Listen to the whole JamCrack Podcast 112 with Ben Moon
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 08 Dec 2022 - 1h 27min - 114 - RunOut #92: Libby Sauter and the Myth of Having it All
We’ve got a double-header today with two amazing guests.
Our first guest is Scott Johnston, a coach, trainer, and co-author of Training for the New Alpinism, with over 200,000 copies sold. Scott recently left his perch at Uphill Athlete to continue his work at Evoke Endurance. We talk to Scott about a healthier approach to training for comprehensive fitness, whether on the rock or in the big mountains.
Next, we speak to Libby Sauter, a family nurse practitioner and trad climber who holds the women’s speed record on the Nose. She set that record in 2014 with Mayan Smith Gobat, clocking a time of 4:43. Libby took a big step back from speed climbing after seeing her dear friend Quinn Brett break her back while trying to beat her record. In the past few years, she’s been trying to start a family with her partner, but has suffered tragic loss many times over through multiple miscarriages. Libby shares the struggle of this journey honestly and openly, with the goal of influencing other female climbers and athletes to think about what it means to have it all.
Our final bit today is some Buddy Spray for friend of the pod Wendy Williams, who, at age 48, just climbed the hardest route of her life.
Show Notes
Connect with Scott Johnston at Evoke Endurance and follow him and his team on Instagram.
Training for the New Alpinism
Libby Sauter on Instagram.
Video: Libby and Mayan break the Nose speed record.
Free (Donation-based) pregnancy and infant loss counseling
Fertility Doctor YouTube
The Turnaway Study: Cost of being denied abortions
Wendy Williams: At 48, I tried everything. Here’s What Helped Me (Finally) Send.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 24 Nov 2022 - 1h 34min - 113 - RunOut #91: Katie Brown is Back
Last month, an 8-year-old boy and his dad “climbed” El Capitan with the help of two other anonymous climbers who presumably guided the father-son team, fixing all the ropes so they could jug up the wall. We look at the media attention this ascent received, and discuss our concerns over claiming these kinds of records.
Our main guest is a woman who Lynn Hill once called, “the greatest female sport climber” — Katie Brown. Katie has produced a new memoir about her precocious life as a world-class competition and sport climber, as well as her fraught relationship with her mom, her struggles with eating disorders, and how becoming a mom herself has helped her reframe everything.
Our final bit is pulled from the archives of The Davenports with this yacht rock classic cover of Jay Ferguson’s 1977 song Thunder Island. Who’s that on bass, you ask? None other than our own Chris Kalous.
Show Notes
Did an 8-year-old actually climb Yosemite’s El Capitan? Not really. It’s complicated
Father of 8-year-old who ascended El Capitan challenges criticism of his son’s feat
Unraveled: A Climber's Journey through Darkness and Back
Jay Ferguson - Thunder Island (1978 - HD)
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 10 Nov 2022 - 1h 32min - 112 - RunOut #90: The Permit Debate Continues
If there is one thing you can say about this show, it’s that we are the most fair and balanced climbing podcast in the world. Following last episode’s discussion about Yosemite’s proposed overnight permits for big-wall climbers, we are speaking to two guests from the opposite side of the debate: Jesse McGahey is Yosemite National Park’s head climbing ranger. And Timmy O’Neill is a longtime professional athlete, founder of Paradox Sports, and board member of the Yosemite Climbing Association. Our discussion over this important rule-change proposal continues.
But first, we muse about the art of the sandbag. When is it totes aprops to hose your friend, and when is it just downright cruel? And what does it say about YOU when you’re the only climber not getting sandbagged by your peers?
Finally, Lucas Roman returns to the show to read an excerpt from his new book “The Greater Fool: Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality.”
Show Notes
Read about the Wilderness Climbing Permits from the NPS
Add your voice to the discussion! Submit your comment about the Wilderness Climbing Permits here by November 16.
Lucas Roman’s new book “The Greater Fool: Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality” is available at DiAngelo Publications.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 25 Oct 2022 - 1h 24min - 111 - RunOut #89: Ethics, Rules, Crowds, Permits
The Yosemite National Park is attempting to make its Covid-era rule in which climbers are required to have a permit to spend the night on a big wall permanent—and predictably, climbers aren’t happy about it. We spoke to two of the most active big wall climbers in Yosemite in recent years about the current state of affairs in the Valley: Gena Wood is a former climbing ranger and a veteran of more than 20 ascents of El Cap. And Lance Colley has also worked for the park service, and has completed 29 ascents of El Cap in the past three years.
But first, the hosts catch up after two very different climbing experiences, and discuss the serial chipper on the loose in Utah and determine just who, or what, is to blame.
Finally, “Jefe” (Jeff Jackson) returns to the final bit with some Hawaiian-inflected jams.
Show Notes
Submit your comment on big-wall permits by November!
Follow Lance Colley on Instagram
Follow Gena Wood on Instagram
Watch the Park Service’s virtual town hall explaining their rationale for the permit
James Hornibrook’s Change petition against the permits
Read up on Booz Allen Hamilton in the NYT and again in the NYT.
Evening Sends article on chipping.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comSat, 01 Oct 2022 - 1h 17min - 110 - RunOut #88: Booty Rules, Aloha Jefe
Who doesn’t love booty? Finding gear on a route can make a climber’s day, but what are the best practices for finding the owner’s gear? Court’s in order for your friendly podcast hosts as they debate the finer points of booty while litigating one listener’s story of being accused of not doing enough to return booty to its “rightful” owner.
Our main guest today is Jeff Jackson, aka “Jefe.” Jeff is easily one of climbing’s most prolific route developers and greatest writers and storytellers. A former editor of Rock and Ice magazine and successful screenplay writer, Jeff currently teaches creative writing at the University of Hawaii Maui College. While living on Maui, Jeff has helped develop hundreds of new rock climbs and crags. Some of the more famous routes of his career, however, are located in Mexico and include El Sendero Luminoso in El Potrero Chico and El Gavilan on La Popa, which happens to be the subject of a new climbing film.
Last and certainly least, “Whose PSSAT is this anyway?” returns for today’s final bit.
Show Notes
Read “Paradox of Paradise,” by Jeff Jackson, which was originally published by Rock and Ice and appeared in Best American Sports Writing 2019.
Read “A Climber’s Ghost Story, Unexplained,” also by Jefe.
Check out the trailer for the new El Gavilan film by Savannah Cummins.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 20 Sep 2022 - 1h 41min - 109 - RunOut #87: Jonathan Siegrist eats Kinder Cakes for breakfast
Jonathan Siegrist, one of the world’s best sport climbers, returns to the show to share the news of his recent send of Rifle’s hardest route. We catch up on the latest in the climbing world in a casual conversation that traverses freely and honestly across the climbing landscape.
But first, your friendly neighborhood podcast hosts explore what climbing may — or may never — mean for our kids, and how we think about raising the next generation in an era of social-media-fueled pressure to be “rad” at everything.
As always, you won’t want to miss today’s final bit from Butchcop.
Photo: @BearCam
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.com
Show notes
Follow Jonathan Siegriston Instagram
And follow BearCam
Chris Kalous' instagram post
Butchcop on Spotify
The RunOut bonus interview with Joe Kinder about establishing Kinder CakesThu, 01 Sep 2022 - 1h 14min - 108 - RunOut #86: Climbing is in Seb Bouin’s DNA
Our guest today is Seb Bouin, one of the best rock climbers on Earth and the author of DNA, one of three 5.15d rock climbs established thus far. We talk to Seb about grades, how he measures success, the benefits of climbing outdoors vs. training indoors, and where the future of rock climbing is heading next.
But first, we take a somber look at a recent accident on Half Dome, in which a young woman fell 80 feet and badly injured herself. In the aftermath of this terrible accident, calls are sounding to add bolts to one of Half Dome’s more historic climbs. We consider the contours of the debate and attempt to arrive at some ideas for how to proceed in the wake of an accident.
Today’s final bit comes from the band Rebelle, a Quebec-based band whose drummer, Joey Kane, is a sport climber who first discovered climbing during the pandemic and has been hooked ever since. This is their new song, Head on Fire.
Show Notes
Seb Bouin on Instagram: DNA (9c), Iron Curtain (9a+/b), Change (9b+), Nordic Marathon.
Who Cares about the World’s Hardest Route on Evening Sends.
80-foot Slab Fall Leaves Yosemite Climber Critically Injured
Student hit with $1.2m medical bill after falling in Yosemite
Donate to Anna’s Recovery
Rebelle on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 19 Aug 2022 - 1h 11min - 107 - RunOut #85: WTF is “Ski Mountaineering” with Cody Townsend?
To start, we grimly remark on the latest round up of avalanches, landslides, and glacier collapses and what that means for mountain travel in the future.
Our main guest today is Cody Townsend, a self-proclaimed “rock climbing gumby” but a true all-mountain badass, free skier, ski mountaineer, and extreme-sports ambassador. Cody offers a wonderful outsider-looking-in perspective on our self-serious sport. He also dishes up the latest from Ski the Fifty, a multi-year effort to ski all 50 of the classic ski descents of North America, as listed in the eponymous coffee table book by Chris Davenport and Penn Newhard.
Some of the percussions in today’s final bit riff are created using climbing gear—but knowing that won’t stop you from putting on some serious bass face. This track comes to us from Craig Bruenger, a climber who plays in the death-metal band Ahtme. Check out his Instagram page to see his videos.
Show Notes
Second glacier avalanche in a week shows dangers of a warming climate
Ice avalanche kills 6 in Italian Alps, sparks mass rescue effort
Cody Townsend on Instagram
Ski the Fifty
Cody's "Best Ski Line of 2014" video
Craig Bruenger on Instagram — His gear percussion video
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 29 Jul 2022 - 1h 17min - 106 - RunOut #84: Connor Herson Returns
Connor Herson returns to the show, a few years older, a few inches taller, and more than a few impressive ticks under his belt. One of his latest ascents is “Empath” on gear—potentially one of the harder gear leads ever recorded. Carlo Traversi first climbed Empath and proposed 5.15a. After quickly sending the route as a sport climb, Connor had the idea of trying it on gear. In this episode he shares his experience with that process, his thoughts about the difficulty of the route, and his vision for what’s next (hint: it’s not climbing).
First, your friendly and utterly relatable hosts pay homage to a kind of trad climbing that most of y’all will be more familiar with—the everyday, everyperson experience of going up on a 5.10 or 5.11 with a rack of gear and trying to onsight your way to the top. Could this be any different from, say, the ego-fluff of Ten Sleep?
Finally, Jeremy Fullerton gives us the first-person account of one of the most epic days in Rocky Mountain National Park, when the mountains moved.
Show Notes
Connor Herson on Instagram.
Does Connor’s ascent of Empath on gear count as the hardest trad ascent?
Rocky Mountain National Park Closes Chaos Canyon Area Due to Rockslide
Watch Will Mondragon’s footy of the rockslide.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 20 Jul 2022 - 1h 09min - 105 - RunOut #83: Justification for a Trad Attitude
Hard, scary trad climbing is all fun and games until someone breaks their back. That’s what happened to Molly Mitchell on Crank It, a 5.13+ sport climb in Boulder Canyon that Molly was attempting to headpoint on gear. Nevertheless, Molly sought redemption and returned to the climb years later and ultimately sent it on gear. But what she discovered about her self, and her health, ended up being the real prize of this inspiring journey.
But first, the hosts take a closer look at how one of the biggest and hardest routes on Denali got not one but two insane speed records set within a matter of weeks. That would be the Slovak Direct, with Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau setting the pace at 21 hours, 35 minutes. Then two weeks later, Michael Gardner, Sam Hennessey and Rob Smith came in at 17 hours, 10 minutes.
Our final bit is music from an old classic.
Show Notes
Follow Molly Mitchell on Instagram.
Read Climbing magazine’s report on Molly’s ascent.
The Alpinist reports on the Slovak Direct.
Justification for an Elitist Attitude, by Mark Twight.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 28 Jun 2022 - 1h 19min - 104 - RunOut #82: From Skardu to Comp Don’ts
We begin with a conversation with Ben Hanna, the newest member of the prestigious USA Climbing National Team. At 23 years young, Ben is a longtime crusher from Santa Fe who we’ve watched go from being a young grommet at Rifle to throwing down at World Cups with the world’s best. Ben talks to us about what the current comp scene is like, a short-lived controversy with the IFSC, and how living in a training house with some of the best climbers in the world upped his game.
Next, we speak with Wali Kamal, a Pakistani-American climber from California who is working to support the development of crags and climbers in Pakistan. We wanted to highlight his efforts to strengthen the Pakistani climbing community, and discuss how this kind of development is so much more meaningful than the kind that only involves placing bolts in your local choss pile.
Last but not least, we’re happy to introduce you to Bridget Epitropakis, a bright and talented climber and comedian from Australia who is currently working the comedy club scene in the front range of Colorado when she’s not out in Eldo.
Show Notes
Follow Ben Hanna on Instagram
IFSC Last Minute Rule Change …
Follow Wali Kamal on Instagram
Follow Zom Connection and contribute to their GoFundMe to support Pakistani climbing.
Follow Bridget Epitropakis on Instagram and Twitter
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 16 Jun 2022 - 1h 30min - 103 - Bonus: Carlo Traversi Does Magic
Carlo Traversi is having one of the best climbing years of his life. He's sending V-insane, 5.15b sport, and 5.14c trad — all while managing a successful business that immeasurably improves the lives of climbers in his own community. He's got a healthy perspective on the sport, everyone respects him, and he's also super smart and has interesting opinions on everything. Yeah, we hate him too!
Just kidding! Carlo is the man! We recorded this conversation earlier this year just after Carlo ticked Magic Line (5.14c), the second hardest pure trad climb in Yosemite after Meltdown, which Carlo also climbed for its first male ascent. Gawd, why is so good at climbing? We really hate him so, so much!
Again, just KIDDING!
On our final bit, we feature a blast from the past: 90s So Cal Skater er Climber Punks, 30 Foot Whipper.
We're psyched to share this episode on our public feed so long as at least HALF of everyone who listens agrees to support this podcast by becoming a Rope Gun on Patreon. Will you do it? Will you? Please?
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 18 May 2022 - 1h 04min - 102 - RunOut #81: The Sanctity of Space
What’s better: cragging it up in a full-on scene filled with gumbies and noobs, spray bros and crusher queens? Or going off to some obscure choss pile in the middle of nowhere and enjoying the quiet solitude of nature all by yourself? We debate the pros and cons of scenes vs solitude and come to the conclusion that, no matter which one you choose, either way the only person laughing at your jokes is still just you.
Next, Freddie Wilkinson and Renan Ozturk join us to talk about their new film The Sanctity of Space, a feature-length film documenting their Tooth Traverse of the Moose’s Tooth massif in Alaska. The film, however, is a rich exploration of many profound themes in climbing, and a really compelling portrait of Bradford Washburn, the aerial mountain photographer, scientist, and mountaineer whose photograph was the original inspiration behind this ascent.
Last but not least, Jonathan Howland reads a passage from his new book Native Air.
Show Notes
The Sanctity of Space — Showtimes
Instagram: The Sanctity of Space. Freddie Wilkinson. Renan Ozturk.
Native Air by Jonathan Howland.
Jonathan Howland website.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 10 May 2022 - 1h 26min - 101 - RunOut #80: Barefoot in Font, Valley of Giants
Will a new film from Reel Rock encourage climbers to engage in risky behavior and not use their rubbers on the rock? We discuss Barefoot Charles and his conspicuously well-coifed mane of hair.
Next we speak to Lauren DeLauney Miller, a writer and climber who has released a wonderful new book of first person essays from the significant women, both well known and perhaps lesser known, who have made contributions to Yosemite climbing history.
Finally, we share the guitar-picking music of climber and friend of the show Harris Frief, a musician in Bishop, California.
Show Notes
Barefoot Charles
Catch Barefoot Charles on the Reel Rock Tour
Lauren DeLauney Miller website and Instagram
Check out Harris Frief’s music on BandCamp: “Guitar” and “Right Where You Left Off” and please kick him a few bucks to support his great songwriting.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comWed, 27 Apr 2022 - 1h 07min - 100 - RunOut #79: Bish Slaps
After not watching the Oscars because who cares, we talk about the thing everyone was talking about and recall some of the more famous slaps that have been seen at crags around the world and throughout history and lore.
Our main guest is Matt Segal, professional climber for The North Face, coffee entrepreneur, and publisher of the newly released Brine Magazine—a printed zine that looks at the intersection of food, adventure, and people, featuring gorgeous Drew Smith photography, and words written by ya’ boy Andrew Bisharat.
Finally, we’re honored to feature the music and talents of Andy Mann, one of the most accomplished polar and ocean photographers in the world, a good climber, a great storyteller, and an overall wonderful human being. He performs his song Conquistadors of the Useless.
Show Notes
Get a copy of Brine Magazine from Alpine Start Foods.
Follow the Brine Mag crew on Instagram: Matt Segal, Drew Smith, Andrew Bisharat, Bryan Cole, Bret Roedemeier, and Brine Mag.
Read Climbing in the Verdon on Evening Sends.
Follow Andy Mann on Instagram.
Check out Andy Mann’s website to see all the great things he’s doing.
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 08 Apr 2022 - 1h 05min - 99 - RunOut #78: Bolts are Out but the Doctor’s In
A new climbing management plan in Joshua Tree National Park redefines bolts as installations. We pore through this ominous plan to try to figure what the hell is going on in J-tree, and what this may mean for climbing in Wilderness locations around the country.
Then, we sit down with Dr. Jared Vagy, AKA The Climbing Doctor, a physical therapist based in Los Angeles who specializes in treating climbing injuries. Our conversation runs the gamut of everything from finger tweaks to back pain, and ultimately meanders into a meta analysis of how one comes to be an expert in training and injury prevention.
For today’s final bit, get those horns up for Television Sick—a band that plays loud, fast music from climber / guitarist Hunter Gladish.
Show Notes
Climbing Management Plan for Joshua Tree National Park
The Climbing Doctor
Follow The Climbing Doctor on Instagram
“Afterglow,” Television Sick, available at Bandcamp.
Follow Television Sick on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comMon, 14 Mar 2022 - 1h 31min - 98 - RunOut #77: Greasy and the Beast
Ned Feehally is one of the few climbers ever to have flashed V14 (8B+). He is also one of the founders of Beastmaker, a U.K. climbing company that ushered in an era of fine wood hangboards that you just don’t mind grabbing cause they’re just so cushy. His new book is ”Beastmaking: A fingers-first approach to becoming a better climber,” and is a comprehensive look at training techniques that anyone can use. We discuss training philosophy with Ned, the rise of guru-dom in the training world and the why training has gotten too complicated for its own good.
But first, we attempt to make this podcast a true-crime pod by speculating on whodunnit with regards to the recent vandalism of the Big Bend boulders outside of Moab, Utah. Moab uber-local Lisa Hathaway gives us a first-hand report on GreaseGate as we probe the scene of the crime.
Last but never least, Chris Parker returns to the Final Bit with a new song called Passing Through about ultra-runner Joe Grant’s Colorado feats of glory. The song will officially debut in vinyl alongside an “immersive experience” at the Five Point Film festival this spring.
Show Notes
Ned Feehally on Instagram.
“Beastmaking” is available from Vertebrate Publishing and Amazon.
News: Ned Feehally and Shauna Coxsey are coming to Salt Lake City for a presentation and book signing on March 20. Get your tickets here.
Steph Davis’ Instagram post about Greasegate.
Anyone with information about Greasegate can call the BLM tip line at 435-259-2131. Callers may remain anonymous.
Chris Parker Music
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 03 Mar 2022 - 1h 16min - 97 - RunOut #76: Cool Shoes, Jordan Cannon
Friend of the pod and crusher of granite Jordan Cannon returns to the show with an update from his life on the road. We dive into a range of topics across the climbing spectrum, while trying not to be old-shamed by our young friend.
But first, tragedy strikes in Patagonia as the climbing world loses one of its best: Corrado “Korra” Pesce, who died while descending Cerro Torre on January 28th. His partner Tommy Aguilo experienced serious injuries and attempted to descend alone, and was ultimately rescued in a completely heroic effort by some of the best climbers in the world. We discuss the story itself, and pay homage to the noteworthy successes and climbing accomplishments that were sadly overshadowed by the tragedy that ensued.
Finally, we end on happier note, as Dylan Taylor, aka “Climberisms” on Instagram, imagines a conversation between Adam Ondra and Alex Honnold about baby diapers.
Show Notes
“Corrado 'Korra' Pesce dies after climbing new route on Cerro Torre with Tomas Aguilo”
A crowdfunder to help Korra Pesce’s daughter.
Description of Tommy and Korra’s new route.
Follow Jordan Cannon
Follow Dylan Taylor
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 15 Feb 2022 - 1h 28min - 96 - RunOut #75: Celebrities and Relationships
Are you listening to The RunOut or TMZ? It may be hard to tell as we catch up on the latest celebrity gossip: weddings, babies, and who we are wearing this season.
Next, we are joined by Dorian Evers, a climber and couples therapist from Boulder, to talk about some of the typical red flags and relationship disfunction that she sees across the climbing world, beginning with how relationships are portrayed in films.
Finally, we’re stoked to share a folksy bluegrass band from California, One Grass Two Grass. Their song She Sings is from their latest album All Storms Pass. (The band’s bassist, Sam Trimboli, is a solid rock climber and surfer.)
Show Notes
Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington wedding in NYT, ABC News, and SF Chronicle
Akiyo Noguchi and Tomoa Narasaki’s wedding announcement
Dorian Evers: Cultivate Growth Therapy
One Grass Two Grass homepage and Instagram
All Storms Pass on Spotify
Sam Trimboli on Instagram
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comTue, 18 Jan 2022 - 1h 07min - 95 - RunOut #74: Max Lowe and his new film TORN
Alex Lowe was considered one of the best climbers in the world in the 1990s. His feats in the mountains were as legendary as his infectious stoke for getting out and loving life on the edge every minute of every day. In October 1999, he and the cameraman David Bridges were killed in an avalanche on Shishipangma in Tibet. Their third partner, Conrad Anker, however, was miraculously spared the same fate and ended up surviving the avalanche.
Alex left behind a wife, Jenni, and three young boys: Max, Sam, and Isaac. In the wake of Alex’s death, Conrad, racked by survivor’s guilt, stepped into the role of dad for the Lowe boys, and he ended up falling in love with and marrying Jenni.
Today, Max Lowe has become a renowned National Geographic photographer and filmmaker. His new film, TORN, explores his family’s complex relationships in the wake of father’s death. The film is a haunting and unsparing look at how death can tear a family apart, and what it takes to heal.
Next, our favorite lyricist and climbing trainer Kris Hampton treats us to a final bit.
Show Notes
Watch the trailer for TORN
Find a screening for TORN near you.
Power Company ClimbingMon, 27 Dec 2021 - 51min - 94 - RunOut #73: Real Crack with Tom Randall
Today we’re joined by British crack-climbing legend Tom Randall to discuss his latest first ascent with his partner in crime Pete Whittaker. The duo, fondly known as the Wide Boyz, recently completed a 2,500-foot dead-horizontal roof crack on the underside of overpass in their native England. The 70-pitch crack, with difficulties consistently between 5.12d and 5.13b took the lads four days, and this journey will be subject of an upcoming Reel Rock film fest.
But first, we hash out an online scuffle involving whether a GriGri has a place on a multi-pitch climber’s rack.
Finally, Bradley Carter, aka Chum-DM3, pays homage to the late Paul Nelson, who unexpectedly died of natural causes earlier this year.
Show Notes
The Great Rift report.
Follow Tom Randall and Pete Whittakeron Instagram
Enormocast on Facebook.
“Full Nelson” by Chum-DM3 on Apple Music
Paul Nelson obituary.
“The Day I Sent Color Blind (5.13 R)” by Paul Nelson on Evening Sends
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 09 Dec 2021 - 1h 02min - 93 - RunOut #72: Hear Them Lor
Lor Sabourin is one of the country’s top trad climbers, with ascents as hard as 5.14a on gear. They are a coach, a guide, and the subject of a new film called, “They / Them: One Climber’s Story.” We spoke to Lor about the film, and also got the low-down on the incredible route that we see Lor climb in the film.
For today’s final bit, we’re serving you a tasty musical treat pulled from the catalog of Chris Kalous’ days as a member of the band Sector 7G. This song, which climbing-podcast aficionados will recognize as the outro music to the Enormocast, is called “Borrowed Time.” Sector 7G was one of those “you-had-to-be-there” bands of Carbondale, Colorado, funkadelic myth, but today their legend lives on. Please enjoy, happy thanksgiving to all who celebrate, and see you folks in December as we’ve got a ton of great guests and topics to discuss.
Show Notes
“They / Them: One Climber’s Story”
Lor Sabourin on InstagramMon, 22 Nov 2021 - 41min - 92 - RunOut #71: Climbing Big
Birthday challenge accepted: Chris Kalous manages to commemorate his big 50th birthday with a big day of climbing: 50 pitches at Indian Creek. After the soreness and cramps relent, we catch up and decompress about a day that was personally meaningful and resonated widely.
Next, we catch up with Drew Hulsey, a climber and social work from Tennessee who is using his Instagram account to do big things and show the climbing world that this is a sport for everyone. We learn the amazing story of how Drew got into the sport, and how he balances his ambitions in a sport that can sometimes seem quite competitive.
For our final bit, more buddy spray! If you want to shout out your buddy, you can become a RopeGun by joining us on Patreon.
Show Notes
Drew Hulsey on Instagram
“Why We Go: Drew”
Birthday challenge Bonus Episode of The RunOut
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 11 Nov 2021 - 1h 01min - 91 - RunOut #70: Flexing 5.15 and Making Land Acknowledgements
What was the first 5.15b in the US? With Matty Hong’s recent second ascent of Flex Luthor, which upgraded to 5.15b, we consider how this news shapes Tommy Caldwell’s legacy and what this means for our understanding of sport climbing. Nerd alert! Grade geekery ahead. …
For our main bit, we speak with the esteemed Len Necefer about the restoration of Bear’s Ears by the Biden administration, as well as the potential danger of land acknowledgements. Len is a pHd. and assistant professor at the University of Arizona with joint appointments with the American Indian Studies program & the Udall Center for Public Policy. In addition, he is the founder & CEO of Natives Outdoors. But most folks will know him as the Meme God of the outdoor world, whose wonderful sense of humor on Instagram spares no target or topic.
Finally, a bit of buddy spray—a new bit in which listeners tell us about their climbing buddy’s big sends. If you’ve got a buddy you want to spray about, you have to join us on Patreon as this is only open to Rope Guns.
Photo: Tommy Caldwell on the FA of Flex Luthor in 2003. by Corey Rich.
Show Notes
Matty Hong sends Flex Luthor
Climb Harder Just By Getting Older—like Tommy Caldwell
Len Necefer on Instagram. Website.
We Need to Reframe Why We Do Land Acknowledgments
Biden Restores Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comThu, 21 Oct 2021 - 1h 40min - 90 - RunOut #69: The Continuing Legend of Chris Sharma
Chris Sharma makes his RunOut podcast debut to catch us up on what’s going on his busy life as a gym owner who just opened the biggest climbing gym in Barcelona, a TV show host, a father, and of course, sport climbing’s GOATiest GOAT. We dive into life, happiness, meeting Aquaman at Hueco, finding balance, the state of the sport, and future aspirations.
And for our Final Bit, Lee Sheftel, local hero and friend, tickles the ivories and shares the secret of eternal youth.
Photo: Portrait of Chris Sharma by Keith Ladzinski
Show Notes
Sharma Climbing gym
HBO Max show announcement
Chris Sharma on Instagram
Lee Sheftel profile in the Daily CameraFri, 01 Oct 2021 - 89 - RunOut #68: Chasing the Alpinist
Marc André Leclerc was one of the most reticent and enigmatic figures in climbing—a guy who few knew much about other than what what we learned from the second-hand reports emanating out of the alpine and describing his latest solo. Even the perpetually nonplussed Alex Honnold shuddered in fear and awe upon hearing some of what Leclerc had managed to climb. On today’s podcast, we are joined by the director and filmmaker Peter Mortimer, whose new film is The Alpinist, which tells the definitive and long-awaited story of Marc André Leclerc. Peter reveals some of the behind-the-scenes details about making this film, the honor of getting to know one of the most beguiling and talented figures of our sport in recent years, and ultimately, the pain of losing him to an avalanche right as the film was supposed to be wrapped.
But first, we dive into a bolting debacle on Pike’s Peak and consider whether we’re in the final throes of these debates, or if we will continue to see the invocation of the Bachar-Yerian Fallacy as a way to perpetuate climbing’s most depressing pissing match.
For our final bit, Aaron Glasenapp has a total eclipse of the heart.
Show Notes
The Alpinist film homepage and where to get tickets.
Sender Films
“From Climbing Partners to Bitter Enemies: In the Trenches of the Pikes Peak Bolt War” by Corey Buhay for Climbing.com
Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance survey results
The Case of Ten Sleep on Evening Sends.
Watching the eclipse on the Grand Teton.Thu, 09 Sep 2021 - 1h 18min - 88 - RunOut #67: John Long Finds His Wings
John Long needs no introduction—he’s climbing’s most prolific writer, Stonemaster, and a genre unto himself. He joins us to talk about his excellent new book, Icarus Syndrome, a collection of 19 essays that, in different ways, explore our strange compulsion to risk it all.
After this deep literary dive, you might find yourself thinking, “You know what would be perfect right about now? A nice cup of tea.” The RunOut has got you covered! Hazel Findlay joins us from across the pond and gently guides us through the steps we must follow to make a proper cup of tea.
If you’re listening on the free feed, you’ll hear us answer a question submitted by one of our Rope Guns. This excerpt came from an hour-plus-long AMA episode that was available to our Rope Guns on Patreon. For as little as $5.14 / month, you can become a Rope Gun and get access to full bonus episodes and the satisfaction in supporting your favorite climbing podcast.
Show Notes
Icarus Syndrome from DiAngelo Publications.
Follow John Long on Instagram and Facebook.
Hazel Findlay — Instagram
Subscribe to Hazel and Mina’s excellent podcast: The Curious Climber PodcastWed, 01 Sep 2021 - 48min - 87 - RunOut #66: The Art of Route Setting with Jackie Hueftle
Who owns the rock? The answer is, obvi, no one … And yet some climbers sure seem to act as if they think they do. We dive into a discursive etiquette discussion after some Ten Sleep climbers hog up a rock climb all day long.
Then, Jackie Hueftle, a legend in route setting and part of the team at Kilter, joins us to talk about the art of route setting. If you think route setting is just a matter of screwing holds onto a piece of wood, you’ll be surprised to learn how much talent and physical fitness is required to be a top route setter in the climbing world. Jackie also gives us her predictions on the Olympics, given that the route-setting team is all male.
Finally, Raymon Bonner, a show listener, treats us to some original music on the “youk” (ukulele). If you’d like to submit your own idea for a Final Bit—a bit of music, a joke, fourth-wave feminist slam poetry, a surly rant—you can send in your idea to andrew@runoutpodcast.com.
Show Notes
Setter Closet
“The History of Climbing Holds” by Jackie Hueftle for Route Setter magazine
“Where are all the female route setters?”
“Setting the Standard” — interviews with IFSC route setters at Gym Climber.
The RunOut #65: Beating the GOAT — Check out our last episode for more about climbing in the Olympics.Tue, 03 Aug 2021 - 1h 11min - 86 - RunOut #65: Beating the GOAT, Olympics Edition
Ah, the Olympics: the time when GOATs will be made just as GOATs will be beaten. Do we really need to keep referring to the Greatest Athletes of All Time as a bunch of smelly, stubborn animals? Perhaps that’s fodder for a different discussion, as today, we stand in awe of the 40 climbers who’ve earned their spot in the Olympics alongside our knowledgable guest, John Burgman. John is the JOCK—the Journalist of Climbing Knowledge—at least when it comes to all things competition related. John gives us a deep and thorough run-down of what to expect for climbing’s debut in the Olympics, while we learn the basics—namely, who Colin Duffy is.
Kicking off the show, however, yer boys talk spray and the super spreader events that contribute to this epidemic of self-centered climbing culture (hint, it’s Instagram).
Finally, Vancouver-based climber and musician Harvey Wright closes out our greatest episode of all time with his song “Be Kind to Yourself.”
Show Notes
John Burgman on Twitter
“High Drama: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of American Competition Climbing”
The schedule for when and how to see climbing in the Olympics
Colin Duffy on Instagram
Harvey Wright on Spotify.
Crux: a documentary about Harvey Wright
Enormocast 222: Harvey Wright — Heart Like an Ocean
Become a RunOut Rope Gun! Support our podcast and increase your RunOut runtime. Bonus episodes, AMA, and more will be available to our Rope Guns. Thank you for your support! http://patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Contact us Send ideas, voicemail, feedback and more. andrew@runoutpodcast.com // chris@runoutpodcast.comFri, 23 Jul 2021 - 1h 14min - 85 - RunOut #64: How to Be Funny on Instagram and Why Everest is OVER
We’re back with a hot take: Everest is OVER. The past season suffered from a COVID outbreak and a cynical authoritarian crackdown that even left some of Everest’s biggest cheerleaders with their pompoms down and deflated.
Our main bit features the guy behind the Climberisms account on Instagram: Dylan Taylor, a routesettering at Touchstone Climbing in Los Angeles. Dylan’s puts the truth to what pro climbers might be thinking with his raw impersonations that he dubs over actual videos. From Daniel Woods to Adam Ondra, Sean Bailey to Alex Honnold, no one is safe from getting climberism’d.
Our final bit is telegraphed in by the deep baritone of John Long reading an excerpt from his new book Icarus Syndrome from Di Angelo Publications. For the full story reading, become a Rope Gun today.
Show Notes
Follow Climberisms on Instagram
Alan Arnette’s round up of Everest 2021.Fri, 09 Jul 2021 - 56min - 84 - RunOut #63: Alex Johnson Wins the War with the Swarm
Alex Johnson opens up about sieging her 10+ year project: The Swarm (V13/14) in Bishop, California. Her successful ascent earlier this year coincided with her 32nd birthday, and she first tried The Swarm as a 21 year old. This isn’t a story about how better training programs and more regimented diets pay dividends. For AJ, it took a lot of life and learning for her to summit this boulder. And now, she’s free.
But first, we get ourselves into more trouble by revisiting the new Yosemite wilderness climbing permit regulations. As we hear from climbers in Yosemite facing this new reality, the regulations are revealing themselves to be more half-baked than we originally thought. So, where do we go from here?
For today’s final bit, ever wonder what the world’s best alpinists talk about after getting done with a 30-hour push and drinking a beer? Jesse Huey and Quentin Roberts got you covered.
SHOW NOTES
Alex Johnson’s send post on Instagram.
Follow: Jesse Huey and Quentin Roberts
Access Fund’s post about the Wilderness Climbing Permits.Tue, 15 Jun 2021 - 1h 14min - 83 - RunOut #62: Climbing’s New Regs. Plus, John Branch & Sidecountry
The days of unbridled climbing freedom are OVER! Or are they? With new regulations for climbing big walls in Yosemite installed this year, and the threat of similar regulations coming to crags around the country, climbers are waking up to the new reality of what it means to have a sport that’s popular. We consider the slippery slope of where this all leads next.
Our main guest today is the venerable New York Times journalist John Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and the guy who made the Dawn Wall the Dawn Wall with his viral coverage. We dive into the state of media and storytelling, get some more backstory on the Dawn Wall, and discuss his new book “Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports.”
For the final bit, ADAM ONDRA—as played by comedian / route setter Dylan Taylor, aka @climberisms on Instagram—gives us the latest update from life at the cutting edge.
Show Notes
* Follow John Branch on Twitter, and especially this thread on his new book.* “Sidecountry” is available for pre-order on Amazon, and comes out June 1 from Norton.* Follow Dylan Taylor on Instagram.* AP reports on Yosemite’s new regulations.* Reservations at Mount Evans and Brainard Lake, and potentially coming to Eldorado Canyon.
Sat, 22 May 2021 - 1h 29min - 82 - RunOut #61: Jordan Comes Out
It’s Jordan Cannon’s birthday, and today he joins us today for a special announcement.
Jordan is one of America’s most precocious big-wall trad climbers, who hadn’t been climbing all that long before he managed to eke out a free ascent of El Capitan. He’s since free climbed at least two routes on El Capitan in a day, including Golden Gate. Listeners will remember Jordan fromepisode #47, in which he and Mark Hudon joined your friendly podcast hosts for a pot of boiled meat and night of climbing history and ethical debates.
And for our final bit, Bradley Carter AKA Chum throws down with some original music.
We have a special episode coming out this week on the petroglyph controversy that you won’t want to miss. To access this and other bonus episodes, be sure to join the RunOut Rope Gun mafia at Patreon dot com.
Show Notes
Jordan Cannon’s birthday Instagram.
Watch “Free as Can Be,”Samuel Crossley’sdocumentary on Jordan and Mark’s bid on Free Rider.
Bradley Carter’s album “Nice Impression” and his latest single “Up to Speed” on Spotify and his Instagram.
Bradley Carter’s Day I Senton Evening Sends.
Photo by Ben Ditto.Mon, 03 May 2021 - 39min - 81 - RunOut #60: The Future of Everest
AB heads down to Vegas for a gonzo-style reporting mission on Alex Honnold’s latest free-solo project—only it’s isn’t Honnold who leaves him most impressed.
Next, we speak to Mark Synnott, one of climbing’s great explorers and best-selling author, about his new book “The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest.” Like many, Synnott’s one and only impression of Everest was shaped through the characterizations of Jon Krakauer’s seminal book “Into Thin Air.” And yet, one of Everest’s oldest mysteries led Synnott to reconsider Everest and being to see it in a new light.
Finally, your boy Luke Mehall spits some hot fire for today’s Final Bit.
Show Notes
“The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death Mount Everest”
Mark Synnott’s feature in National Geographic about Everest.
Alex Honnold reports on his latest solo link up in Red Rock.
Cedar Wright’s Yolo Solo.
Luke Mehall’s website.
Subscribe to the Climbing Zine.Fri, 16 Apr 2021 - 1h 15min - 80 - RunOut #59: Woe is Pro
Is pro climbing a meritocracy? What does it really mean when someone says they’re a pro climber? Can you pay your rent with free shoes? And what are the job requirements for pro climbers today, beyond saving the world, being your own creative agency and social media management house, and, oh yeah, maybe sending the gnar once in a while? We dive into a world that isn’t as glamorous as it looks on the gram.
In our main bit, we sit down with Lucas Roman to talk about his new book Aperture Alike, a collection of stories of interesting people pursuing passion and adventure, including the late Brad Gobright.
Last but not least, get ready to break some gear with Kolin Powick at Black Diamond.
Show Notes
Aperture Alike at Di Angelo Publications.
Lucas Roman on Facebook and Instagram.
Follow Kolin Powick on Instagram.
Featured photo: Brad Gobright on El Cap, courtesy Dan Krauss.Tue, 06 Apr 2021 - 1h 01min - 79 - RunOut #58: Dave Graham Goes Off
Dave Graham is one of the most prolific rock climbers of his, or any, generation. For more than two decades, this itinerant rock climber has been like a shark in his pursuit of hard rock climbs—constantly moving, always attacking, and seemingly never sitting still. It took a global pandemic to keep Graham locked down in one place, and for the past year, he and his wife, Alizee Dufraise, the great sport climber and comp champion, have been basing out of Spain and learning to move and vibe at a different speed. The result has been a big leveling up for Dave, who is climbing at a 9b level right now. Dave is a prolific linguist, so for this episode, we just sit back and enjoy the ride.
For our final bit, the great and powerful SVO (Sean Villanueva-O’Driscoll) returns to charm the snake.
Show Notes
Dave Graham on Instagram.
Check outRunOut #57 for our interview with SVO.
Portrait by Cameron Maier / Bear Cam MediaMon, 22 Mar 2021 - 1h 19min - 78 - RunOut #57: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll and the Story That Needs to be Told
What makes a climbing story interesting? What makes it worth telling? Where is this elusive thing called meaning found in the utter absurdity of risking it all for the adventure of a lifetime?
Today we speak with Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll—part Belgian man, part feral mountaineer, part pied piper of climbing’s soul—about his recent solo of the entire Fitz Roy Range in Patagonia. Colin Haley called it “the most impressive solo ascent ever done in Patagonia,” which are classy words from Haley, who might otherwise hold that title himself. Sean’s adventure is easily one of the biggest climbing achievements of the year, yet his humble approach and world-class character that has driven a remarkable career of adventure and exploration is a testament to a lifestyle that seems to be rarer and rare these days.
For our Final Bit, Kaya Lindsay, the ukulele-playing free spirit behind @onechicktravels, spreads some Good Love.
Show Notes
Colin Haley breaks the news of Sean’s solo on Instagram.
Moonwalk Traverse “topo”
Follow Kaya Lindsay and here’s another beautiful song from her.
Tue, 09 Mar 2021 - 1h 06min - 77 - RunOut #56: Shining Light on Eating Disorders in Climbing
Chris and Andrew catch up after a couple of soul-satisfying weekends away in the desert, reconnecting with what’s important in life and considering the prospect of what will never be.
Next, our dear friend Caroline Treadway joins us to discuss her bold new film LIGHT, which tackles the subject of eating disorders in climbing through very honest and personal narratives, including her own.
After a heavy episode, we end on a lighter note with another edition of Whose PASSAAT! Is This Anyway?
Show Notes
* Watch LIGHT on YouTube.* Follow Caroline Treadway and the LIGHT film on Instagram.* The Hayden Fund* Read “Climbing for the Likes: The Social Media Trap” on Evening Sends.
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 - 54min - 76 - RunOut #55: Alpinism’s Bright Future and Dark Past
Our two returning guests make this one of our strongest episodes yet. First, the great Freddie Wilkinson joins us from his home in New Hampshire to give us the latest reporting on the historic first winter ascent of K2 by a team of 10 Nepali and Sherpa climbers. And we muse about what this ascent portends for the future of cutting-edge alpinism in the greater Himalaya.
Next, we connect with the great Kelly Cordes to talk about the recent passing of Cesare Maestri at the ripe old age of 91 years old. Maestri, the affectionately named Spider of the Dolomites, was legend and climbing icon in his home of Italy, but his legacy is inextricably linked to all but debunked claims of having completed the first ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959.
For the Final Bit, Danny Parker serenades us with a song about climbing’s ubiquitous badge of honor—or greatest nemesis—the Gobi. We promise you’ll never go to the desert again without thinking about this song …
SHOW NOTES
“One Mountain, Thousand Summits” by Freddie Wilkinson.
Guiding with Freddie.
Freddie’s op-ed in the NYT about the first winter ascent of K2.
“The Tower: A Chronicle of Climbing and Controversy on Cerro Torre” by Kelly Cordes.
Maestri obit on Rock and Ice.
Follow Danny Parker’s desert adventures on Insta.
Photo: Cerro Torre in Patagonia, Argentina on December 28th 2009 // Corey Rich/Red Bull Content PoolSat, 30 Jan 2021 - 1h 16min - 75 - RunOut #54: Climbing Media Ethics
In between insurrections, impeachments, and inaugurations, we’ve found time this month to scrounge around the depths of the dark web to bring you sweet climbing-related content.
Fortunately, this magic trick was made easier due to the lucky occurrence of some actual climbing news. We discuss the known-knowns of the first winter ascent of K2—completed by a badass crew of Nepali and Sherpa climbers. K2 in winter was called mountaineering’s last great prize, and the fact that it goes to perhaps the most deserving group you could imagine is an uplifting moment.
Don't worry, though, because from there, it’s all downhill to Joshua Tree, where an interesting fashion shoot pushed the limits of toprope photography so far that—poof—even the toprope disappeared.
Our main bit is a lovely conversation with our comrade in climbing media, Natalie Berry, the editor in chief of UKC, one of the most popular climbing websites in the world.
Our final bit is a special, special treat. Hear ye! Hear ye! The Duke of Mason Earle delivers a concord of sweet sounds to attending ears. Ne’er a more mellifluous lute perchance one might hear in all the podcast kingdom of climbing …
Show Notes
Follow Natalie Berry: Instagram and Twitter.
A nice profile of Natalie on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/160236614
K2: First Winter Ascent report on theNY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/sports/summit-k2-nepalese-sherpas.html
Sidetracked Magazine has all the fluff on the Gucci / TNF collaboration: https://www.sidetracked.com/thenorthfacexgucci/
Follow Mason Earle on Instagram
Watch Mason battle an outrageous off width.
Learn more about the Renaissance Lute from a nerd.Fri, 22 Jan 2021 - 1h 13min - 74 - RunOut #53: Embracing Your Own Progression with Nina Caprez
If you’ve ever found yourself clawing your way up the second pitch of a Gunks moderate with a 25-pound rack gear slung across your sweaty chest, you may also find yourself dumbfounded when you see pictures of pro climbers free climbing 20 pitches up the side of El Cap with nothing but a single locker and maybe an X4 on their harness. What do they know that you don’t? We share the secret knowledge of how “real” climbing gets done, and other sausage-making tips.
Next, we chat with Swiss climbing icon Nina Caprez about her current adventures during COVID. Turns out she’s taking #vanlife to the next level while re-evaluating what goals and progression mean on a personal level.
Finally, Niall Grimes delivers an unforgettable tribute to the late Doug Scott in a way that only he can.
Show Notes
Nina Caprez and “Andrea,” Nina Caprez’s adventure rig.
Niall Grimes and his Jam Crack Podcast
Portrait (C): Keith LadzinskiWed, 06 Jan 2021 - 1h 25min - 73 - RunOut #52: Way Down in Cochamo
Kicking off our 52nd episode, we sit down with fellow climbing podcaster Steven Dimmit of the Nugget Climbing podcast to talk shop and argue about the limits of this artistic medium. Even though, as a podcaster, Steven puts us to shame in both regularity and frequency, we nevertheless enjoyed chatting about what he’s got going on over at the Nugget.
For the main bit, we speak with Chris Kalman, a writer and climber from Flagstaff, Arizona, about his forays into writing climbing fiction. His forthcoming book, “Dammed if You Don’t,” poses the question what if our efforts to save the places we love ends up destroying them? Is this a work of environmental activism or unrequited psychotic love? You decide.
Rounding out this arcane episode full of “Chris’s,” our final bit is an op-ed delivered by yet another Chris, whose voice is as strong as his gorilla compression strength is fierce. That would be Chris Schulte, of course, who ponders the question: Just what the F— is going on out there at the crags?
Show notes:
The Nugget Climbing Podcast. https://thenuggetclimbing.com
Chris Kalman Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kalman-diyd/dammed-if-you-dont
Chris Schulte on Insta. https://www.instagram.com/chris_schulte/
Become a Rope Gun by supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/runoutpodcast
Lead photo: Kalman on El Filo la Aleta de Tiburón in Cochamó. Photo byAustin Siadak http://instagram.com/austin_siadak.Mon, 21 Dec 2020 - 1h 07min - 72 - RunOut #51: Emily Harrington Has Arrived
Fresh off her historic first female ascent of Golden Gate in a day (GGIAD), Emily Harrington joins us, the unworthy podcast hosts, as we grovel in the dirt and prostrate ourselves before her majesty’s feet—still ensconced in Alex Honnold’s TC Pros. With GGIAD, Harrington has really arrived as one of the best female climbers of all time. It’s hard to think of another woman who has done as much across all disciplines, from big mountains to national competitions and ice fests, to hard sport. Though we aren’t worthy, we did enjoy this inspiring dive into one of the great bits of news in the climbing world this year.
Speaking of news, one place you won’t be reading it is in the pages of Rock and Ice magazine, which has sold / merged with Climbing magazine. We reminisce about the golden era of climbing magazines, bemoan social media, and bemuse the sort of whimper with which the news was seemingly received about Rock and Ice’s folding.
And for the final bit, introducing everyone's new favorite game, Whose PSAAT! Is That Anyway?
Photo by Jon Glassberg / Louder Than 11.Fri, 27 Nov 2020 - 55min
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