It was a pleasure to be joined by Michaela Kiersch this week to talk about incredible achievements on rock, her recent trip to Rocklands without a full set of fingers, outing misogynistic comments on Instagram and so much more! There's some chat about retrospective grading, small gym communities and board climbing thrown in there as well. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us, please consider checking out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 S...
Sep 04, 2024•2 hr 52 min
We were excited to be joined by one of the greats this week. Alex Puccio was a staple in world cup finals for many years, and has also climbed some incredibly hard outdoor boulders. Known to be one of the strongest people on the scene we had a bunch of questions for Alex and we covered a huge amount of ground so we hope you enjoy! If you're enjoying our podcast and would like to support us, please consider checking out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the sh...
Aug 28, 2024•3 hr 41 min
This week we're joined by Clem Lechaptois! Clem is a phenomenally well accomplished boulderer with 8C+ ascents to his name. We chatted to him about his tactics when choosing projects, how he selects boulders with contrasting styles to supplement his training, the team environments that are most conducive to sending and much more. Clem has a company that makes climbing fingerboard force plates which allows climbers to get access to loads of juicy data in regard to their finger strength! Chec...
Aug 21, 2024•2 hr 3 min
Just us this week with our reactions to the Boulder/Lead Olympic finals, if you're interested in our pre-comp predictions or our reactions to the semi-finals then those are both up as Patroon bonus episodes on the Patreon. We also end with 30 minutes of triple distilled idiocy for those who are sick of talking about the Olympics. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us, please consider checking out our Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support th...
Aug 14, 2024•2 hr 30 min
Big hitter Matt Fultz joins us this week. Matt's climbing resume speaks for itself, he's near the very top of the list when it comes to sending 8C+ boulders. He's achieved a huge amount and yet still it was fascinating to hear that he is not immune to the same moments of self doubt that the rest of us experience. Matt's a great guy and it was a pleasure to have him on the pod, we chat about a full range of stuff and could have chatted for hours longer but there's only so...
Aug 07, 2024•2 hr 24 min
Molly has been through a hell of a lot since we last spoke! In that time she has successfully gone through the Olympic Qualifying Series and has booked her place at Paris 2024! We catch up about the hard work and mental pressure it took to get her there as well as what life is like for a member of Team GB. Really cool to be able to get a moment in such a hectic schedule to give you a behind the scenes look! Huge congratulations and good luck to Molly! If you're enjoying our podcast and woul...
Jul 31, 2024•2 hr 33 min
A fellow podcast host and forever an Olympian, Kyra joins us and gives insights into her rather British-board-style training roots, her rock trips amidst busy seasons, her preparations for the Olympic games and her process for managing the psychological repercussions. Note: We take no responsibility for any subsequent competition retirement announcements... If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support it, please consider checking out our Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/use...
Jul 24, 2024•2 hr 1 min
Legend of British Climbing Ben Bransby joins us on the pod this week! Ben is definitely not someone to blow his own trumpet but he has climbed very hard in trad, sport in boulder over the years. He's also put up some incredible first ascents, gone on winter expeditions and even competed! He's done it all so we thought we'd ramble on about some of it for a bit. Make sure you listen to the end for the great stories :). If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us...
Jul 17, 2024•2 hr 22 min
A true ramble pod this week bordering on the irreverent in the opening 20 minutes but we do calm down and have a proper discussion eventually! Amongst some wildly off-topic rambles we chat about climbing genetics and we eventually get to the main topic of the podcast which was to attempt to choose which decade of climbing we would have most liked to have been a part of. If you're enjoying this podcast and would like to support us please check out our patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/us...
Jul 10, 2024•2 hr 43 min
Tom is back! Tom is a nutritionist that has worked extensively with climbers from all across the grade spectrum. He has a huge wealth of knowledge with all things nutrition but he also has a gift for cutting through the sciencey mumbo-jumbo and offering well simplified and usable advice. We cover a bunch of topics relating to body composition, how to fuel to maximise your training time and we also run through a bunch of supplements to see which ones we should be taking and which ones are best le...
Jul 03, 2024•3 hr 39 min
This week we were really excited to be joined by Sean Bailey! Sean is one of the world's best climbers. He is right at the cutting edge in both bouldering and sport climbing. We didn't go much into any of that though! We had a general chat about the state of climbing, including comps, grading and media. Definitely one of our 'we do chats not interviews' pods! Hope you enjoy! If you like that podcast and would like to support us, please do check out our Patreon page: https://w...
Jun 26, 2024•2 hr 5 min
Could a guest be much better suited to our favourite topics and recurring themes throughout the pod history? Ethan enthusiastically joins us on our tangents and rambles into psychology, Newtonian physics and other topics we don't know enough about to be qualified to give an opinion on. But fear not, we get some questions in from time to time and Ethan shares some gems from his already long, adventurous and varied climbing career! Cliche perhaps, but a legend of the sport! If you enjoy our p...
Jun 19, 2024•2 hr 27 min
We're going back in time to the halcyon days of a couple of months ago this week! An episode we recorded and then forgot about! Shockingly the climbing world hasn't moved on unrecognisably in two months so it's all still relevant. We chatted about climbing at night, Sam's time in Font and ideal chalk strategies. Hope you enjoy, there's a longer version on the Patreon as well as some new content coming from when Aidan recorded a Q&A with Steven from the Nugget. So if ...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 15 min
This week we're joined by a voice you'll probably recognise! Steven Dimmitt, the host of The Nugget joins us to chat about podcasting as well as his personal climbing and we all ramble on about our personal climbing philosophies and what motivates us. We get to hear how being the host of a successful climbing podcast has changed Steven's relationship with his own climbing and what he is working towards for the future. In classic CT style, the conversation is wide ranging and varie...
Jun 05, 2024•3 hr 47 min
Something a little different this week as instead of focusing on a climber we're focusing on a crag! Magic Wood is one of the most famous climbing destinations in the world. It's seen development from too many icons to name over the years and has been incredibly popular for many years. With such popularity has come some challenges though. The crag is home to lots of polished rock and eroded foot paths. Thomas Saluz has been looking after the campsite, guesthouse and restaurant for a ve...
May 29, 2024•2 hr 44 min
The author of the Lake District (Aidan's home area) boulder guide, Greg Chapman joins us this week. We have a wide ranging discussion covering lots of things that relate to the writing of guidebooks and developing boulders. This episode is a little more esoteric than most as a lot of the conversations pertain to the Lake District but I think it mostly all carries over to any other boulder area as well so there's something for everyone I hope! Greg's lesser known Lake District gems...
May 22, 2024•2 hr 54 min
Aidan and I this week chatting about a bunch of stuff. I'm in Magic Wood and Aidan is in Finland so we chat about that. If we could build the best climber in the world using attributes from existing climbers, who would we use? If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to hear the extended edition of this podcast then do check out our Patreon page :) https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show...
May 15, 2024•2 hr 54 min
No pies are safe from Seb's fingers! Sébastien is an incredibly accomplished climber. He's climbed at an elite level across a range of climbing disciplines and he's doing it all in an eco friendly way. In the episode we talk about his recent mission to climb 100 font 7As in a day, sailing the Atlantic to climb the Dawn Wall, free climbing the nose and climbing James Pearson's Bon Voyage (E12). What a guy. If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support us please consider c...
May 08, 2024•2 hr 40 min
In this episode, amongst other things, we're pondering about the remuneration for top climbers. Are they being exploited? Are they underpaid? Should they just be grateful to be able to climb for a living and accept that they can't expect to be set up for the future? We dive in, in a roundabout sort of way... If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us, we have a Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 If you're enjoying the podcast and you alread...
May 01, 2024•2 hr 34 min
The great Ashima Shiraishi joined us for a chat this week! Ashima has been on the climbing scene in a big way for what feels like forever, but somehow she's still in her early twenties! Ashima broke many records on her way through the grading scale as a young climber which culminated in her climbing V15 at just 14 years old! She has also competed on the world cup circuit and has been in the spotlight of both climbing and mainstream media. Like is often the case, the story behind the headlin...
Apr 24, 2024•2 hr 50 min
This week we were excited to be joined by Emil Abrahamsson! You probably know Emil from his exploits on YouTube, his sends of hard rock climbs and perhaps from his competition days as well. He's an accomplished climber both inside and outside but he's also a really lovely and super psyched guy with a nice optimistic take on lots of things around climbing. Join us for a nice wide ranging ramble about a bunch of climbing topics. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to suppo...
Apr 17, 2024•2 hr 4 min
It's a good episode for the Aidan fans this week as Aidan has sent his projects and has learnt a great deal in the process. Perfect time to stick a microphone in front of the chap and press go. Hope you enjoy! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show
Apr 10, 2024•2 hr 37 min
It was great to be joined by Bernd Zangerl this week! A true legend of bouldering he's been involved in the development of loads of classic areas like Ticino and Magic Wood and has been climbing elite level boulders for over twenty years. In more recent times Bernd has been pouring everything he has learned into the development of Rakchham in the Indian Himalayas. We talked about that as well as a bunch of other things, I could write them here, but you could also just listen and that'd...
Apr 03, 2024•2 hr 58 min
Something very different for you all this week. Nettie & Dave a.k.a The Climbing Backpackers are on an adventure climbing across Asia. They might be on their dream climbing trip but they're also setting out to prove that just because you don't have a huge chunk of savings that doesn't preclude you from living an adventurous lifestyle. To prove the point they are living on a budged of just £10 ($12.5 or €11.7) per day! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to suppo...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 27 min
Simon Lorenzi on the pod this week! Simon is the first man to have climbed 3 9A boulders with Soudain seul, Alphane and Burden of Dreams. He's also a mainstay on the world cup circuit and has made finals on more than one occasion. Despite being one of the best boulderers in the world Simon is slightly more under the radar than most of his peers and so it was great to be able to sit down with him and hear a bit more about what makes him tick. If you're enjoying the podcast and would lik...
Mar 20, 2024•2 hr 36 min
The renowned coach and climber David Mason is back this week! This time we nerd out about some training ideas, talk about how he is mentally dealing with a recent serious knee injury and we ponder how much of climber's finger strength is really within their control at all. There's some interesting topics of conversation in there to wonder about! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show...
Mar 13, 2024•2 hr 23 min
Neil is one of the original performance coaches in rock climbing, known for his elite level trad ascents as well as his efforts to demystify the obscure and hazy world of climbing training and his ability to deliver it in a way that makes sense. We chatted about a wide range of topics from social media, the online trad climbing mob, the stresses of grading and training for climbing. Perhaps one day I'll go through the whole thing and give links to every topic we discussed.... but not this d...
Mar 06, 2024•2 hr 14 min
Noah jumps on the pod this week! He's recently repeated some of the hardest test pieces the US has to offer and in relatively quick time whilst sporting at least 5 or 6 taped tips! We chatted a bunch about Sleepwalker and Defying Gravity, how the style in which he climbs lends itself well to flashing hard boulders, his training, how his meteoric rise in climbing grades might not be quite as fast as it appears from the outside and so much more. He came across as a really humble guy, but I gu...
Feb 28, 2024•2 hr 40 min
Oh yes, it's a grades pod. Aidan's least favourite subject, and it's hardly in Sam's top 10 either. We end up having a bunch of discussions relating to grades, getting a history lesson from Aidan for first of the grades (possibly all wrong) and we give some recommendations for climbs at each grade bracket... Or at least some that came to mind without thinking about it for all that long... There's an extended version of this podcast on the Patreon, so if you're enjoy...
Feb 21, 2024•2 hr 55 min
It was a treat to have living legend Ben Moon on the pod this week. A lot of ground covered in an absolutely whistle-stop tour of Ben's career and replete with a fine selection of totally random tangents and rambles. Bailing from O levels because of too much physics, dossing in a cave, the birth of sport climbing, training and board climbing, how comps paid better in the 80s than they do today. It's a chat that goes all over and it was great fun for us so I hope it makes for a good lis...
Feb 14, 2024•2 hr 9 min
