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•1 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•1 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
A follow-along survey for the role of climbing in our lives: Sam and Aidan are joined by Mimi White a climber and psychologist as she collects data and runs us through her recently published survey (now closed). Complex and thought provoking, we both had to really think hard to answer these and it really got us pondering as we tried to cobble together our thought processes. I hope you enjoy trying to answer these questions for yourselves as much as we did and perhaps you'll even learn somet...
Feb 09, 2024•2 hr 1 min
We're joined by the man Alex Megos described as the strongest on the world cup circuit! We had a great evening chatting with Yannick about rocks, comps and training. Give it a listen to hear some brilliantly quotable lines from one of the strongest climbers on the planet. Our personal favourite was 'bouldering is not a physical sport'. Top guy and really enjoyable to listen to, thanks for joining us Yannick! If you like our podcast and would like to support us please consider chec...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 47 min
Something different this week! Toby Segar from Storror joins us to chat all things parkour and how they can all be related back to climbing. Toby is a big star in the Parkour world but has also been taking part in a lot of climbing recently as well! Storror is an incredibly successful YouTube channel with nearly 10 million subscribers so Toby knows a thing or two about content creation and we chat about what it's like to be on the other side of one of these huge channels, and also how and w...
Jan 24, 2024•2 hr 22 min
Matthew Phillips joins us this week! He's only young but he's already had a sparkling career in the sport. A world champion, but also an incredibly humble and laid back guy who's now getting more involved with the routesetting and coaching side of the sport. His pragmatism and fearlessness in the face of challenges is infectious and we really enjoyed having an opportunity to chat to him! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 46 min
Alex joins us this week! One of the UKs most experienced and best known setters as well as one of the brains behind Hardwood Holds, Alex has been on the UK scene for a really long time and he's an absolute font of knowledge when it comes to all things routesetting and holds (as well as I'm sure a many great other things but we weren't talking about them). Give it a listen if you like delving into the nerdy side of indoor climbing, I always enjoy hearing what he's got to say. ...
Jan 10, 2024•2 hr 15 min
Happy New year everyone! Just Aidan and I back this week with some updates and some chat before we dive back into the guests again from next week! Aidan ponders finding the fun in projecting and Sam gives the story of his first 8C boulder. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show
Jan 03, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Yo ho ho!... Wait that's pirates... Ho ho ho Merry Christmas everyone! Aidan and Sam team up to shambolically attempt to give the 12 recommendations of Christmas. All pretty chaotic but we hope some of you have a journey home to kill or want to stave off the boredom of having to listen to your family for a few minutes! We're having a week off next week, but will be back, with a bunch of exciting guests in the New Year, so happy New Year to all of you as well. If you think we've be...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 37 min
A big guest for us this week, Shauna Coxsey joins us for a chat. We cover a lot of ground from her competition days, her injuries, working with the IFSC and climbing post motherhood. Give it a listen, there's a lot in there! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show
Dec 13, 2023•2 hr 6 min
A fantastic story, and one the climbing community would do well to learn from. James Pearson joins us this week to tell us about how he tried to push trad climbing, and how severe a community kickback can be even over something as trivial as slightly inflated grading. We hear about what James learnt from the experience, and how he improved himself as a climber to be ready to be in more or less the exact same situation many years later... Glossary Headpoint - The art of practicing a climb on a to...
Dec 06, 2023•2 hr 16 min
Very exciting episode for your listening pleasure this week as Alex and Billy, two previous guests, return to talk us through their fantastic adventure in Yosemite. Not many people believed two retired comp climbers who've barely done a multi-pitch between them could wander over to Yosemite and free climb a thing that has still to this day only seen a handful of free ascents. Come hear all about it! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us please check out our Patreo...
Nov 29, 2023•2 hr 31 min
Taylor joined us this week for a typically wide ranging conversation. We joke a bit about Taylor being 'tall not strong' but it's all in an ironic way, he's clearly a beast! Lots of stuff on the agenda, first ascenting, climbing in the south east, living in a school bus in a commune, all standard fare. Taylor is a super humble guy and it was great to get a chance to chat to him, hope you enjoy! If you're enjoying our podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patr...
Nov 22, 2023•2 hr 12 min
We were thrilled to have Ollie Torr this week. The guy really knows his stuff when it comes to coaching climbing. As well as being a strong climber himself, the people he coaches have enjoyed massive success. We got him talking about all kinds of stuff, and some of it might just be useful! If you're enjoying this podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show...
Nov 15, 2023•2 hr 40 min
All in the title really, just Aidan and I catching up about how his Finland trip has been going mostly, but also trying to assess boulders by way of their objective qualities not our experiences on them or their difficulty. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us, please do check out our Patreon page! : https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 23 min
We were excited to have Hazel join us this week, she's the head coach at Strong Mind, the company that is working to redress the balance by exploring the psychological side of our sport. It's pretty easy to talk about the physical side of climbing, hangboard protocols and shoulder conditioning or whatever, but it was a lot of fun to dive into the murkier waters of the mental side with someone who really knows their stuff. If you think you might benefit from a tune up to your mental gam...
Oct 31, 2023•2 hr 28 min
Just the home team this week! Chatting about Aidan returning to Finland, being ill (as in the covid not being cool), battery powered planes and teasing Aidan with more ridiculous moral conundrums. You know, the usual drivel. If you're enjoying our podcast and would like to support us, check us out over on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Orrin dropped in to join us this week. We know Orrin pretty well, he's a strong climber based in Leicester, which is not exactly the hub of UK climbing, but Orrin has definitely made the most of it! He's climbed up to 8C on the boulders and he's competed for Great Britain at world cups so he's had a great deal of success in the sport. That said he's been really open and honest with this struggles when things aren't all going his way. He has the ability to really con...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 52 min
We were thrilled to have Isabelle join us for a chat this week. She is one of the best boulderers around and has been responsible for a large amount of boulder development. She has the hardest first ascent by a female to her name, and yet her accomplishments have often seemed to fly slightly under the radar, especially the ones that we thought would have been big news in the climbing world! We chat a little bit about why that might be and also a lot about boulder development, including how the g...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 51 min
66 the number of the beast, and the beast in this case is Alex Megos. One of the world's greatest rock climbers, it was a right treat to have him on one of the world's podcasts. A nice chilled out chat about a range of topics, you know who he is, and you know we don't have a format, just give it a listen! (Thank-you for listening) If you enjoy our podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 39 min
A classic ramble pod this week as we discuss a whole lot of absolute rubbish. Should you take your phone climbing? Should Aidan have a Nokia 3310 instead of an iPhone. If you could wear a pair of shoes that benefitted the rock but were rubbish would you wear them? You know, that kind of gubbins. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us to keep it going, please do check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 27 min
This week we were joined by South-West crusher Solly. Solly has done a bunch of hard FAs and repeats in recent years so we've been meaning to get him on for a while. We had a really fun chat talking about all sorts of things, Solly has had his fair share of mishaps and misadventures to go along with the big successes so there's something for everyone. *Warning, this episode is slightly more sweary than usual so be prepared* If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us ...
Sep 20, 2023•2 hr 8 min
Billy is back! Our very first guest returns with an update on all that's been going on since last we spoke.. And it's quite a lot! Billy is a top bloke and a good mate of both of ours so it's always a fun chat when he's around. We chat about him taking a step back from the comp scene (he's not actually officially retired but that made for a snappier title), some successful rock trips and he's got some big and exciting goals to chase on his upcoming Yosemite trip. If...
Sep 13, 2023•2 hr 2 min
Ravioli, he reminds me of that kid in school who everyone wanted to be friends with because he would beat up the bullies. I reckon he's the de facto leader of the Moonboarding community. Insanely strong but equally friendly, supportive and encouraging of everybody else. We don't just talk about the Moonboard though as he's no stranger to hard rock climbs, and Aidan doesn't know all that much about the Moonboard so that prevented us from spending the whole conversation nerding...
Sep 06, 2023•2 hr 37 min
It's a peek into the near future this week as we discuss how artificial intelligence or 'AI' to us in the biz is going to change absolutely everything in climbing. As is traditional we don't know anything about AI so we had to get AI to tell us about itself. A bit like the plot of Ex Machina (one of my favourite films) but Chat GPT so far hasn't gone into a murderous rampage. If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us to keep it going : https://www.pat...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Louis AKA Captain Cutloose joins us this week. As one of the busiest people in climbing it took a few months to find a time but once we did it was a real treat. Louis' media persona is the incredibly energetic and enthusiastic climbing coach that you may have seen on Instagram or Youtube, but somehow he actually is just like that in real life too. He's effortlessly entertaining and manages to sneak profound suggestions and useful tips under the rug almost without you noticing. Thanks f...
Aug 23, 2023•2 hr 27 min
Ned joins us for a natter this week. One of the strongest climbers the UK has ever produced but he's tried his very best to keep a low profile. If he was a musician his music probably wouldn't be on spotify and only available via cassette. He's responsible for strengthening millions of meat hooks and his products quite likely sit above a doorframe in your house. His personal climbing has been put on the backburner a tad in recent years, as he's become a Dad and he's also...
Aug 15, 2023•2 hr 6 min
You wouldn't know when listening to this episode, but Hamish is a very talented climber, but one who hasn't taken the obsessive path and has left his mind open to experience life outside of climbing as well. As two climbing obsessives, Aidan and I wanted to explore that a bit! They say you can tell a lot about someone from the company they keep, well in this case I think you can. Hamish is one of Aidan's closest friends, and it's not hard to see the similarities in the way th...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 48 min
Tom O'Hallaran on the pod this week and we had a great chat talking about the Olympic build up as well as the Australian climbing scene and lots of the bits and pieces that he gets up to. It's a long one and we had so much more to cover so hopefully we'll be able to persuade him to come back at some point! This podcast is solely supported by our fantastic community of patroons, if you enjoy the podcast then do consider checking out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353...
Aug 02, 2023•2 hr 39 min
