All Things Climbing

My name is Dave Alie, I'm the climbing editor at Blister, and I'm here to let you know that we are launching a new weekly podcast called "All Things Climbing."

Many of us were drawn to climbing because of the sport itself, only to find the community surrounding the sport to be at least as interesting, weird, and fun as the actual climbing. So we'll be keeping you up to date on the most interesting news, issues, and events coming out of the climbing world, from rock to ice to indoor climbing, on everything from boulders to big walls.

from its early days on the counter-cultural fringe, climbing has absolutely exploded, and is currently undergoing profound and sweeping changes. This is a fascinating evolution that demands a closer look.

We'll also be talking to designers and manufacturers about the gear we depend on, and we'll hear from the climbers and organizations that give the community its flavor.

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Prior to John Sherman’s arrival on the climbing scene back in the time of the Stonemasters, bouldering wasn’t really taken seriously. There was no meaningful, open-ended grading system to compare problems, and Hueco Tanks was just some place in West Texas. John changed all that, and did so before bouldering pads existed.

In the years since casting his long shadow over the sport, John has dedicated himself to wildlife photography, with a particular focus on working to protect the California Condor. He filled me in on how photography and bouldering are linked, what has been lost in climbing since his heyday, and why he thinks there are more impressive feats than Alex Honnold’s free solo of El Cap.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• “Are you chopping lines in the background?” (1:52)
• Episode Introduction (2:05)
• What will you be remembered for most as a climber? (4:40)
• What are you most afraid of being remembered for? (6:30)
• How do you sandbag masterfully? (8:20)
• Do you resent crowding at the crags you developed? (11:05)
• What’s the biggest problem in the sport today? (14:05)
• Is there anything you wish remained with the sport from your heyday? (21:24)
• Does Honnold rehearsing his free solo of The Nose change the accomplishment? (27:15)
• When did you get into photography? (34:21)
• How does wildlife photography compare to bouldering? (36:45)
• Why Condors? (40:30)
• Does your irreverent bent carry over to the photography world? (51:15)
• Is “Old Man Lightning” still going forward? (59:40)
• How can people contribute to Condor recovery? (1:03:05)
• Outro (1:03:52)

Presented by Rhino Skin Solutions

Rhino Skin Solutions makes high-end skin care products for climbers, by climbers. No matter where you climb or how hard, sandstone, granite, limestone, and plastic are all brutal on your skin, and there’s no sense missing a day on the wall because of blisters or splits. And there’s no reason to grease off your project when there are better solutions out there then chalking up every 4 moves. On top of all that, Rhino Skin Founder Justin Brown sits on the board of the Smith Rock Group, which helps plan and fundraise for various maintenance projects at Smith Rock State Park.

We’re donating all our proceeds from the show, after production costs, to the American Safe Climbing Associate and the Access Fund. Rhino Skin is fully behind this effort and has offered to knock 10% off your order and kick an additional 10% over to the Access Fund when you use the promo code “Blister” at checkout.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we headed for a future where The Nose (or other well-traveled walls) are headed for a permit system? We started debating this “what if” scenario almost a year ago, prompted by a conversation about the recently established permit system governing the cables route on Half Dome (the standard “hiking” route to the summit). If crowds grow or rescues become frequent, could certain technical routes, such as The Nose, find themselves governed by a system similar to the one used on Half Dome?

Over the past few months we also put this question to several of our guests to bring in some expert perspectives. So for today’s episode, we’ve got American Alpine Club CEO Phil Powers explaining why he thinks a permit system is likely, and Alex Honnold and Maury Birdwell making the case against. Even after producing this episode, we’re still deliberating, so we’d love to hear your thoughts or opinions and collect more data! Let us know what you think on this episode’s instagram post.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Where did the idea for this question come from? (00:35)
• Phil Powers’ response. (1:35)
• Why would a permit system make more sense for The Nose than other popular climbs? (2:45)
• Two scenarios that could lead the park to instate a permit system. (4:25)
• What might that permit system look like? (9:30)
• Presented by Rhino Skin Solutions (12:00)
• Alex Honnold and Maury Birdwell’s response. (13:50)
• Strengths and weaknesses in their response. (17:25)
• How practical could a permit system be? (21:10)
• What are the potential benefits of a permit system? (24:35)
• Isn’t the rap route another example of adapting to crowding? (25:40)
• What are our conclusions? (26:50)
• Outro (31:25)

PRESENTING SPONSOR: RHINO SKIN SOLUTIONS

Climbing is complex and performing at your limit means bringing many variables together at the right moment. Rhino Skin Solutions makes the best skin care products for keeping your skin dry, healthy, and resilient, which brings one of the most crucial elements of performance under your control. Keeping your skin in good condition not just before a redpoint attempt but throughout the season means more effective training and climbing harder on the wall, it’s as simple as that.

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The American Alpine Club is one of the oldest climbing institutions in the US. Yet despite its deep past, the AAC takes a forward-looking approach to improving the climbing experience for all on issues like safety, access, and education. This makes the AAC one of the modern climber’s biggest allies.

American Alpine Club CEO, Phil Powers, has climbed for decades all over the world, and has brought the lessons from his experiences to the helm of the AAC. In our conversation, he introduces the American Alpine Club to climbers who might not know why the AAC’s mission is so important. We also talk about his vision for the AAC’s role in shaping climbing as we move forward, as well as the decision to give their prestigious Underhill award to Alex Honnold for free soloing The Freerider, even as they work to encourage safe climbing practices.

This episode is presented by Rhino Skin Solutions, makers of high end skin care products for climbers. Climbing days are the best days, make sure your skin is healthy and ready so you can take full advantage. Check out their solutions to everything from blisters to splits to greasing off holds at www.rhinoskinsolutions.com

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Episode Intro (2:23)
• Phil’s personal favorite style of climbing (4:00)
• What was it like to summit K2? (5:00)
• How do you handle risky scenarios? (6:50)
• Phil’s role at the AAC, and the mission of the AAC (7:54)
• What is the AAC? 8:30
• Will the Olympics grow the sport, or is climbing experiencing a bubble? (10:45)
• What is the role of climbing organizations in welcoming new climbers? 12:43
• How does the AAC operate in conjunction with other climbing organizations? (18:45)
• Why is it so important that the AAC is a nonprofit? (26:00)
• How does the AAC's rescue benefit work? (29:10)
• If I get injured in Clear Creek, what do I do? 32:15
• What are the AAC's publications? 35:15
• Are there trends in climbing accidents? Can they be prevented? 39:50
• Dissonance in awarding Alex Honnold the Underhill Award? (44:00)
• Outro (47:10)

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If you’ve climbed in the mountains of North America, there’s a good chance you’ve climbed one of Fred Beckey’s routes. Beckey, known for his tremendous number of classic first ascents and his eccentric personality, continued climbing well into his nineties before passing away late last year. DIRTBAG: THE LEGEND OF FRED BECKEY is Dave O'Leske's documentary of one of the most influential climbers of all time. O'Leske followed Fred for a decade toward the end of Fred's life, and that story — combined with volumes of archival materials — makes for a universally compelling film. O'Leske shares with us what it was like to tell the story of such a complex and controversial figure, as well as some of the material that was ultimately left out of the film. DIRTBAG is still on tour — check out the dates at dirtbagmovie.com/tour.html.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• How did the project start? (3:20)
• How Fred reacted to the idea of a having a documentary made about him. (6:60)
• Fred's extensive personal archives. (7:30)
• How Fred, despite being famously untidy, was actually sharply organized. (9:30)
• What motivated Fred? (15:50)
• Fred's struggle to find climbing partners later in life. (19:40)
• Making a 'climbing' documentary that appeals to a general audience (26:00)
• Dave O'Leske's favorite scenes that were cut from the final film. (28:00)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.