EP 21: Ethan Pringle — Lessons From Projecting, The Gift of Heartbreak, and a New Depth of Love
Explicit content warning
06/08/20 • 121 min
Ethan Pringle is one of the best all-around rock climbers in the world. We talked about practice vs. training, lessons learned from 50 days projecting ‘The Nest’, taking care of his dad and his experience with chronic grief, the gift of heartbreak, discovering a new depth of love, projecting highballs, and the coolest rock climbing move he has ever done.
Support on Patreon:
Show Notes:
http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ethan-pringle
Nuggets:
2:22 – The Pistol Squat challenge
5:58 – Practice vs training, and feeling plateaued in strength
9:18 – Improving strategy for projecting, getting really good at making climbs easier, and admiring climbers who try 100% every time they pull on the wall
12:24 – Wanting to flow vs. trying as hard as possible, learning to climb efficiently, and the game of sport climbing
16:14 – 50 days on ‘The Nest’
24:38 – Psychological vs. physical limitations on The Nest, holding on to belief, and the decision to send
27:23 – Ethan’s main takeaway from ‘The Nest’: “Crappy days are totally fine and totally normal.”
29:15 – Trying different beta, lightbulb moments, ‘El Bon Combat’, and “master beta”
33:59 – ‘Kintsugi’, the ninja-toe-catch, and the coolest rock climbing move Ethan has ever done
38:47 – His dad’s stroke, finding him on the floor, life’s pivotal moments, caregiving, and Michael Peña
49:39 – Lessons from grief, heartbreak as a gift, and a new depth of love
59:30 – Compassion, acceptance, growth
1:01:05 – Self-compassion, the ‘La Reina Mora’ story, and the debilitating combo of emotional baggage and bad beta
1:07:47 – Overextending and creating boundaries
1:13:15 – Knowing yourself and communicating boundaries
1:16:30 – Why the word “depression” doesn’t really resonate with Ethan, his own brand of internal darkness, and becoming more at peace with himself
1:21:14 – Seeing a grief counselor and why Ethan is a proponent of therapy
1:23:29 – 10-minute sits, mindfulness meditation, and Ethan’s experience and takeaways from a 10-day vipassana course
1:35:35 – Doing the second ascent of Jason Kehl’s ‘Evilution’, and why highball bouldering is such an amazing type of climbing
1:39:47 – Ethan’s highball projects in Yosemite
1:42:18 – Ethan’s approach to highballs and the effect of pulling the rope
1:44:27 – The “Brown Point”
1:46:26 – Plans for Yosemite in the Fall
1:47:12 – Dreams of finding all-natural 5.14+ or 5.15 projects
1:51:50 – Ethan’s dream van
1:54:55 – Gratitude
1:56:09 – Hugs
1:56:37 – Ethan’s Instagram and plans for a new website
1:57:32 – The gift of vulnerability, plans for a round 2, and reversing interview roles
Ethan Pringle is one of the best all-around rock climbers in the world. We talked about practice vs. training, lessons learned from 50 days projecting ‘The Nest’, taking care of his dad and his experience with chronic grief, the gift of heartbreak, discovering a new depth of love, projecting highballs, and the coolest rock climbing move he has ever done.
Support on Patreon:
Show Notes:
http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ethan-pringle
Nuggets:
2:22 – The Pistol Squat challenge
5:58 – Practice vs training, and feeling plateaued in strength
9:18 – Improving strategy for projecting, getting really good at making climbs easier, and admiring climbers who try 100% every time they pull on the wall
12:24 – Wanting to flow vs. trying as hard as possible, learning to climb efficiently, and the game of sport climbing
16:14 – 50 days on ‘The Nest’
24:38 – Psychological vs. physical limitations on The Nest, holding on to belief, and the decision to send
27:23 – Ethan’s main takeaway from ‘The Nest’: “Crappy days are totally fine and totally normal.”
29:15 – Trying different beta, lightbulb moments, ‘El Bon Combat’, and “master beta”
33:59 – ‘Kintsugi’, the ninja-toe-catch, and the coolest rock climbing move Ethan has ever done
38:47 – His dad’s stroke, finding him on the floor, life’s pivotal moments, caregiving, and Michael Peña
49:39 – Lessons from grief, heartbreak as a gift, and a new depth of love
59:30 – Compassion, acceptance, growth
1:01:05 – Self-compassion, the ‘La Reina Mora’ story, and the debilitating combo of emotional baggage and bad beta
1:07:47 – Overextending and creating boundaries
1:13:15 – Knowing yourself and communicating boundaries
1:16:30 – Why the word “depression” doesn’t really resonate with Ethan, his own brand of internal darkness, and becoming more at peace with himself
1:21:14 – Seeing a grief counselor and why Ethan is a proponent of therapy
1:23:29 – 10-minute sits, mindfulness meditation, and Ethan’s experience and takeaways from a 10-day vipassana course
1:35:35 – Doing the second ascent of Jason Kehl’s ‘Evilution’, and why highball bouldering is such an amazing type of climbing
1:39:47 – Ethan’s highball projects in Yosemite
1:42:18 – Ethan’s approach to highballs and the effect of pulling the rope
1:44:27 – The “Brown Point”
1:46:26 – Plans for Yosemite in the Fall
1:47:12 – Dreams of finding all-natural 5.14+ or 5.15 projects
1:51:50 – Ethan’s dream van
1:54:55 – Gratitude
1:56:09 – Hugs
1:56:37 – Ethan’s Instagram and plans for a new website
1:57:32 – The gift of vulnerability, plans for a round 2, and reversing interview roles
Previous Episode
EP 20: Chad Andrews — Financial Independence, Building a Craft, and Pursuing Your Best Life
Chad Andrews is the maker of the Clipping Chains blog—a resource to help climbers navigate personal finance and move towards financial independence. We talked about reaching retirement at age 35, simple steps to reduce your cost of living, why financial strength equals freedom, the joy of building a craft, and pursuing your best life.
Support on Patreon:
Show Notes:
http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/chad-andrews
Nuggets:
3:03 – ‘Snickers’ the stealthy food thief
7:34 – Chad’s early career in Houston, staring climbing, moving to the front range, and becoming interested in the financial independence movement
14:59 – The F.I.R.E. movement (Financially Independence Retire Early) and Chad’s path to financial independence
16:09 – Why Chad would never call himself retired, and why he thinks work is a fundamental aspect of happiness
17:10 – The Clipping Chains blog and sharing personal finance information with climbers
18:51 – Overview of the financial independence concept (maximize savings rate, and invest in a passive index fund)
24:31 – Chad and his wife’s income, teachers, and why the financial independence movement isn’t just for those with a high income
26:39 – Tracking spending using an app or spreadsheet
31:19 – The big three: housing, transportation, and food
33:51 – Chad’s passion for food, cutting back out dining out, rediscovering cooking, and learning new skills
36:32 – Facing discomfort, Chuck and Maggie Odette, the “year of austerity”, and paying less for the same experience
38:44 – Why financial strength is a sliding scale, and the freedom of having a little extra money saved
43:52 – Chad’s climbing trip to Ceuse during the “year of austerity”
45:39 – Pareto principle (80/20), and why Chad doesn’t feel like he and his wife had to sacrifice much to reach their financial goals
48:56 – How having a few months of living expenses saved up can give you the freedom to tinker and try new things
50:53 – The first two steps that everyone should take toward financial strength
56:23 – Scheduling your day, habits, and systems
1:01:52 – Tracking net worth as a measure of progress
1:05:13 – Housing as the #1 expense, and tips for reducing housing cost
1:09:41 – Tips for renters and why buying a house isn’t necessarily as good an investment as people think
1:12:45 – Takeaways from interviews with top climbers, and embracing a non-normal life
1:19:39 – Hard work, happiness, and honing a craft
1:26:09 – Chad’s current climbing, focusing on movement and bouldering, and the benefits of filming yourself
1:32:35 – Where Chad is most excited to climb after COVID, focusing on climbs he can do in 10 tries, and the role of mega projects
1:36:05 – Retiring just before COVID, and my (Steven’s) plans for Rifle
1:38:12 – Roasted peppers, Lemoncello, and comfort food
1:44:26 – Favorite books
1:47:36 – Gratitude
1:48:25 – Clipping chains website, Instagram, Twitter
Next Episode
EP 22: Justin Brown — Skincare Tips, Growing a Business, and Greatness vs. Insanity
Justin Brown is the founder of Rhino Skin Solutions, a company that provides high-performance skincare products for rock climbers. We talked about best practices for skincare, tips for dialing skin for different rock types, how to grow a business while keeping things simple, and the connection between greatness and insanity.
Support on Patreon:
Show Notes:
http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/justin-brown
Nuggets:
2:23 – The COVID pivot, hand sanitizer, and the restaurant hustle
5:48 – Whole Foods, the Rhino growth trajectory, and growing to make a better product
9:50 – How to fix product that has separated
11:30 – Hand Sanitizer for greasy hands and dirty climbers
13:52 – Best practices for healing dry skin
17:24 – Dry/Performance plus Spit for dry and pliable skin, removing sweating as a factor, and different skin for different rock types
19:32 – How to use Rhino Spit
20:39 – Justin’s skincare routine leading up to a climbing trip
24:02 – Combining using Performance and Repair, and best practice for antiperspirant use
26:28 – Training your brain to sweat less and taking a break from using products once a month
30:35 – Tegaderm and Hypafix for splits and gobies
34:34 – Better climbing tapes
36:48 – Filing old shoe rubber, shoe cleaning products, and OXY Pads
41:48 – The early days of Rhino, and why Justin
46:21 – A simple business model and growing organically
49:08 – Growing vs. profitability, putting systems in place, not wanting cogs, and the label machine
54:51 – Work-life balance, getting an employee, and freeing up time
58:40 – Getting hurt climbing, starting MMA, getting in the best shape of his life, and the heart monitor story
1:03:58 – Training for MMA and carryover to rock climbing
1:06:21 – Justin’s standing in jiu-jitsu and converting belt rankings to the Yosemite Decimal System
1:08:05 – Mixing MMA and climbing, a pesky wrist injury, and climbing because it’s fun
1:10:56 – Greatness and insanity, and different limiters on crazy
1:12:27 – Steven’s thoughts on limiters, how limiters shift, and waking up early to hangboard
1:14:38 – Exceeding climbing goals, the gratification of improving at something new, and the myth of discipline
1:17:06 – How each route at Smith leads to the next, and progressing through the 5.13s
1:21:12 – Justin’s approach to climbing ‘Badman’ (his first 5.14), and dealing with shoulder impingement
1:25:25 – Carryover from jiu-jitsu to rock climbing
1:28:49 – Carryover from rock climbing to jiu-jitsu, projecting sequences, and foot matches
1:32:18 – Climbing 5.14 again, goal routes, and climbing the hardest route from the year you were born
1:35:33 – Justin’s (secret) Shuteye Ridge trip
1:37:29 – Gratitude for family and his sister’s illness
1:40:48 – My experience with van life during COVID-19, being in stasis, why Justin craves going out to eat, and restaurant energy
1:46:14 – Rye sourdough mango pancakes
1:47:02 – High-4 (Justin’s new company for pet care)
1:50:20 – New Rhino products (coming soon)
1:52:23 – Where to connect with Rhino for skincare questions
1:53:10 – One last story
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