The Enormocast: A Climbing Podcast

On episode 248 of the Enormocast, I post up in HER van to talk to Kaya Lindsay: offwidth aficionado, film-maker, van-lifer (former), and more. I know it seems like Sprinters have been jamming up the parking since the beginning of time, but Kaya was a first-wave modern #vanlife climber. Striking out from Santa Cruz, CA … Continue reading "Enormocast 248: Kaya Lindsay – Lock the Doors and Drive Away"

On Episode 247 of the Enormocast, I sit down with climber, resoler, and professional bull rider, Dustin Bowen. Dustin grew up in Pennsylvania, but was drawn to Western style rodeo from an early age. When his mom’s plan to let him get it out of his system in rodeo school failed, Dustin went on to … Continue reading "Enormocast 247: Dustin Bowen – From Rocks to Rodeos"

On Episode 246 of the Enormocast, I connect for the second time on the show with Canadian climber, Bronwyn Hodgins. Bron appeared on the show in 2019 with her husband, Jacob Cook, and since that time, Bron’s climbing has evolved and grown exponentially. She’s freed more big walls, climbed hard sport, .13d cracks, and expeditioned … Continue reading "Enormocast 246: Bronwyn Hodgins – Make a Plan, Stick to the Plan"

On Episode 245, James Lucas and I reconvene to catch up on his topsy-turvy life. This installment, his 4th, finds James on the upswing from a low point after losing his job, his girlfriend, his stoke, and purpose. James talks about losing himself in dance, home remedies for panic attacks, therapy, and general depression. But … Continue reading "Enormocast 245: James Lucas – Peaches en Ragalia"

On Episode 244, we herald the return of British trad ace, Hazel Findlay. Since her last appearance in 2013, a lot has happened to both the Royal We and Hazel Findlay. We start the conversation with dissecting her own podcast, The Curious Climber. Then we move to talking about her mental training and coaching. Hazel … Continue reading "Enormocast 244: Hazel Findlay – A Work in Progress"

On Episode 243 of the Enormocast, I sit down with guide and climber, Miranda Oakley. Miranda busted out of Maryland just after college and never looked back. A job washing dishes in Tuolumne made her climbing dreams come true, but soon she was guiding hikes then climbs in Yosemite. Meanwhile, she was building skills for … Continue reading "Enormocast 243: Miranda Oakley – O, Brave New World"

Scott Franklin returns on this in-between-eps ep to spray down on the amazing folks he climbed with over the years, including his wife Gea Franklin (Phipps) and Lynn Hill. Also, I ask him about the 1988 Snowbird, UT International Climbing Comp and soloing Survival of the Fittest (5.13).

On episode 242 of the Enormocast, I run with one of the big dogs of the 80s, Scott Franklin. Scott was a prodigy shaking up the Gunks and the old ways in the early 80s. He then dropped the taboos against hang-dogging, bolting, top down inspection, and helped usher in the sport climbing revolution we … Continue reading "Enormocast 242: Scott Franklin – Mullets and Mavericks"

On Episode 241, I connect with climber and author, Jonathan Howland. Jonathan started climbing in the early 70s and spent much of that decade obsessed with the pursuit. Then a 20 year hiatus ensued, but Jonathan returned to the climbing-fold with a similar passion but a new outlook. Then tragedy hit, and as can often … Continue reading "Enormocast 241: Jonathan Howland – The Weight"

On Episode 240 of the Enormocast, I am joined by Maiza Lima. Maiza resides, more or less, in Great Falls, Montana, but her journey to that town has been a long and arduous one. Maiza was born and grew up in a remote village in Brazil, and in her teens, joined her mother to cross … Continue reading "Enormocast 240: Maiza Lima – The Long Way Home"

On Episode 239 of the Enormocast, I have the privilege to sit down with Gold Medalist, Janja Garnbret. A Slovenian climbing hero, Janja, of course, took Gold at the inaugural climbing Olympics, but before that she was already the winningest climbing athlete of all time. As she beams into the interview from Oliana, Catalunya, a … Continue reading "Enormocast 239: Janja Garnbret – Her Hardest Hue to Hold"

On episode 238 of the Enormocast, Tommy Caldwell shows up for his sophomore appearance on the podcast. A lot has gone down since his first show in 2016. Both Tommy and the Royal We had a child – his second. He wrote a New York Times best seller. He and Honnold put up a free … Continue reading "Enormocast 238 – Tommy Caldwell: Concerned Climbing Citizen"

On Episode 237 of the Enormocast, I catch up with freshly minted trad climber, Anna Hazelnutt. Anna cut her teeth on high-ball slab boulders in So Cal, but then turned to sport climbing in Catalunya. After a great season in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, she traded fun in the sun for windy and rainy on the … Continue reading "Enormocast 237: Anna Hazelnutt – Not Afraid to Try"

On Episode 236 of the Enormocast, I sit down next to, but for some reason not in, a hot springs pool with Malik Martin and Conrad Anker. Conrad and Malik met at Memphis Rox when Malik was working there, and the North Face had sent Conrad to check it out. Memphis Rox is a unique … Continue reading "Enormocast 236: Malik Martin and Conrad Anker – Brothers, Friends, and Countrymen"

On Episode 235, the 2022 TAPS Edition of the Enormocast has arrived. Returning curmudgeon, Andrew Bisharat, and I rough up FNG Andy Salo on this year’s nearly 2 hour show. Lined up at the guillotine this year are the notions that selling out is a bad thing, climbers are counterculture rebels and free thinkers, the … Continue reading "Enormocast 235: TAPS 2022 – This Podcast is For Sale Edition"

On Episode 234 of the Enormocast, I connect via lousy internet with Belgian, Siebe Vanhee. At the moment of recording, Siebe is sitting inside the famous “Caf’ in Yosemite valley – the appropriate site of so much spray over the years. Siebe is in the valley with Sebastien Berthe to attempt the Dawn Wall. Siebe … Continue reading "Enormocast 234: Siebe Vanhee – The Talisman"

On Episode 233 of the Enormocast, I sit down with musician and climber, Bradley “Chum” Carter. Chum grew up climbing in Tennessee and the greater Southeast, but did stints in the Northwest and Yosemite and Hueco and beyond. Somewhere in there, he also became an accomplished multi-instrument musician. Then came the difficult task of “balancing” … Continue reading "Enormocast 233: Bradley “Chum” Carter – Mountains and Music"

On Episode 232 of the Enormocast, I meet up across the pond with fellow podcaster, Niall Grimes. Niall grew up during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and learned to climb on his local crags amid that terrible conflict. But as soon as he knew what was good for him, Niall moved the storied city of … Continue reading "Enormocast 232: Niall Grimes – The Language of Humor"

On Episode 231 of the Enormocast, I connect to the other side of the world with Indian climber, Gowri Varanashi. Gowri learned to climb in the US but fell in love with climbing in her home country of India. Immediately, she felt the need to bring more women into the small, male-dominated climbing community in … Continue reading "Enormocast 231: Gowri Varanashi – Bringing It All Back Home"

On Episode 230, I connect with Paul Pritchard all the way from Tasmania. Paul’s new book The Mountain Path: A Climbers Journey Through Life and Death examines his life of climbing and life-changing accident on the Totem Pole in Tasmania through the lens of his scholarship in Buddhism. Paul came of age in Wales climbing … Continue reading "Enormocast 230: Paul Pritchard – The Tao of Paul"