Today, I sit down with Tal Wanish—rock climber, mentor, prominent route developer in Colorado’s Front Range, and brother of our previous guest, Tanner Wanish. But Tal’s not just a rogue route developer. He’s a deeply involved member of his local climbing community—someone who chooses to play by the rules in order to help foster sustainable growth for future generations.

He’s replaced over 600 bolts as an instructor with the Boulder Climbing Community, and today he puts most of his effort into the Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance. There, he serves on the South Platte committee, helps organize clean-ups and fundraisers, and works directly with landowners to ensure new climbing development is legal and sustainable.

While Tal is a thriving member of his community today…that wasn’t always the case. Plagued by imposter syndrome and his own crushing expectations to perform as a climber, he found himself quite alone in the world of climbing struggling to find partners and mentors.

Everything changed when Tal shifted his focus—from numbers to impact. When he discovered route development and community involvement, climbing took on a new meaning. Since then, he’s helped establish over 160 routes in just the last four years and over a vertical mile of new climbs in just the last 12 months. While the grades no longer define him, he’s also recently broken into the 5.13 range—on his own terms.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Tal. He loves climbing, but just as much—he loves sharing climbing with others. And there’s something truly special in that.

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Resources

Tal's IG