American Alpine Club Podcast

The mentorship gap is a frequent topic of discussion in a lot of climbing circles, and the gap seems to be especially pronounced for climbers trying to get into crag and boulder development. In this episode, we dove into the joys of having too many mentors to count.

Long-time developer and AAC member Josh Pollock decided to collaborate with Jefferson County, in the Front Range of Colorado, to develop a beginner-friendly crag called the Narrow Gauge Slabs. For this project, sustainability and accessibility was a focus from the start, and Josh and other local developers designed a mentorship program that would coincide with developing the crag, to support climbers of traditionally marginalized backgrounds who want to equip themselves with knowledge and mentorship resources so that they could be developers and mentors in their own right. In this episode, we sat down with Lily Toyokura Hill and Ali Arfeen, two mentees in the program who have really taken this experience and run with it, stepping into leadership roles in the local climbing community. We cover what inspired them to become developers, perceptions of route development and who belongs, grading and individual bolting styles, and much more. The conversation with Lily, Ali, and Josh illuminates a lot about the power of mentorship and the complex considerations of developing in modern climbing.

We are so excited to have longtime AAC member Rick Accomazzo on the podcast to chat about his new book “Tobin, the Stonemasters, and Me, 1970-1980.” This book is part memoir of Rick’s own early climbing career, part revealing biography of Tobin Sorenson, the forgotten Stonemaster who was an incredible all-arounder; and part a distillation of a decade of climbing culture. With these three threads, the book weaves together many untold climbing stories from an iconic, pivotal decade, from “before climbing lost its innocence,” as John Long says in his forward to the book. Listen to the episode to hear some key stories from the book and learn about the ten-year process of putting it together.

We’d also like to congratulate Rick for his book being longlisted for the Banff Mountain Literature Award! Dive into the episode to get your dose of forgotten climbing history. You can grab your own copy at stonemasterbooks.com

On this episode of the Undercover Crusher series, we have Connie Shang on the podcast to talk about her recent send of Spyfiction, a 5.14c in Mt. Charleston, Nevada. We discuss her projecting process, how she’s leveled up over the years, how she got so strong without training, what counts as a crusher in today’s climbing world and especially for women’s climbing, and plateaus on the moonboard. She also talks about her unique perspective on climbing-work balance, that perhaps more of us should consider utilizing! Love to hear about hard climbing, but want to hear from someone who’s a little more relatable than the pros? The Undercover Crushers series is here for your inspiration! Dive in!

On this edition of the Undercover Crusher series, we have Rab athlete Nathan Hadley on the pod. We talk about what counts as “undercover,” and the reality of straddling the world of full-time work while being “pro.” We discuss the pressure to be obsessed with Yosemite, and maybe figuring out that performing in Yosemite is not the only place to make a name for yourself…as well as bolting and development ethics in Washington, sending the Canadian Trilogy, and the downsides (and upsides!) of being a route setter.

Jump into this episode to hear all this and more from crusher Nathan Hadley!

In this episode, we had Live Your Dream grant recipient John Thomson on the pod to tell us all about his trip to Denali! Our Live Your Dream grant is our most popular grant, and it’s powered by The North Face.

John’s LYD story is about feeling a sense of urgency–how now is the time to explore and pursue big adventures, a strong sense of carpe diem really. After nearly a decade away from Denali, John returned, only to get caught up in helping with a rescue, and not getting to pursue his goal route because of weather conditions. We sat down with John to hear about his grant experience, the rescue he helped with, his journey falling away from climbing and coming back to it, how guiding shaped his climbing, and why it meant so much to be standing on the top of Denali once again.

Its another Yosemite episode! And with some of the most in-the-know climbers, pro Amity Warme and Climbing Ranger Jesse McGahey, who weigh in on what’s been happening in Yosemite, both climbing wise, and in terms of community discussions about the future of climbing ethics and style there.

In this episode, we get to know crusher Amity Warme, and her perspectives on going ground-up on El Cap, how she’s recently been toeing the line between pushing her limits versus being in over her head, and how she views her role in the climbing community. We also chat about her ascent of Book of Hate (a 13d heinous stem corner ) and Pineapple Express (which is the fully free version of El Nino) last fall.

We also have Yosemite Climbing Ranger Jesse McGahey back on the pod, and chat about what’s been going on in Yosemite recently regarding rising temperatures, recent accidents due to using technology, the origins of the new Yosemite Climber’s Credo, and how a local climbing community came together to agree on shared values and guidelines. Amity also weighs in on the Yosemite Credo, and why she believes in the Credo and wants to help lead the way on the best practices for climbing in this iconic location.

Dive in to hear about some crucial conversations happening in one of the hubs of the climbing community.

This year, the featured winner of the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award is the Black Canyon Search and Rescue team, who performed an incredibly technical rescue in 2023 in the Black Canyon, after a climber took a bad fall that left them unconscious, needing medical attention almost 2,000 ft down into the canyon. In this episode, we sit down to chat with Sean Hart, one of the SAR team members at the scene that day, who walks us through the unique challenges of climbing and rescuing in The Black, the harrowing rescue by Blackhawk helicopter, how critical communication is in rescues, and how to always have a plan B.

Learn more about the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award, watch the film about this incredible rescue, and get the chance to give back to your local search and rescue team AND win some incredible gear by going to https://rockytalkie.com/pages/sar-award

In this episode, we sit down with Jarod, a long-time AAC member, to discuss a crazy accident he had at his home crag in Missouri, and how he utilized the AAC’s rescue benefit to cover the cost of his medical expenses. If you’ve been wondering if the AAC’s rescue benefit is for you, Jarod’s story helps explain how it works. We dive into the quirky concept of “girdle traverses” or mulitpitches that go sideways, and analyze his accident— the decisions he made, how traversing complicates gear placements, and the close calls he had. Funnily enough, Jarod also did a FA on that same wall—putting up Missouri’s potentially longest rock climb with Jeremy Collins, and this FA made it into the American Alpine Journal! We discuss the vision behind this 8-pitch traverse, what went into making it happen, the silliness of climbing, the unique belay tactics for traversing, and more!

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Last change to get your 80's-vibes limited edition t-shirt when you join, renew, or donate in the month of June 2024. Learn more at americanalpineclub.org/vibe24.

This year’s editions of Accidents in North American Climbing and American Alpine Journal are off to the printer! We had Dougald MacDonald and Pete Takeda on the podcast, the editors of these world-renowned books, to discuss all the details of what goes into making these books: including how stories get selected, the challenges of investigating how accidents happen, how these books fit into the larger climbing media landscape, and the long history of these books. Our editors also chat about what it’s like to edit over 100 stories about climbers hurting themselves and then still go climbing. We cover how these books have been translated and utilized across the globe, as well as trends in accidents this year. If you’re looking for more details about how the AAC produces such robust reporting on cutting edge climbing and accident analysis each year, you’ll have to hear from the editors themselves!

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If you're listening to this in June 2024, you can still grab one of our limited edition t-shirts! Just join the AAC, renew your membership, or donate $30+ in the month of June, using promo code VIBE24, to snag this vibing tee! Check it out: https://americanalpineclub.org/vibe24

In this episode, we cover the untold and complex experience of local climbers in the Greater Ranges—how Sherpa, Baltis, and other local climbers have navigated the complex landscape of living and working on Everest and in the Karakoram. We sat down with three incredible writers—Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar, who are the authors of the newly released book "Headstrap–Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling"; and also the well-known mountain writer Bernadette McDonald, who has recently released "Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges."

Though it's easy to lump these mountains together from a foreign climber’s perspective, these books cover distinct geographical locations that are deeply impacted by the politics of this region of the world. In conversation, these writers illuminated the unique challenges for Nepali, Tibetan, Pakistani, and Sherpa climbers from Darjeeling, as well as the shared challenges that all of these climbers have faced in making a name for themselves, fighting for safe working conditions, navigating the way colonization has impacted the boundaries of mountaineering, and more. We discuss topics like how Tenzing Norgay’s identifying as Sherpa when he first climbed Everest catapulted the idea of “Sherpa” into the limelight, how the Partitioning of India and Pakistan affects the work prospects of Darjeeling Sherpa, navigating relationships with foreign climbers vs climbing for themselves, and much more. Whether you’re a mountaineer yourself, or just have a passing respect for Everest, join us in this episode to hear about the deeply human experiences of individual Sherpa and Pakistani climbers, and how they navigate death, risk, financial independence and glory in the big mountains of our world.

Learn more about these two books and grab a copy yourself at mountaineers.org/books!

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We apologize but there are two or three moments in this episode where the audio was corrupted—we couldn't fix it, but we think the episode is great anyway! Sorry for the inconvenience!