On this episode we continue to discuss the world of route setting! We are joined by two wonderful route-setters (and dear friends) Jane Cuff and Julia Bruce-Robertson. We discuss being a woman in the setting industry, setting for para-climbing, setting for shorter/taller climbers, and more!

Thatcher Flynn is not hosting this episode. At the time of recording, they were sailing to a big-wall climbing destination on the south coast of Newfoundland!

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) Episode Intro

(00:01:04) Julia's background

(00:02:15) Jane's background

(00:07:20) Women in route-setting

(00:08:05) The B.I.G Initiative

(00:09:45) Gender diversity ratios on setting teams

(00:016:00) Hiring route-setters

(00:020:55) Tokenism

(00:022:22) Shorter and taller setters

(00:026:55) Setting for para-climbing

(00:033:40) Teaching movement skills through setting

(00:039:20) How does setting affect your personal climbing?

(00:047:07) Setters and coaching

(00:050:25) Setting feedback

(00:057:40) Grading climbs and discussing grades with members

(00:100:04) Setting for different bodies (return to short vs tall)

(00:104:30) Setting in Ontario

(00:106:45) Setting careers, training setters, and more chatting about hiring setters

(00:121:25) Clueing up!

It's been a busy summer of travel and adventure. Before Thatcher leaves for the rest of September on a sailing+big wall climbing trip on the south coast of Newfoundland, we wanted to record a quick episode with just our hosts! We put a form out on our socials and solicited questions from our followers. Tune in for a little catching-up and for our responses!

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) Episode Intro

(00:04:05) Question 1 from Levi

(00:05:08) Question 2 from Hannah

(00:08:30) Question 3 from Hannah

(00:12:50) Question 4 from Hannah

(00:15:30) Question 5 from Jacob

(00:20:40) Question 6 from Jacob

(00:23:05) Question 7 from Jeremy D

(00:30:25) Question 8 from Tina

(00:23:05) Question 9 from Su

(00:40:11) Question 10 from Su

(00:43:30) Question 11 from Su

(00:46:05) Question 12 from Madison

(00:50:30) Question 13 from "a voice in the wilderness"

(00:54:17) Question 14 from Julia

(00:59:16) Question 15 from Julia S

On this episode we discuss Newfoundland outdoor bouldering with our guest Owen Lang. Owen is a 19 year old Team Cove athlete who has had extremely successful back-to-back seasons of climbing hard Newfoundland boulder problems.

We discuss how Newfoundland outdoor bouldering is beautiful, accessible, and underdeveloped. We also discuss Owen's recent outdoor climbing seasons. We dive into his goals and his thoughts about both his completed climbs and what still lies ahead.

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) Episode Intro

(00:00:20) Introducing Owen Lang

(00:05:00) What is outdoor bouldering?

(00:06:30) Newfoundland outdoor bouldering

(00:09:07) Owen's top 3 bouldering areas

(00:012:10) Undeveloped rock in Newfoundland

(00:14:05) Owen's recent seasons of climbing hard and his climbing goals

(00:15:40) Owen's big sends

(00:19:45) Reflecting on grading of the hard boulders

(00:21:25) Finding projects and developing areas

(00:24:55) What is next for Owen after he climbs "everything" ?

(00:26:39) Getting scared

(00:32:22) What climbs felt the hardest?

(00:33:55) Discussing projects and the future of Newfoundland bouldering

(00:39:10) Discussing mentoring, climbing partners, and external/internal pressure

(00:41:30) Boulderationship with Tim

(00:45:11) Bouldering vs Rope Climbing

(00:47:39) Owen's performance and preferences on outdoor climbing vs indoor/competition climbing

(00:51:10) Projecting outside and fave snacks

(00:52:15) Owen's fave boulders

(00:54:15) Barefoot climbing

(00:56:38) We're proud of Owen

(00:57:40) Sales pitch for Newfoundland bouldering/climbing

On this episode we discuss Newfoundland route setting with our guest and dear friend Julia Bruce-Robertson! Route setting is when climbing gyms change the climbs on their walls. As the 3 hosts of the podcast are route setters, setting is near and dear to our hearts. In this episode we introduce ourselves as setters, explain what setting is, how the two local gyms run setting programs, the gym grading systems, and more! This is what we hope will be the first of several route setting conversations.

Julia Bruce-Robertson is part of the core setting team at The Cove along with Joel, Thatch, and Daniel. Julia is also the head route setter at Wallnuts Climbing Centre, a climbing coach, a climbing competition organizer, an artist and graphic designer, and otherwise a super rad person!

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) Episode intro & introducing the setting team's origin stories

(00:08:58) Hiring/becoming setters

(00:10:35) What is route setting?

(00:13:15) Aesthetics and artistic inspirations in setting

(00:17:07) What are volumes?

(00:19:29) Planning for route setting

(00:24:55) Creative restraints and gym specific considerations for planning

(00:28:00) Setting lead at Wallnuts

(00:31:35) Setting top-rope at Wallnuts

(00:37:59) Power tools, bolt-on holds, screw-on holds, helmets, and ladders

(00:42:28) T-nut deep dive and going behind the walls

(00:47:13) Old holds, hold wear-and-tear, and hold colour

(00:50:25) Monochromatic setting

(00:53:20) Grading systems at Wallnuts and The Cove

(01:02:04) The V-scale and why we don't use it in our gyms

(01:06:08) Differences between bouldering at local gyms

(01:08:22) Re-adjusting for shifting difficulty within gym grades

(01:14:23) Daniel's closing questions: What is a favourite moment and a challenging moment in route setting?

(01:21:15) Who are our NL local setters?

(01:26:07) NL route setting part 2?

On this episode we interview our friend Ethan Murphy! Ethan and Whit Macdonald are the team that run Cape Coffee, a Newfoundland coffee roasting company. Ethan is a coffee pro, and we have fun diving into coffee, roasting, and the local coffee scene!

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) Episode Intro

(00:00:30) Pre-introduction banter / How young is too young for coffee?

(00:02:35) Introducing Ethan Murphy and Cape Coffee

(00:05:59) What is "3rd wave coffee"?

(00:11:21) Coffee cupping sessions and tasting notes

(00:23:30) Sourcing coffee beans as the green-buyer

(00:30:06) Roasting coffee beans

(00:46:45) Remembering St. John's cafes and coffees from our pasts, and the arrival of 3rd wave coffee in NL

(00:53:00) The current coffee/cafe scene

(00:57:18) The price of coffee

(00:59:33) Opening people's minds to 3rd wave coffee

(01:05:04) Interacting with less educated/immersed coffee drinkers, avoiding snobby inclinations, making coffee approachable

(01:11:50) The future with Cape Coffee – working with Eight Ounce Coffee, coffee pods, and instant coffee

(01:17:40) What are our personal go-to cafe drink choices

(01:21:00) Dialling in the espresso at our cafe

Our first episode! Hosts Joel, Thatcher, and Daniel sit down with our guest (and good friend) David Bruneau. We discuss Newfoundland climbing guidebooks, specifically focusing on the upcoming release of David's new Newfoundland Climbing Guidebook!

Episode Timestamps

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:30) – Introducing David Bruneau and his bolting and FAing the hardest route in Newfoundland

(00:06:45) – History of NL guidebooks

(00:09:30) – The use of Mountain Project in NL

(00:12:28) – Routes and boulders changing after guidebooks are published 

(00:16:30) – Joining Lewis for the guidebook project 

(00:18:20) – How much is left to finish?

(00:20:40) – How good is the climbing in Newfoundland?

(00:23:40) – What goes in Route descriptions?

(00:25:37) – What percentage of the routes in NL has David done?

(00:28:35) – Adobe InDesign and AI

(00:33:09) – Updates and 2nd Editions

(00:36:38) – What to routes/boulders to include or exclude in a guidebook

(00:43:42) – Scoping out routes to get information for the guidebook

(00:46:10) – ETA for guidebook and 11th hour edits

(00:48:40) – Edgy route names: to change or not to change 

(00:52:40) – What to do with un-named routes? And looking for Sean McDowell

(00:55:10) – Submitting routes on Mountain Project post-guidebook

(00:56:15) – Mountain Project VS Kaya

(00:57:53) – Why physical guidebooks will never be replaced

(01:00:05) – The history of climbing in NL and the bolt wars of the 90s

(01:03:40) – Physical features of a Guidebook

(01:05:16) – Creating area maps using QGIS

(01:08:35) – Who’s writing the Forward and is there a dedication?

(01:09:18) – Having a Top 50 routes in the guidebook

(01:12:30) – Driving traffic and access concerns

(01:14:45) – New climbers: learn rope skills from courses and mentors