Beth Rodden is one of the best female rock climbers of all time. We talked about her kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, facing backlash after her divorce, reflections on her climbing career, her history with Magic Line, disconnecting self-worth from achievement, the unwinnable game of climbing, personal evolution, why she loves human stories, and much more. Her new book, A Light Through the Cracks: A Climber’s Story is available now.

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• Michael Roy, Mark and Julie Calhoun, and Yinan Liu

Show Notes:  

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/beth-rodden

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:54) – Injuries

(00:03:28) – Writing her book

(00:08:14) – Excavating memories

(00:11:05) – Coming around to therapy

(00:13:59) – Living in fear

(00:16:13) – Kyrgyzstan

(00:21:45) – More excavation & therapy

(00:27:06) – Putting the book together

(00:28:29) – A shared experience

(00:37:45) – Being honest

(00:44:03) – Not reading Tommy’s book

(00:47:39) – Facing backlash

(00:56:11) – Reductionism

(01:00:55) – Family trips with the Caldwells

(01:05:24) – Reflecting on her climbing career

(01:10:48) – Magic Line

(01:18:53) – Self-worth, achievement, & change

(01:29:49) – An unwinnable game

(01:36:30) – Evolution & human stories

(01:40:18) – Favorite memoirs

(01:44:28) – The next level down

(01:46:42) – Feedback & criticism

(01:51:27) – Her feelings about her book

(01:54:10) – Where to buy Beth’s book

(01:55:14) – Wrap up & EXTRA teaser