Introducing the Meet the Maker series. 

Each day this week we’ll be releasing a mini episode with an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers.

🎙Today we chat with Kyle Siegel, the Founder of Raide, which makes gear that supports efficient human-powered movement in the mountains. Their first major drop is the LF 40L which may be the perfect backcountry skiing pack, but which I also think works well as an ice cragging or multi-pitch pack.

Kyle is a jack of all trades, having done hardcore engineering at places like SpaceX, learned design and development at The North Face and Db, and built tech products to boot. During that time, he’s spent the past 10 years diving into backcountry skiing and scheming up ever bigger objectives. If only there was a backpack that could keep up…

Hear more about the why and how of Raide in today’s episode.

🎁 Discount code below!

***

DISCOUNT CODE:

Want to put an LF 40L to the test this ice season? Kyle is offering 15% off at their store raideresearch.com. For details, check out Kyle's episode post on our Instagram page.

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Introducing the Meet the Maker series. 

Each day this week we’ll be releasing a mini episode with an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers.

🎙Today we chat with Benjamin Leibham, the Founder of Alto Gear, which make ice climbing accessories out of upcycled and recycled material.

You’ve probably seen Ben’s ice screw wrap at an ice festival, they are the brightly colored roll-ups made of repurposed billboard vinyl. And they are bomber (I’m a proud owner of one) – which is on purpose. Ben is a product designer whose mission is to make ice climbing gear more sustainable. To start, he’s using technical material that would otherwise end up in a landfill, sourcing and manufacturing locally, and designing gear that lasts. He’s got some big plans too.

Hear more of his story and design philosophy in today’s episode.

***

🎁 If you’d like to snag your own ice screw wrap or crampon pouch, Ben is offering 15% off at their store, altogear.com. For details, check out Ben's episode post on our Instagram page here.

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Introducing the Meet the Maker series. 

Each day this week we’ll be releasing a mini episode with an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers.

🎙Today we chat with Ben Carlson and Nick Hernandez, Co-Owners of Furnace Industries, which make gym-safe training equipment for ice climbing and dry-tooling.

Quite simply, you’d be hard-pressed to find another company that has done more to promote dry-tooling in the U.S. Core to it all, it’s because they care.

The company was started as a way to give back to the community. Ben and Nick knew they weren’t going to chase FAs or push the grades, but they could help folks train year-round and encourage new people to try the sports. Why? They believe in giving back to the sport that has given them so much – from sponsoring ice fests and Team USA to loaning out tools for dry-tooling nights to producing educational material – Furnace Industries is always forging ahead to help the community.

Hear more about their story and what makes their tools special in today’s episode.

🎁 Furnace Industries doesn’t really do sales, but Ben and Nick are graciously offering a one time discount for listeners. For details, check out Furnace Industries' episode post on our Instagram page.

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Introducing the Meet the Maker series. 

Each day this week we’ll be releasing a mini episode with an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers.

🎙Today we chat with Deed Ziegler, Founder of RecPak. I’m excited for these because I think ice climbers will really like them – RecPaks are 700 calorie, ultralight and ultra-packable meal replacement drinks that I think are perfect for sipping at the belay (you can fill them with hot water).

Deed was inspired to make the product after a military tour overseas. He wanted something that was consumable on the move, designed for high energy output, and was a complete meal with proper macros and nutrients. They’ve since been used in environments as wide-ranging as emergency response and combat zones, to high-altitude mountaineering, long treks in the desert, and ultra races. 

Deed also has a great radio voice, which you can hear in today’s episode.

***

🎁 Discount code! Deed is generously offering a 25% discount so you can try RecPak this season. For details, check out Deed's episode post on our Instagram page.

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Introducing the Meet the Maker series. 

Each day this week we’ll be releasing a mini episode with an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers.

🎙 Today we chat with Doug Heinrich, the Founder of Aniiu, which make technical ice climbing gloves.

Doug is a longtime Salt Lake City climber, route developer, and alpinist, among many superlatives. He’s also the VP of Product Development at Black Diamond. What do you get when you combine 30+ years of ice climbing experience with technical chops? 

Listen to the episode to find out.

***

🎁 Doug and Aniiu are giving away 3 pairs of gloves to listeners and offering a discount code. For details, check out Doug's episode post on our Instagram page.

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Sometimes opportunities arise which push you outside your comfort zone.

For Kelsey Rex, an out of the blue invitation turned a next year trip to Alaska into "we're leaving in two months". That accelerated timeline required a Matrix-like download of expedition planning and put Kelsey in her sweet spot as a lover of meticulous spreadsheets. It also meant confronting her tendency towards, as she puts it, "conservative progression plans" — and perhaps, even her concept of what she's capable of.

Resources and links:

This is the article by Bayard Russell that Kelsey mentions, which supplemented her own gear list spreadsheet: How To Remember Everything: An Exhaustive Alaska Expedition Packing List.

You can read Kelsey's 5-part recap of the trip on Instagram. Here is part 1.

If you'd like to follow Kelsey on Instagram, you can find her at @kelsey_rex. This winter, Kelsey will be at the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest, Smuggs Ice Bash, and Michigan Ice Fest, and if you'd like to try and book a day out with her, she guides with Cathedral Mountain Guides.

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.
 

Credits:

Cover photo provided by Kelsey.

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Sponsors:

Thanks so much to Blue Ice for sponsoring this episode (and Kelsey)!

Blue Ice began in 2008 at the base of Mont Blanc with the idea of designing products that went back to the basics. That's led them to focus on functional, ultralight gear that just works. In their words, "we get to the point with a subtle blend of purism and daring."

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Cogne is known as one of the ice epicenters in Europe. Located near the base of the Gran Paradiso, the only 4,000 meter peak in Italy, the Cogne Valley boasts over 400 ice climbs and many more mixed and dry-tooling lines. Consistency and accessibility are the name of the game: The microclimate and terrain means ice is reliable year-in-year-out and you can often start your approach to climbs right from your front door.

Matthias Scherer is lucky to have called the area home for the past 20 years... 

Resources and links:

Matthias has climbed over 1,000 frozen waterfalls, and you can see his top 100 list here. To follow along with his adventures, check him out on Instagram @matthiasscherer.

Want to join for the Cogne Ice Opening? It runs from December 14-17 and you find find all the details on their website: cogneiceopening.net

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.

Credits:

Episode cover photo provided by Matthias.

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Stas Beskin is known for soloing big bold climbs, such as Rainbow Serpent and Fearful Symmetry, two of the most iconic WI6s in the Canadian Rockies.

It's one thing to solo big flows, it's another to do it on freestanding pillars about as wide as your shoulders. But he does that too. And he does so without swinging his tools.

Stas' conception of ice climbing revolves around displacing as little ice as possible. It's an adaptive strategy that means different things in different situations, but it's always about fitting one's body and style to the ice in front of you – it's about being attuned to the environment and trying to fit it, not the other way around...

Resources and links:

Stas is a rock and ice climbing guide, specializing in multi-pitches. If you'd like to book a day out with Stas, you can connect with him at wildice.ca.

For a bit more about Stas, Ian Welsted, an ACMG alpine guide, wrote a great profile in the October/November 2022 issue of Gripped.

In this video, Stas shares techniques for scratching and climbing thin pillars. And here is an article (one of many) about hard mixed routes he is putting up.

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.
 

Credits:

Original photo used in cover image by Caro Ouellet (@ouellet.caro).

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

This week we chat with Ryan McCauley, a member of the USA Ice Climbing Team. Ryan has had a rapid rise, fitting for her speciality in speed.

In fact, within two years of starting to dry-tool, Ryan went from falling off the second hold of rec team tryouts to finishing 6th overall in Women's Speed Climbing during last year's World Cups.

According to Ryan, this wouldn't have been possible just a few years ago... 

Resources and links:

You can connect with Ryan about coaching for dry-tooling on Instagram @ryane_mccauley and for professional coaching you can reach out to her on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/ryan-mccauley.

In the episode, you'll hear us reference an article by Corey Buhay about competition ice climbing in Russia, which you can find here. Ryan also wrote an article about her own experience during last year's World Cup season (also discussed in the episode).

If you'd like to donate to the USA Ice Climbing Team here is the link and you can learn more about The Ice Coop here. 

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.
 

Credits:

Original photo used in cover image by Robert Hendriksen (@thatcrazydutchguy).

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others. 

Today we're talking about the Beartooth Mountains in Montana, which have a history of minimal spray when it comes to ice climbing. So of course that's what we are going to do...

Let's start with why should you go: One, if you're looking for first ascents or a first ascent-like day out, the Beartooths provide. Two, it's the largest uninterrupted landmass above 10,000 feet (or 3,000m) in the U.S., outside of Alaska. Three, there is not a single path to any climbing objective.

In other words, if you're looking for a challenge, it's easy to find one. What's not easy to find, though, is info.

That's where Akio Joy and Anju Samuelson come in... 

Resources and links:

Learn more about the trips Aku and Anju talked about in this episode on their website: beartoothguides.com

You can connect with them on Instagram @beartoothmountainguides where they also share condition reports during the season. And here are Anju's "Soul Back Up Book" blog posts for those who are curious.

This is the Gripped article about Shooting Gallery, a three pitch mixed route that Aaron Mulkey, Dane Steadman and Natalie Afonina climbed on September 10, 2020. And this is another route by Aaron Mulkey, Last Call, a 2,000 foot, 13 pitch mixed line that he sent with Tanner Callender and Chris Guyer in 2014, which gives you an idea of the type of adventure you can have in the Beartooths.

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.
 

Credits:

Original photos used in cover image courtesy of Beartooth Mountain Guides.

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!)

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon. 

Credits:

• Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).
• This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
• And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries!

Become a member:

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.  

(For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!).

🗣️ Leave us a review!:

You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others.