Meet the "infectiously stoked” Henry Morrow - a climber equally comfortable on plastic holds in the gym or climbing without a rope over the ocean in the middle of the night. Henry describes what it was like learning to climb outdoors by trial and error and the recent growth of Nova Scotia’s climbing community over the last few years. We talk about his DWS (deep water soloing) explorations, development of a new climbing crag, international travel and various homegrown epics - mostly in Cape Breton.

Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes⁠

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:37 Why Are You So Stoked?

06:02 Stepping Outside

09:08 Deep Water Soloing

12:46 Blue Island Ocean Epic

16:44 Night Sessions

18:58 Climbing and Addiction

22:14 Training

25:11 Cape Clear Epic #1

28:41 Is Parkouring the New Alpinism?

31:47 Hola Argentina

34:26 The Beauty of Trad Cimbing

42:15 Favourite Lines

46:18 New Crags

51:27 Climbing Events

54:10 Cape Clear Epic #2

59:10 Shared Experiences

1:02:08 DWS Health Benefits

In this episode, longtime Nova Scotia climber Todd "The Bod" Foster (aka "Toddles") exposes ALL. He talks about his 25-year impact on the local scene through guidebooks, route and boulder development, and his award-winning film Eastern Tide. Foster explains how partnerships helped him produce multiple guides (rope climbing, Digby Neck, Halifax Region) and why he’s working on an Eastern Shore volume now, emphasizing knowledge transfer and community succession. He recounts learning to climb in the 1990s through top-roping at Eagles Nest, the Dal wall, and self-teaching from books, and later being inspired by early bouldering at Duncan’s Cove on homemade pads. We discuss the tradeoffs of beta videos, his preference for moderate climbing, an injury-averse approach focused on climbing rather than training. We also delve into his motivations for bolting accessible sport routes and his aversion to trad climbing - while also getting excited about the indoor gym scene and a growing generation of outdoor-focused climbers.

More Show Notes

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Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Icebox

01:58 Writing Guidebooks

10:01 Eagles Nest

16:34 Bouldering With Homemade Pads

21:46 Projecting and Beta Videos

34:24 Eastern Tide World Tour

41:37 Is V5 Harder Than V15?

46:18 Choose Easy

50:30 Training and Injury

56:40 Bouldering vs Roped Climbing

59:39 Lessons for Todd 2.0

01:05:18 Toddles Wants to Sport Climb

01:13:36 Is Trad a Thing Anymore?

01:20:52 Route Development

01:26:05 The Community

Heather Reynolds shares stories of 35+ years of contributing to the local climbing community, including route development, coaching, and releasing a book on performance rock climbing. Reynolds recounts starting climbing with Sean Willett, helping found Climb Nova Scotia in 1991 to protect access at Main Face, contributing to the Dalplex Fieldhouse wall (opened 1992) and later the Rock Court (opened 2002), and the importance of recognizing volunteers and first ascensionists. She describes years of road-tripping, researching and meeting elite climbers, emphasizing that mental approach and movement efficiency often matter more than raw strength. We discuss the differences between gym rats and outdoor climbing, route-setting, fear, flow state, and aging. She also explains how yoga, writing, and community connection shape her current life.

Icebox Sessions - Episodes Notes

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Chapters

00:00 Entering Flow State

06:57 This is What Life is About

16:03 Kinesiology to Coaching

18:40 Grand Wall Epic

23:30 Five Years on the Road

30:32 Legends and Mental Game

36:48 Indoor vs Outdoor Climbers

45:32 Coaching Without Climbing Hard

50:08 Athlete Identity Shift

52:19 Fear Of Falling Lessons

54:40 Hueco Breakthrough

58:31 Working in the Gyms

01:02:33 Sending Tsunami

01:08:47 Mindset And Aging

01:20:00 Imposter Syndrome And Gender

01:28:27 The Community Now

Join us as we sit down with the legendary Greg Hughes, a seasoned climber and guide, for a deep dive into the world of rock and ice climbing. Greg shares his experiences climbing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, discussing his early adventures, his insufferable ice climbing habit, and his passion for route development.

We also touch on his involvement with local climbing organizations like Ascent New Brunswick and his current life of chasing climbing adventures around the globe. This episode is packed with inspiring stories, practical climbing insights, and a glimpse into the bonds that build a climbing community. Listen up for Greg's tips on improving climbing skills and maintaining a lifelong passion for the sport.

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Chapters

00:00 I'm an Amanita

01:29 Ice Climbing Origins

02:33 Discovering Cape Clear

07:02 Get your "Free Pass" Now

09:31 Favorite Cape Clear Lines

10:44 Main Face Rendezvous

12:09 7 Skills Every Climber Should Know

14:47 NOLs and Teaching

15:59 Remember Why We Climb

18:07 Longevity Beyond Grade Chasing

24:52 Living the Climbing Life

27:30 Climbing Vagabond

28:51 Ascent New Brunswick

32:32 Hug a Route Developer Today

35:51 Ice And Mountain Highlights

38:19 Where to Next?

One of the most passionate, innovative and elusive climbers among us,  Dave dedicated almost a decade and half of his life to climb and document every single boulder problem in Nova Scotia.  His work was captured in the highly popular online bouldering guide called "Mobeta" - complete with interactive maps and beta videos.  And his youtube site documents his ongoing evolution as a climber and development of innovative finger training devices.

Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

05:28 The Birth of Mo Beta

10:42 Innovations in Training

21:30 No Funswick

23:40 Return to Halifax

31:02 The Refined Line - V11

32:44 Grading Controversies

43:50 Digital vs. Printed Guidebooks

51:27 Winter Climbing Secrets

01:00:19 Climbing Hacks

01:07:37 Innovative Training Devices

01:10:29 The Hand of God: From Concept to Market

01:15:26 The Local Scene

01:19:06 Challenges of Hard Bouldering

01:27:58 An Evolving Climbing Philosophy

01:33:36 Conclusion

https://mobeta.ca/⁠

⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Mobeta

Emily Currie is the epitome of strength and resilience.  In this conversation she recounts the last tumultuous 12 months:  battling cancer, and somehow finding energy after multiple surgeries and treatments to shoot, release and tour a celebrated short film about three women bouldering on Dover Island.  We also get behind the scenes on the media side of promoting our local bouldering gym as well as the thrill of climbing and errrrrrr horse-back riding?!

⁠Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes

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Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Icebox

02:57 Seven Bays Media Manager

05:27 Weightlifting to Climbing

10:36 Outdoor vs Indoor

15:31 Instagrammin'

22:30 Women in Sport

23:45 Unexpected Challenges

31:24 Filming on Dover Island

37:09 20 Grit Film Tour Launch

43:44 Bouldering Projects

44:35 Rallying to the End

Quietly crushing granite and inspiring all of us with her feline ways, Samantha Peverill joins me for Episode 3 to (reluctantly) share the story of her 5.13 sending spree last year of local test pieces. A feat that - to my knowledge - has not been accomplished before by any Nova Scotian climber!! Episode drops on Thursday on all major streaming platforms.

⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes⁠⁠

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

01:26 Finding Motivation

09:53 Early Climbing Experiences

14:09 Balancing Climbing and Frisbee

16:40 Training & "Weight Stuff"

23:30 Dynamic Climbing

29:00 Lattice Training

31:43 Learning to Try Hard

36:45 5.13 Triple Crown

46:16 Role Model Reflections

50:00 Exploring New Projects

55:41 Favorite Climbing Routes

01:03:46 Climbing Community and Identity

01:09:37 Final Thoughts

Forget about bouldering. Sean Therien rejoins us in Part 2 with a rope in his hand and suffering on his mind. Follow his adventures developing new routes at The Spot, Cape Clear, Main Face, and more.

⁠⁠⁠Icebox Session - Episode Notes⁠

⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - Homepage⁠⁠⁠

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:49 Developing 'The Spot' & The Castle

03:50 Cheater Stones & Tick Marks

07:59 Columbus Wall

09:20 Exploring Main Face

14:52 Cape Clear Adventures

19:37 Memorable Climbing Routes

21:14 The Big Stupid Adventure

26:38 Scariest Moments

28:02 Closure of Ground Zero Climbing Gym

29:34 Impact on the Climbing Community

31:12 Return to Cycling

40:24 Final Thoughts

Punk rock ignites the Nova Scotia climbing scene in the late 90s. Therien shakes the bedrock of Nova Scotia by starting its first commercial climbing gym, unearthing new climbing routes and opening world class bouldering areas.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - Episode Show Notes⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions Homepage⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - All Links⁠⁠

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

01:38 The Early Days of Climbing

04:11 Starting the Climbing Gym

10:05 First Climbing Experiences in Nova Scotia

12:37 Competition Climbing

16:37 Training is Not Fun

19:04 The Reminiscence Effect

24:19 Coastal Bouldering

26:30 The Land of Confusion and Dover Island

31:35 Boulder Fest

32:40 Rediscovering the Rope

35:05 Wrap

Out of the limelight, Rich has been scaling Nova Scotia cliffs over 20+ years. On this inaugural episode he shares stories of harrowing moments on the rock, training attempts, and the value of climbing friendship.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - Episode Show Notes

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - Homepage⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Icebox Sessions - All Links⁠⁠⁠

Chapters:

0:16 Introduction

3:44 Climbing vs Surfing

5:54 Adventures in Potrero Chico

11:02 Thoughts on Grades and Ratings

13:13 Favourite Routes

20:13 Training Philosophy

25:47 Memorable Climbing Experiences

28:40 In the Zone

29:59 Bouldering in Musquodoboit

33:49 Future Projects