ScotRock

This month we are joined by the wonderful Kirsty Pallas. New to the Mountaineering Scotland team she couldn't escape an interview. 

Kirsty is one of the fresh faces coming up through the instructor qualifications, with her sights set firmly on getting her Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor award by the time she's 30. She's fast tracked herself through working in the industry with pure passion and hard graft. 

In this episode we get to know a bit about Kirsty before diving into some ethical debates and the gender balance in the professional side of our sport. 

So grab a cuppa, and enjoy a chat with Kirsty Pallas.

Real feel good episode for you all this month, as Robert hides away in a dark cupboard with one of the nicest guys in climbing. 

Jamie White started ClimbFree a 'small' non-profit social enterprise down in Sussex to help  who’s aim is to help those with poor mental health climb back to mental fitness. Following his own personal experience and using climbing as a tool to help himself heal, he started ClimbFree to try and help others on a path back to mental wellness. Over the first 10 months they have seen over 350 people try climbing as a mental health tool. 

Jamies story and his journey to helping others is a roller coaster that will restore your faith that there are genuine good people in this world. So strap in and enjoy the chat, with Jamie White. 

This episode is a little different, a little special, but big cool

At the start of this month the Edinburugh International Climbing Arena hosted its first IFSC World Cup in event in 5 years

We had a huge team from GB Climbing up there crushing as they do. That team included 6 Scottish Athletes, competing on their home wall, in front of friends, family and an army of young climbers from across Scotland. A proper inspirational event it was. 

Before the competition though I caught up with our athletes to get a feel for the psych they had for the event. I then managed to catch them all after to get the low down on how it went and how much fun they had. So this episode is a bit of a collection of short interviews with some Scotlands strongest athletes in the heat of battle. 

Diving deep into the pool of Scottish climbing heroes for this one!

Yes, we sat down with one of Scotlands greats, the well loved Kevin Shields.

Kev is one of the greatest all rounders Scotland has ever produced, and his determination mixed with his idea of acceptable risk has led him to accomplishing things way beyond what anyone could have expected. Born with one hand, he has established some of Scotlands hardest trad routes, soloed some of Scotlands hardest and scariest lines and expertly give the middle finger to anyone who's ever said he couldn't. 

Kevs life and climbing career are nothing short of inspiring, and he ain't done yet! So grab drink and get ready to giggle with the hilarious legend, Kev Shields!

Karishma Rogerson is an awesome instructor/ route setter with one hell of a backstory!

Every climber has at some point on their journey thought about building their own wall. For most, this is just a passing notion and they realise what a ridiculous idea it is. Some some however this dream became a reality during the Covid lockdowns as everyone built their own little home board. Their own 3x3m sanctuary. 

But that just wasn't enough for Matt. Matt went mad. Matt built a 600m2 bouldering wall, in a shopping centre, during the lockdowns... by himself! Legend!

I actually recorded the interview 8 months ago, so its a little dated but I hope you enjoy hearing about Matts crazy journey here on ScotRock. 

ScotRock returns, and we are coming in all guns blazing!

Rebekah Drummond, you may know that name. She's been on the podcast before, she is an incredible climber, awesome human and always has the best chat for podcasts. But this one is just that little bit special. 

Fresh off a mega strong climbing year, Rebekah is possibly the definition of a Scottish Local Hero. Maybe not the first name on people’s minds as one of the strongest climbers in Scotland, but Rebekah has 2 decades worth of climbing experience and some pretty big sends on her tick list already. In this interview we chat about her epic send of Skye Wall (E7 6b), climbing, kids and a good sprinkling of hilarious stories. 

Dan Arnold  is a super keen hillwalker who has ventured into the world of climbing, in the most extreme way!

Robert sat down with Dan and got the run down on his full 282 round, his new project and how he has found the transitions from hillwalker straight to winter climber. Definitely not your typical progression into climbing.  Grab a cuppa and enjoy some tales from the hill, with Dan Arnold

This week on ScotRock, Robert got the chance to sit down with the Iona Rendall from the famous Ionas Adventures group. 

Grab a cuppa a enjoy the chat with Iona Rendall