The Climbing Majority

Summary

In our 2 hour long conversation, we sit down with AMGA-certified guide Lindsey Hamm or so aptly named “The Hamminator”. Hamm is an AMGA-certified single-pitch instructor and a certified rock guide. She has also completed her AMGA Ice Instructor Course….Advanced Alpine Guide courses and currently… is on track to becoming the 18th female ever to receive an IFMGA pin. She has guided and climbed all around the Western US and has spent time in India and China, and at the time of this episode, launching is in the middle of a climbing trip in Pakistan. Her quick and intuitive decision-making combined with genuine laughter, and ability to be unapologetically herself is a contagious force that undoubtedly has helped establish herself as a well-respected professional in the climbing community and an inspiration to anyone who wishes to follow in her footsteps.

We talk about how she found climbing, her stories of three separate ground falls that left her…uninjured, we chat about the art of soloing, and belaying, and…since she is officially the first female on the podcast, we dive into her female perspective of the climbing community, the details of her life as a female guide, and how misogyny can plague the sport, and finally, we hear about what she is currently up to in the steep rocky terrain of Pakistan.

Please rate, review the show, and share this podcast with your friends. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools to help us out. 

Contact us:
 IG: @the.climbing.majority
Email: [email protected]

Resources:

Learn more about Lindsey Hamm here:

Field Journal | Written by Maggie Shafer // Photography by Luke Hall
https://www.commonclimber.com/profile-lindsey-hamm.html

Common Climber Profile | Written by  Enock Glidden
| https://www.sidetracked.com/fieldjournal/lindsey-hamm-hyping-up-the-climbing-world/

Lindsey Hamm's IG: @hamminator2017

Female Empowering Climbing Groups:

Iris | https://irisalpine.com/

She Moves Mountains | https://shemovesmountains.org/

Flash Foxy | https://www.flashfoxy.com/

She Jumps | https://www.shejumps.org/

Texas Lady Crushers | https://www.texasladycrushers.com/

Steph Davis | https://stephdavis.co/

In this episode, we have a conversation with, registered physiotherapist and climber, Quinn Turner. We found Quinn’s Instagram account @alpine.physio and was truly inspired by his content. Quinn resides in North Vancouver BC where he works out of Body Works Sports Physiotherapy and Kinematics Sports Medicine & Rehab. He began his studies at the University of Calgary obtaining a BSc in kinesiology and later receiving his Masters from the University of Alberta. Quinn specializes in concussion and vestibular rehabilitation but treats a wide range of ailments found in the life of a climber. Like all of us, Quinn has a strong passion for the mountains. He is an experienced Nordic skier, hiker, and climber. In our conversation, we cover topics such as the accidents that inspired him to become a physio, concussions, their severity, symptoms, and the healing process, the physics of helmets and their effectiveness in climbing, we discuss evidence-based rehabilitation and outdated medical practices that are still being prescribed today, and finally, we dive deep into the mysterious pulley injury and its relation to crimping and dynamic movement.

In today's episode, we speak with Eric Carter. Eric is an Arc'teryx athlete who resides in Squamish British Columbia. He spent 5 years on the us national ski mountaineering team and holds the speed record on Mount Rainier and the Tantalus Traverse. Eric has an M.S in Exercise Physiology and a PhD where he studied the affects of altitude on humans. In this conversation we cover the topics of snow safety, avalanche training, and training for the mountain athlete and alpinist. We also do a deep dive into Eric's recent trip into the Himalaya, where he searches for a first ski descent on a peak called Bhrigupanth near Meru (The Sharks Fin) in India at the head of the Ganges river.

What does it take to do a ski descent in the Himalaya? To find out listen to the episode!

https://arcteryx.com/us/en/athletes/eric-carter

@the.climbing.majority

In this episode, we sit down and talk with AMGA guide Joshua Reinig. I met Josh about 7 years ago when I first started climbing. His immediate willingness to share his knowledge and stoke helped shape me into the climber I am today. Throughout his climbing career, Josh has led over 6000 guided trips, established over 2000 first ascents, and is currently in the top 25 all-time contributors to Mountain Project. His deep excitement for climbing and passion for sharing it is contagious energy to everyone around him. In this 2.5-hour conversation, we talk about Josh’s past and how he came to be an AMGA guide involving a freak accident that almost cost him his life. We dive deep into what it means to be a mentor, explain how to manage fear & risk, go over the ethics behind the creation of first ascents, and finally talk about Josh’s most recent undertaking, the creation of the Mt. Whitney Climbing Ranch.

About a year ago both Kyle and I were involved in bone-shattering climbing accidents that changed the way we view the world and ultimately became the spark for the creation of this podcast. In our earlier episodes, we spent time discussing our accidents, recovery processes, and the psychological effects traumatic injuries have on the mind. Having now recovered to a point where we both are participating in climbing and living a pseudo-normal life we felt it was time to talk with some professionals. In this episode, we talk with physical therapists Matthew and Kevin about the bio, psycho, social model of patient care, specific return to sport measures, climbing strain injuries, proper warm-up protocol for injury prevention, and much more.

Please review us wherever you listen to this podcast.

Have a question?

DM us on IG: @the.climbing.majority

Today, in episode 16, we sit down, in person, with Jack Ryan an adaptive trad climber and mountaineer and founder of Paralyzed to Peaks. Jack is not your average trad climber. On November 29th Jack’s neck was crushed in an illegal move done by his blackbelt instructor during a Jiu-Jitsu sparing session. He suffered a broken neck at C4-C5 resulting in paralysis from the neck down as well as numerous strokes due to blood clotting the following morning. He lost everything that day and has been fighting to regain it all ever since. Since his life-changing injury, and having never climbed before, he has begun to forge a new path in the world of adaptive climbing. In August 2020, in tandem with the founding of Paralyzed to Peaks, Jack Ryan became the first and only individual with a spinal cord injury and incomplete quadriplegia to summit mount Whitney and is currently the only individual in the world with incomplete quadriplegia taking the sharp end on sport/trad climbs. He has a large vision for the future including several large technical mountaineering objectives and aims to change the world's perception of adaptive athletes.

Links:

1) Paralyzed to Peaks | https://paralyzedtopeaks.com/

2) IG | https://www.instagram.com/paralyzedtopeaks/

3) Paralyzed to Peaks - The Story of Jack Greener

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLgo20ZAbKk

Harvey is a musician, hairdresser, and climber from Vancouver BC. He is best known for the recent award-winning documentary Crux, a full-length film about his life, his struggle with addiction, and his relationship with climbing. In this conversation we discuss how Harvey fell in love with climbing, the process of filming Crux, and dive deep into mental health, drug addiction and consumption.

The negative stigmatization and false imprisonment of those who use illegal substances has a drastic impact on so many people's lives. We hope that this conversation is apart of reducing this stigmatization and normalizing the struggle people are going through in their own personal journey with addiction.

Watch Harvey's Film "Crux" Here:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/cruxfilm

Harvey's IG:
@harveyharvey

In this episode, we sit down with Max Lurie. Max is an AMGA-certified Rock and Alpine guide and an accomplished alpinist. We get his perspective on several topics, including risk and social media. We talk about the best and worst ways of obtaining climbing knowledge, what it's like to hire a guide, how to best prepare for an objective, and how even a professional guide gets criticism and shame in his DM's.

Resources:

1) Max Lurie's Website

https://alpinetothemax.com/

2) Instagram

@alpinetothemax

3) The American Alpine Club

https://americanalpineclub.org/

In the sport of climbing, we are almost always focused on what's happening on the sharp end, the leader, the art of climbing. But what we seem to miss is that without a belayer climbers are free soloing. While climbing, our ability to stay attached to the wall and the gear we place are our primary line of safety, but our belayers are the ones that in the end save our lives when we make mistakes. We feel that the art of belaying is underrepresented and feel that it needs to be talked about and given more appreciation so in this episode, we sit down with Cody Bradford, an AMGA Rock Guide, to discuss his background and thoughts on the topic of belaying. 

James Pymn, is a British climber who loves routes with character, even if that means assuming lots of risk. From free soloing large multi-pitch routes to leading 7c (12c) trad routes with obligatory 8m (24ft.) runouts, James has had a climbing career one could say is of "full value".  In this episode, we take a look into James' life as a climber, discuss the elusive British grading system, and talk about his accident involving a 70ft fall and an obliterated calcaneus, all while in a foreign country 1,700 miles from home.

Links:

IG: @dirtyroadhard