The Climbing Majority

As climbers we are aware of the finality of our actions. The possibility of death is always looming. Paradoxically, knowing this, is what can make us feel so alive. We know our actions have consequences, and only through the mastery of body and emotions can those consequences be mitigated to avoid the finality of death. Our guest today is no stranger to death. Austin McCall completed 13 tours of duty in the military. Operating in both Iraq and Afghanistan with the army's 75th Ranger Regiment. In this conversation we discuss how Austin began to work with the Veteran Adventure Group where he plans and leads climbing expeditions around the world. We discuss his military service, a rescue on Denali, a whipper at 17,000 feet, the bonds formed through climbing and much more. 

A word of caution, This episode discusses combat, death, and an incident where Austin took grenade shrapnel to his face, it is graphic and heavy by nature. 

Become a supporting member of The Climbing Majority to unlock the exclusive full length video of this episode

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:

Veteran's Adventure Group

Welcome back everyone! We are about 1.5 years into this podcast and you are currently listening to our 50th episode and are rapidly approaching 30k all time downloads and just wanted to say thank you for being a part of this growing community, Max and I are beyond pumped that your here, and are excited to keep sharing stories of climbers around the world. 

Today’s conversation is about my recent successful summit of Mt Russell via the Fishhook Arete in the Eastern Sierra in California. While, thankfully, nothing dramatic occurred, we talk about the new permit logistics found for the Whitney Portal area, the complications of professionally documenting a high alpine ascent, the benefits of radios in the alpine, and finally the play by play of our climb…which included a single nut rappel made after a route finding error.

Become a supporting member of The Climbing Majority to unlock the exclusive full length video of this episode

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]

Climbing can be risky, and it's easy to overlook those risks when you've never experienced them first hand. You might hear stories of injuries or even fatalities, but until you experience something first hand you are missing a true understanding of the risks you are taking. Enter Colin Jokisch, a seasoned climber whose world changed after a near-fatal fall on an Arkansas roof crack. Colin's accident gave him PTSD, especially when using trad gear—a sentiment Max and I deeply understand. Like most of us his love for climbing didn't go away. Instead of choosing to quit the sport altogether or to never push his abilities again he pivoted to the art of rope soloing, finding it a safer way to tackle challenging trad lines. Today, we dive into Colin's harrowing experience, the mental, physical, and emotional toll of climbing accidents, and finally we cover the ins and outs of the elusive practice of rope soloing. 

Become a supporting member of The Climbing Majority to unlock the exclusive full length video of this episode

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]

Our guest today is not a part of the majority; he is the very definition of a small minority of athletes doing unfathomable feats. Today Kyle and I are sitting down with Jack Kuenzle, a former Navy Seal who grew up in Dallas Texas. Jack attended Yale receiving his B.A before he joined the Navy Seals and completed Basic Underwater Demolition Seals Training (BUDS). He is best known for his pursuit of FKT,s. Some of his accolades include Beating Killian Jornet’s fastest known times on the 66 mile Bob Graham Round, a mountainous traverse around England's lake district. Moreover he beat Killiants FKT on Denali this past year, this is where Jack and I met. Heis also credited with numerous fastest known times such as Mt Whitney CA, Mt Shasta CA, Mt Hood and Mt Rainier to name a few. Additionally Jack is a coach for Evoke Endurance where he is under the tutelage of legendary Coach Scott Johston. In today's conversation we discuss Jack's history, what led him to be the athlete he is today, his training and nutrition and finally we discuss some of his major ascents, FKT’s and what he plans to do in the future.

Become a supporting member of The Climbing Majority to unlock the exclusive full length video of this episode

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]

Climbing larger mountains, especially ones that are far away from home… takes a lot of planning, training, logistics, and a little bit of luck. We spend months preparing for what sometimes comes down to a single day on a mountain. So what happens when you're 700 ft from the summit, and you realize touching the top might mean you won’t come back? While that seems like an easy choice…. The weight of seemingly wasting months of planning, training, and traveling can be almost too much to bear…This is a decision we are all faced with at some point in our lives as mountain climbers… do we risk everything and continue on? Or do we swallow pride and choose to climb the mountain another day? 

This is the exact situation our guest Joshua Kasumovic found himself in high up on what is possibly the most iconic mountains in the world. This is Josh’s story of the Matterhorn.

Become a supporting member of The Climbing Majority to unlock the exclusive full length video of this episode

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]

As mountain athletes it's easy to get consumed by our objectives and our drive to continuously improve and get stronger can be draining. It can make us forget that one of the most meaningful parts of the mountains is the people we meet on the way, the bonds we form and the experiences shared.

In this conversation we explore what drives a 25 year old who was born and raised in the flat state of Long Island New York to pursue a challenging solo ascent of Denali. Our Guest today is Alex Mitchko, an apprentice ski and alpine guide. I met Alex this past spring while climbing Denali in Alaska. During his expedition he had a 45 mph skiing accident…. and two harrowing crevasse falls. Amazingly he walked away injury free.

Spending time with Alex, you could see his passion for the mountains radiating from him. But what stood out even more was his ability to connect with people. Alex brought out the best in everyone around him and is a great reminder that the people we are with are just as important as the objectives we covet.

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]

The cool thing about climbing is that it means something different to everyone. From the weekend warrior trad dad to the dedicated dirtbag, each of us has our own reasons for interacting with the vertical plane. For Brenden, he has always wanted climbing to mean something to him, and for his efforts in the climbing community to mean something to others. With a natural proclivity to bouldering, Brenden, on his first outdoor bouldering trip during his first year of climbing, sent a v9. At first, it seemed like his direction was going to be focused towards becoming a professional climber. That was, until he found the art of route development and a brand new area that houses hundreds of undeveloped classic bouldering routes... This conversation with Brenden Baars, is about how he found what will be the next big destination for climbers to get a taste of what being ‘disconnected’ and climbing in nature feels like Plus, he says the climbing is GOOD—really good.

Welcome to the Nooks….

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

Brendan's IG

The Nooks

Mountain Project

Buy The Guidebook

Support the OAC

As climbers we all have our own goals and ambitions. In 2019 I had the goal of climbing the tallest mountain in North America. I had just recently completed an ironman and was looking for my next challenge. Life had other plans for me though. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic and a fall that nearly took my life all happened in 2021. Fast forward from 2019 to present day my girlfriend Rae and I have just returned from Climbing the West Buttress of Denali. Four years have passed and I've learnt a lot of things since initially wanting to climb Denali. But the thing that stands out to me most in the last 4 years is that life can be really hard, but you can do really hard things if you commit and put your mind to it. So whether “your summit” is raising a family and having a successful career or climbing mountains, maybe both? We all have peaks to summit and lows to experience. It's how we deal with our lowest moments that define us. Climbing Denali was the culmination of 5 years of endurance training and climbing. This experience changed me for the better. I hope it inspires you to try hard and get out and climb. In this episode Kyle and I will be sitting down and sharing everything I learnt while climbing the tallest mountain in North America.

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]

As a budding trad climber, climbing hard and improving my grades is something I've struggled with the last several years. Time, energy, and life commitments can make it hard to focus on certain goals. As someone who is always looking to improve, sometimes I need help organizing and focusing on the correct things with my limited time.

You've probably found yourself in a similar situation? Maybe you want to just learn a little more or maybe you want to take your climbing to the next level. One thing is for sure is that a coach can help you ... .push you…. and mentor you ... not only to be a better climber but also to be the best version of yourself. In today's episode we’re sitting down with Charlie Schreiber, a professional boulderer, climber and coach.

Charlie has been coaching adults and climbing at a high level since the age of 16. On a fast track to sitting alongside the most elite climbers in the world, his career came to a sudden shift when he seriously injured his elbow. Now…while still projecting V14, his major focus is creating the next generation of climbers. Charlie now spends most of his time coaching young climbers that are headed to world cups and the olympics.

In this episode we get to hear about Charlie's experiences as a young competition climber, the difficulties of making it as a pro, and the nuances of route setting and training physiology. Finally we get to ask Charlie some tips and tricks that can help you improve your climbing.
 
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:

Charlie's Instagram

Book Virtual Coaching w/ Charlie (Now Accepting New Clients)

As we’ve seen on this podcast, there can be some serious consequences to playing in the mountains. But one thing that seems to stay consistent, is that no matter how traumatic the injury, how devastating the loss, we are always finding our way back to the mountains. Why is that? What calls us back to the activity and environment that caused the pain in the first place?

Our guest today is Steph Abegg. Climber—Photographer—Adventurer— and Math&Data Nerd. For as long as she can remember, she has been triply afflicted with an insatiable thirst for adventure, a persistent awe of the natural world, and a need to document the world around her. During her years of adventure and alpine climbing Steph witnessed a major accident and  sustained two major injuries herself that would have completely sidelined most athletes. But for her, not climbing, not being in the mountains just simply wasn’t an option. As she puts it, The Mountains are in my Blood…

In our conversation we dive deep into Steph’s past, chat about three major accidents, discuss her recent move to Estes Park, and finally we cover her website where she has meticulously documented over 750 routes with trip reports, photos, and route overlays. 

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:

Steph's Website