After a few weeks of thinking about it, I've put my finger on what I learned about climbing by looking back at the 1980s, and I'm ready to reveal where we go next season.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

Today, in the final interview of the season, we are talking to young legend in the making, Jordan Cannon, who is fresh off of an incredible season of big wall climbing. Most important for this conversation is his recent ascent of The Free Salathé, including the infamous Pitch 19, one of only a handful to do the route this way.

Jordan’s emphasis on aiming for the best style possible without letting that get in the way of having an incredible experience is refreshing. It’s not about rules. It’s just for the love of the game.

In this episode we get nerdy about some of the individual pitches, including Pitch 19, the roof and the headwall, and try to parse out some of the confusing history. We also discuss Jordan’s ascent, the style he aimed for, and the compromises he had to make. And finally, why Jordan isn’t yet finished with The Free Salathé.  

Jordan on Instagram

Watch Free As Can Be

PREORDER THE BOOK AND GET BONUS EPISODES!

BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

Mark Hudon is a bonafide climbing legend. One of the best free climbers of the 70s and early 80s, he and partner Max Jones looked past convention and moved hard free climbing to the big walls of Yosemite. His article Long, Hard and Free inspired a whole generation of climbers, including Todd Skinner and Paul Piana, and laid the groundwork for the game that is Yosemite big wall free climbing.

In this episode we discuss the idea that eventually led to the Free Salathe, how Mark felt about it finally getting done, and how his philosophy about climbing has changed over time. 

Find Mark online

Read Long, Hard and Free

Watch Free As Can Be

PREORDER THE BOOK AND GET BONUS EPISODES!

BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

----------------------------------

Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

Steve Bechtel is a Wyoming climbing legend who moved to Lander when the limestone at Wild Iris was discovered and helped to develop it alongside Todd Skinner and Paul Piana. 

In this episode we discuss the sides of Skinner and Piana that often get lost when listing accomplishments - their roles as friends and community builders. Their humanity.

Find Steve online.

PREORDER THE BOOK AND GET BONUS EPISODES!

BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

After causing a ruckus in Yosemite Valley and Index, Todd Skinner didn’t slink away. He looked up. Way up. At El Capitan.

He and Paul Piana had been dramatically influenced by an article written by Mark Hudon called Long, Hard and Free, and the dusty disappointment of the Valley Demi-Gods wasn’t going to hold them back. 

Using tactics borrowed from the future, Skinner and Piana got to work on their big objective, free climbing the Salathé Wall. Many great climbers had made free attempts. Each contributed to the mystique. Several claimed it would never go free. The two cowboys from Wyoming didn’t believe that - they had been collecting skills that made them uniquely suited for this route. The flaring cracks of Vedauwoo. The runouts of The Needles. The pin scars of City Park and The Renegade. The dynamic climbing of Hueco Tanks.

It would be, all at once, a notice of change and a love letter to the past.

BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

----------------------------------

Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

By the middle of the 1980s, the shift to sport climbing was in full swing. Two Wyoming cowboys, Paul Piana and Todd Skinner, recognized that the strength they’d gained from sport climbing would give them an advantage on projects left behind by the previous generation. However, that previous generation wasn’t so quick to embrace the changes. Particularly in Yosemite Valley, resistance was massive – they wanted their walls preserved in a time that was already in the past.

It would take a new age maverick to push through the noise, but that maverick would need a calming and realistic voice beside him. 

BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA!

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Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

Rob LeBreton wears a lot of hats. First, he’s a long time friend of the show, but he’s also a dad, husband, gym owner, former president of Sport Climbing Australia, and absolute climbing legend - the first Australian to establish climbs of 31 and 32 (13d and 14a) in Australia. 

After the Snowbird episode came out, Rob sent me a video of the finals that he had recorded onto VHS back in 1988, which resulted in several things. First, I got excited to see the famous Edlinger moment at the top of the wall. Second, I posted it on YouTube and have been blown away by how many people are excited to see it - the link is in the shownotes - and third, it made me realize how much someone across the world can be impacted by a story and the media created around that story. So I asked Rob to come on the show so I could better understand where Australian climbing was in '88 and what seeing this television broadcast meant to him.

Watch the Snowbird Finals Video at https://youtu.be/Gl0spp0S34Q

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

Alan Watts is widely recognized as the father of American sport climbing and a leading developer at Smith Rock. However, most don’t know about his impact on the indoor climbing industry in the US or the fact that in 1988 he set for the very first international climbing competition in the country - Snowbird.

In this episode we discuss his role as route setter and judge, and how that meant he had an up close and personal view of the drama that unfolded during semi-finals. We also speculate as to what might have happened had the original rules held rather than the World Cup rules. What if Didier hadn’t been disqualified? What if Destivelle had remained out or if that huge move in the middle of the finals route had been a little smaller?

Watch the finals of Snowbird 1988!

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

In 1985, 19 of the top French climbers signed a manifesto against competition climbing. But competitions came anyway. Quickly, most of those same signees defected - becoming the climbers to beat at every event. As happens in every competitive sport, rivalries were formed, and would play out in the vertical theater. 

In 1988, America would host its first International competition at Snowbird in Utah's Little Cottonwood Canyon. The 115 foot artificial wall would become a battlefield.

Competition versus climbing.

It was going to be a showdown. Several of them.

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!

A big part of my research for any UK climber ends up being first, climbing-history.org run by Remus Knowles, but then immediately after I start reading endless threads on UKclimbing.com. While there, I often bump into an authoritative voice who obviously absolutely LOVES climbing history. Ted Kingsnorth. 

I first came across Ted’s name when he made an extended effort to climb Just Do It at Smith Rock - a route whose history we detailed last season and I’m sure Ted’s descriptions of the route influenced the episode. Ted made multiple trips to Smith from the UK over 3 years before succeeding, and it’s that determination and belief that made me take notice. 

I could have reached out to a lot of people to talk about the influence of Jerry Moffatt, but as you’ll hear in this conversation, Ted was absolutely the right person. 

Follow Ted on YouTube and Instagram.

Image credit: Sam Lawson

Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.