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by Alpinist Magazine
Since 2002 Alpinist has striven to push creative boundaries with everything we do, from award-winning climbing journalism and creative writing to photography and art. Now, with the Alpinist podcast, we aim to extend our conversations with climbers and community members into interviews and oral histories that will entertain and educate our listeners with everything from dramatic and humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of the most significant issues in the climbing world today. More at alpinist.com/podcast
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- May 12, 202640 min
Kelsey Gray - A World of Routes
When Kelsey Gray tells people he grew up in Houston, they immediately think he's talking about the city in Texas. But he's actually referring to Houston, Alaska. Though he spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, he didn't venture into the mountains until later. He started rock climbing when he was a student at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Around 2008, Gray serendipitously overheard a conversation about how Alaska needed a new rock climbing guidebook. He volunteered for the task. As part of his research for the first edition of the Alaska Rock Climbing Guide, Gray climbed more than 340 routes in one summer. He realized many of them were riddled with old, unsafe hardware and has since dedicated a lot of time and money to replacement. He's now published several guidebooks and books of poetry while climbing and developing routes around the world. We connected with Gray while he was in Thailand. You can learn more about Kelsey Gray in the Local Hero section of Alpinist 92. This episode brought to you by Patagonia Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Kelsey Gray Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- Apr 29, 202647 min
Alita Contreras - Woman Warrior
In the film Guerreras, Alita Contreras is shown preparing for a long, traversing rock route on a cliff in Columbia. Her dog by her side, Contreras mimes the moves, headphones on, eyes closed, meditating on what she's about to climb. Contreras was born in Venezuela, but her Columbian father made sure to keep traditions from his home country alive during her upbringing. Today, she lives and climbs in Columbia and works as a translator and climbing coach. In this conversation, she discusses the challenges of navigating identity after living in seven countries, and speaks to the incredible biodiversity and climbing communities found in Columbia. We also talk about her involvement in the making of Guerreras, a documentary that takes an intergenerational look at women climbers in Columbia. Alita guides us through her tactics for visualization, and speaks to how being engaged in a climb is often the only way she can clear her mind of mental clutter. This episode brought to you by Patagonia Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Alita Contreras Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- Apr 14, 202629 min
Peter Mortimer & Nick Rosen - The Dark Wizard
Climbing documentarians Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen are known for films such as "The Alpinist" and "Valley Uprising." Now the directors are out with a four-part documentary series "The Dark Wizard," which premieres on HBO Max on April 14. The documentary traces the life of Dean Potter, who was well known in the world of climbing for his bold free soloing, BASE jumping, and highlining. But the human behind those efforts was quite complicated, something that is illustrated through interviews with friends, family, and climbing partners—and archival interviews with Potter himself. Mortimer and Rosen reflect on their own relationships with Potter, whom they filmed with often before he died in a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite in 2015. The pair share why they felt this film needed to be made in an honest way and how Potter's journals, provided by his sister, presented a lesser-known side of him, one that was quite vulnerable. This episode brought to you by Patagonia. Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guests: Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen Watch "The Dark Wizard" Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- Aug 27, 202534 min
Will Moss - One Step Further
New York City might seem like an unlikely place for a climber of Will Moss's caliber to hail from. And yet, he managed to find his way from the climbing gym, to boulders in Central Park, to runout trad routes in the Gunks and big walls in Yosemite. It was there that he recently made headlines as being the first person to flash a big wall free route on El Cap in just one day. Moss started climbing in his neighborhood gym when he was ten. For some perspective, that was only a decade ago. It was love at first climb, and he hasn't looked back since. At first, he mainly focused on indoor competition climbing. But when gyms closed during the COVID-19 pandemic he started getting outdoors more. A friend introduced him to the Gunks when he was sixteen, and, as he says, "that's where the dream of trad climbing began." Now twenty years old, Moss's 22-hour push on El Cap this May was the culmination of more than two years of planning. In this conversation, we talk in depth about the historic climbs Will is ticking off at a young age, and what he's planning next as he takes a semester off from pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering to chase his climbing dreams. This episode is brought to you with support from Rab Equipment. Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Will Moss Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- Aug 13, 202541 min
Sonnie Trotter - Commitment to Climbing
When Sonnie Trotter was a teenager, he discovered a portal into another world. Entering the local climbing gym he found challenge, adventure and passion. By sixteen, he was all in, and he made it up his first 5.14 within just a few years. The climbing seemed to come naturally, but figuring out how to make a living doing it took a lot more time—and some trial and error. Early sponsorships covered gas money for traveling to competitions, but it took him a decade to start generating real income as an athlete. He knew that his happiness was directly connected to climbing and so he did whatever he could to do it as much as he could. Looking back at the last thirty years of climbing, Trotter says he's most proud of his willingness to listen to himself and commit to his passion. He recently published "Uplifted," a memoir chronicling those many years of climbing, his role as a father and how he manages to tie it all together. In this conversation, we talk about Trotter's evolution as an athlete, where he finds freedom and why he believes climbing should be fun—even when it's not easy. This episode is brought to you with support from Rab Equipment. Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Sonnie Trotter Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine Purchase Sonnie's book, "Uplifted: The Evolution of a Climbing Life" Photography courtesy of Patagonia.
- Aug 3, 202548 min
Mary Catherine Eden: The Importance of Being Bored
While growing up in Kentucky, Mary Eden was often bored. But it was that boredom, she recalls, that helped her find meaningful interests as she explored her world. It led her to art and to adventure. She didn't discover rock climbing until she moved to Moab in her early twenties. Even then, she says she wasn't a naturally-gifted climber. But, she was determined to learn, and did whatever she needed to do to find gear, mentorship and belayers. She always had the drive, and once she learned how to properly train, Eden progressed, fairly quickly, to being one of the best crack climbers in the world. Her climbing accomplishments include Necronomicon (5.14a) and Black Mamba (5.14b). Today, Eden is a professional climber and artist. She shared the story of her life and journey into climbing in Alpinist 89, and she's featured on the cover of that issue. In this conversation, Mary talks about her growth as a climber and the beauty she finds in the holds and heights of Western landscapes, especially around her home in Moab. She reflects on what she learns about herself through climbing, especially during moments of self doubt and explains why she encourages her friends to fail as often as possible. This episode is brought to you with support from Rab Equipment. Host: Abbey Collins Producer & Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Mary Catherine Eden Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- May 12, 202547 min
Dawn Hollis: Flipping the Script on Mountain Relationships
Dawn Hollis has been obsessed with mountains since she was a small child growing up in Suffolk, which she describes as being "a really flat part of the UK." Her first glimpse of more elevated landscapes came at age nine on a family trip to Wales. The trip sparked a lifelong passion for being in, and studying the history of, these wild places. Later, Hollis had a school teacher who had climbed Everest, and further encouraged her love of mountains. As an adult, Hollis found a niche in researching humans' relationships to mountains and how it has changed over time. Her book "Mountains Before Mountaineering" draws on years of PhD research, and calls into question common beliefs about how peaks were viewed before the eighteenth century. In this episode, Hollis talks about the challenges she's encountered as she upended the belief that mountains were generally feared or avoided during this time. She says our appreciation for mountains pre-dates the modern era—even if historical texts theorize otherwise—and continues to evolve to this day. This episode is brought to you with support from the American Alpine Club. Host: Abbey Collins Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Dawn Hollis Book: Mountains Before Mountaineering Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
- Apr 15, 202547 min
Kai Lightner: The Last Six Years
Kai Lightner is no stranger to the spotlight—or to this magazine. He's been climbing since he was six, when he joined the climbing team at a gym in North Carolina. Four years later Lightner won his first national title, and the wins just kept coming. In 2016, while still in high school, Lightner wrote an essay for Alpinist 55 about learning how to trad climb from Doug Robinson. A few years later, as a sophomore in college, he appeared on this podcast, in conversation with Paula LaRochelle. He had recently taken a step back from climbing and would soon found the nonprofit organization Climbing For Change. A lot has happened in Lightner's life since that last conversation. He spoke up about his struggles with eating and bodyweight as a competition climber, opening up a bigger conversation. Through Climbing for Change, he's been at the forefront of initiatives aimed at making climbing more diverse and inclusive. He traveled to Jamaica and helped build the country's first climbing wall. Lightner even tried trad climbing again, though he says it's still not really his thing. And, last year, Lightner climbed his first 5.15. In this episode, Lightner discusses the last six years, reflects on the importance of community and connection and considers the value of forgiveness. This episode is brought to you with support from the American Alpine Club. Host: Abbey Collins Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn Guest: Kai Lightner Nonprofit: Climbing for Change Subscribe to Alpinist Magazine
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About Alpinist
Since 2002 Alpinist has striven to push creative boundaries with everything we do, from award-winning climbing journalism and creative writing to photography and art. Now, with the Alpinist podcast, we aim to extend our conversations with climbers and community members into interviews and oral histories that will entertain and educate our listeners with everything from dramatic and humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of the most significant issues in the climbing world today. More at alpinist.com/podcast
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