For the Love of Climbing

Corey's dad introduced him to climbing and the outdoors. In 2010, Corey’s dad died by suicide. We don’t actually have a complete count of suicide attempt data because the stigma surrounding it leads to a lot of underreporting. But having an open dialogue and sharing stories like Corey’s is helping to break down the barrier of this stigma, and lead to more conversations and understanding of depress...

This episode is about eating disorders, body positivity, and just owning your shit, specifically through the lens of climbing and one woman’s experience.

Matt is the editor-in-chief of Climbing Magazine, a published author, a husband, a father, and a pretty well-seasoned climber. And even though most of his life has not been easy, Matt has found his answers—beyond benzodiazepine addiction, beyond mental distress, beyond chasing dragons of treating it—to get down to the heart of the matter.

Fact: fear stops so much of what we do. But after one life-altering day in the Gunks, Caitlin stopped putting things on hold and made some big changes because she saw what happens when you lose the chance—when you always think, “I’ll do it later.” and then later doesn’t exist.

Angela has loved to the end of the earth, which is exactly how far she would travel in order to say goodbye to Scott. After two flights that covered every aspect of the Ogre II, search and rescue could find no trace of Scott and Kyle. Adventurous souls leave broken hearts behind, but what about the aftermath? This episode is in loving memory of Scott Adamson and Kyle Dempster, who left the world w...

There’s a remarkable beauty of relative perspective. Two weeks before leaving for Patagonia for a climbing trip, Alex’s life was turned upside down. Introduction from the one and only Conrad Anker (he’s an alpinist: pronounced “al-pee-nist”).  

This episode is about best friends and healing, and it’s a reminder that grief happens, but so does joy.

When we're born, a doctor proclaims that we are male or female, based on what our bodies look like. But some people's gender identity is just different from what was initially expected at birth.

Bryce’s brother Tyler died in a climbing accident but because of his death, Bryce became more intrigued with the sport that took his brother’s life. He says he has a unique relationship with climbing, and he doesn’t believe that the grieving process is this big scary monster we all think it is.

You haven't heard this story yet. But, maybe you have. Maybe it's a sister, a girlfriend, a best friend. Maybe it's you. Survivor stories like these are creating a global framework for how to end sexual violence–by talking about it. If there is any hope for having meaningful, nuanced discussions about this, transparency is our greatest ally. This is one survivor's story, out of millions. This is e...

Did you ever do something you loved, but for all of the wrong reasons?

Every job has its pros and cons. Some can be pretty chaotic and most, if not all, don’t always pay employees what they’re worth. But what if one of the downsides of your job was death? Pretty sure they don’t make bonuses that cover that.

When you’re alive and vibrant and healthy enough to choose to go climbing, but your dying mother doesn’t have that choice. What do you call that kind of juxtaposition?

Scarecrow always wanted a brain, but sometimes those things don’t really work as well without the other two.

What do you look for in a climbing partner? Stoke, strength, or most importantly, suffering with you and feeding you cookies on top of pitch twelve? Hopefully the latter.

Have you ever talked to a stranger about some of your deepest fears? Sometimes people mistake vulnerability for weakness, but it takes more strength to show people who you are, rather than hide it. Being vulnerable is an underutilized strength.

This is not a climbing podcast. It's a podcast about choosing vulnerability and talking about real moments (even the painful ones) and how we are all really just shining examples of this messy human existence. Lots of things can happen in a lifetime, and this podcast is about those ugly, awful things that we all have to go through in life.