The Climbing Majority

In the age of social media and digital platforms like YouTube, creators often develop a "digital persona" that’s shaped by the content they produce. As viewers, it’s easy to make assumptions about who they are and how they live their lives. Today, we have the chance to peel back the layers and break down the digital persona behind The Gravity Lab YouTube channel. At first glance, this ch...

Today, we continue our conversation with Bryce and Evan about their recent successful completion of The Nose on El Cap. If you missed episode 71, I recommend checking it out before continuing here. After listening to their account of what transpired on the wall during those 72 hours, I came to a realization. When we look up at a piece of rock like El Cap, we imagine what it would be like to physic...

I think you would agree that there is arguably no rock formation more infamous than El Cap . With its massive presence in the development of North American climbing, iconic size, and technical challenges, it stands as a beacon for climbers worldwide to test their abilities on a sea of stone. When we start climbing, El Cap is often at the forefront of our minds—a dream expressed as “Man, I would lo...

Today, we are continuing our conversation with Evan Wisheropp. If you missed part one, I highly recommend checking it out first. It provides a foundation for understanding who Evan is as a climber and how he achieved the objectives we’re discussing today. In this episode, we’ll dive into Evan’s two main passions: desert offwidth splitters and route development. First, we’ll discuss Evan’s recent s...

Today, we are sitting down with Evan Wisheropp, a part-time professional photographer with a full-time passion for climbing. Evan's climbing journey began like many of ours—in a gym. From there, he explored various climbing disciplines until he found his true passions: desert offwidths and route development. Off-width climbing, takes Evan  to Indian Creek and Moab, Utah, every year to tackle...

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in and for being a part of The Climbing Majority. Today, we're diving into part two of our conversation with Myles Moser. If you missed part one, I highly recommend going back to the previous episode before continuing. This episode is PACKED with stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So I will keep this introduction brief. First we explore Myles&...

In today’s world, where social media, technology, and commercialism are at the forefront of our minds, the reasons why we climb can sometimes get a bit confusing. Professional climbers often need an “audience” for brands to market their products to, and climbers everywhere, myself included, share videos and photos of our recent ascents. It makes you wonder… why do we climb? Is it truly for persona...

Welcome back to part two of our chat with James Barrow! In our last episode, we heard about James' journey as a climber and what events ultimately lead to his most recent achievement: The Complete Towers of the Virgin Traverse. A link up that covers 20 distinct peaks, and 18.5k of elevation gain over 28 miles. The terrain involves runouts upon runouts, canyoneering, bushwacking, steep snow tr...

When you hear "Zion National Park," what comes to mind? The Narrows, Moonlight Buttress, and some of the most stunning sandstone cliffs and peaks you’ll ever see, all packed into a canyon visited by over five million people each year. But what about the possibilities beyond the main canyon, beyond the classic hikes and climbs? Today, we’re chatting with James Barrow. He's a father,...

What’s up everyone thanks for being here and for being a part of The Climbing Majority. Today we sit down with Martin Mora, co-founder and developer of Red- Point. Red-Point is a new app where you can use interactive 3d maps to explore and get detailed route information on boulders and crags. If you haven't already seen their social posts of their app in action…definitely go check them out. ...

In today's ever increasingly polarized world it can be difficult to have challenging conversations. Kyle and I are well aware that the issue of representation in sport is one that does not affect us personally. However we were lucky enough to sit down with all around rad dude, climber extraordinaire and recent new father Eddie Taylor to learn about his ascents and what his thoughts were on th...

Today, we're diving into something that most of us are all familiar with - Mountain Project. It's the guidebook that's always at our fingertips, supported and enriched by our very own community. Yet, as revolutionary as it has been for sharing and discovering climbs, it brings up a few questions that we might easily overlook. Questions like, who actually owns the data we input? What...

The mountains will try to kill us and yet they have no malice. .  They freeze us and yet warm our souls.  . They fill our lives with joy and yet have nothing tangible to give.  . The mountains deserve our respect.  . They require meticulous preparation, mentally, spiritually and physically. Today we are sitting down with a master of preparation. Scott Johnston is a world renown Endurance coach. So...

Have you ever imagined what kinda person you have to be mentally and physically to climb some of the hardest routes in the world? Maybe how that person views themselves and their own accomplishment? Or even how they might view the everyday climber?  In this conversation we wanted to move beyond what it's like to climb hard. What are the lessons of a 5.15 climber and how can we apply Jonathan&...

Today we are sitting down with my good friend Bryce. Funny enough, I met Bryce before either of us were climbers. We each found climbing separately, but inevitably we roped up and quickly became a great team. Recently, Bryce and I spent a weekend trad climbing in Red Rock Canyon. Despite not climbing together for several years, getting out on the rock in red-rocks felt just as fun, and natural as...

Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence that might not be suitable for all audiences, especially children. If you're not in a space to listen to this content, please consider saving this episode for another time. On May 28th of 2018, Chad O’Melia was brutally stabbed to death in his own home by his girlfriend Bryn Spejcher after they had smoked marijuana together. The...

I would argue that our climbing community is mostly open, kind, and understanding. But I am sure we all have our own experiences with people who are not. The silent judgy squad that think they own the crag. The keyboard warrior that spreads hate, judgment, and negativity behind the protection of a screen.  Today we sit down with Landon McDowell, a self proclaimed “Reformed Elitist”. Having started...

We are celebrating two years of podcasting and taking a look back at the growth and development of the show. We've covered a wide range of topics in the past year including recreational climbers and professional athletes involved in tragic accidents, huge accomplishments,  and much more. We are excited to continue exploring new conversations in the coming year and are also excited to announce...

Welcome to the last episode of 2023. Thank you so much for being a part of our growing community…It means a lot to Kyle and I that you are here.  As climbers we've all seen videos and media depicting near impossible feats of physicality. You've probably seen these videos and thought “I could never accomplish something so hard”. But are these limitations we put on ourselves real? While ou...

This podcast is no stranger to traumatic life altering accidents. It is easy to let these events cripple us, and hard to allow them to transform us. Jason Hardrath, PE teacher from Klamath Fall, OR and competitive endurance athlete who’d just qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Found himself ejected from a moving vehicle. He suffered a broken shoulder, collapsed lung, torn ACL and...

Teamwork…Communication…and Trust…are all paramount characteristics of a successful climbing partnership. And our safety is based around our own humility, proficiency, and confidence in the mountains…. The perfect balance of all these attributes is a complicated equilibrium to achieve. Today’s story is about what can happen when these pillars start to fall apart. When the ego takes over confidence…...

The Mountains test us, and shape us. We cannot lower the mountains. So we must elevate ourselves to their level. We should strive to choose goals in life that will challenge us, test us and that we think are impossible. Only through aiming at the highest peaks we can possibly envision will we truly transcend the suffering of the world to find meaning and purpose. For some this may be being a good...

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 d...

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 s...

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. Coli...