The Enormocast

On Episode 236 of the Enormocast, I sit down next to, but for some reason not in, a hot springs pool with Malik Martin and Conrad Anker. Conrad and Malik met at Memphis Rox when Malik was working there, and the North Face had sent Conrad to check it out. Memphis Rox is a unique … Continue reading "Enormocast 236: Malik Martin and Conrad Anker – Brothers, Friends, and Countrymen"

On Episode 235, the 2022 TAPS Edition of the Enormocast has arrived. Returning curmudgeon, Andrew Bisharat, and I rough up FNG Andy Salo on this year’s nearly 2 hour show. Lined up at the guillotine this year are the notions that selling out is a bad thing, climbers are counterculture rebels and free thinkers, the … Continue reading "Enormocast 235: TAPS 2022 – This Podcast is Fo...

On Episode 234 of the Enormocast, I connect via lousy internet with Belgian, Siebe Vanhee. At the moment of recording, Siebe is sitting inside the famous “Caf” in Yosemite valley – the appropriate site of so much spray over the years. Siebe is in the valley with Sebastien Berthe to attempt the Dawn Wall. Siebe … Continue reading "Enormocast 234: Siebe Vanhee – The Tal...

On Episode 233 of the Enormocast, I sit down with musician and climber, Bradley “Chum” Carter. Chum grew up climbing in Tennessee and the greater Southeast, but did stints in the Northwest and Yosemite and Hueco and beyond. Somewhere in there, he also became an accomplished multi-instrument musician. Then came the difficult task of “balancing” … Continue reading "Enor...

On Episode 232 of the Enormocast, I meet up across the pond with fellow podcaster, Niall Grimes. Niall grew up during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and learned to climb on his local crags amid that terrible conflict. But as soon as he knew what was good for him, Niall moved the storied city of … Continue reading "Enormocast 232: Niall Grimes – The Language of Humor"

On Episode 231 of the Enormocast, I connect to the other side of the world with Indian climber, Gowri Varanashi. Gowri learned to climb in the US but fell in love with climbing in her home country of India. Immediately, she felt the need to bring more women into the small, male-dominated climbing community in … Continue reading "Enormocast 231: Gowri Varanashi – Bringing It All Back Ho...

On Episode 230, I connect with Paul Pritchard all the way from Tasmania. Paul’s new book The Mountain Path: A Climbers Journey Through Life and Death examines his life of climbing and life-changing accident on the Totem Pole in Tasmania through the lens of his scholarship in Buddhism. Paul came of age in Wales climbing … Continue reading "Enormocast 230: Paul Pritchard – The Tao...

On Episode 229.5 of the Enormocast, I rebroadcast an interview I did with Luke Mehall over at his podcast The Dirtbag State of Mind Podcast. In this interview, we spend time on the history of the Enormocast, its current state and its future. I get all mushy about what its meant to me and how … Continue reading "Enormocast 229.5: REBROADCAST of Luke Mehall’s Dirtbag State of Mind Podcas...

On Episode 229 of the Enormocast, Steve Schneider joins me from his home in Oakland, California. Though Steve’s resume is longer than almost any previous guest on the show, he seems to fly in the nether regions of the global climbing consciousness. Steve became a YOSAR member and Valley denizen in the early 80s and … Continue reading "Enormocast 229: Steve “Shipoopoi” Schne...

On Episode 228 of the Enormocast, I sit down with climber and guide, Aaron Livingston. A Utah native, Aaron splits his time between Ouray, Colorado and Moab, Utah while guiding for San Juan Mountain Guides. While we get to know Aaron in the first half of the interview, his purpose for coming in the show … Continue reading "Enormocast 228: Aaron Livingston – We Shall Be Brothers"

On Episode 227 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a van (his) in Rifle with return guest Jordan Cannon. Jordan’s career continues to flourish since his last appearance on the Enormocast with Mark Hudon and his first appearance back in 2018. The main topic on the table is Jordan’s saga with freeing Golden Gate … Continue reading "Enormocast 227: Jordan Cannon – The Full Pictur...

On Episode 226 of the Enormocast, Stacy Bare (episode 103) returns to the Enormocast with an urgent message. At this moment, Afghanistan is in crisis and evacuations are underway for allies and Afghans who worked for, collaborated with, and trusted the American mission in their country. Through his Adventure Not War initiative, Stacy travelled to … Continue reading "Enormocast 226: Stacy Bar...

On Episode 225 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a yard with goats with ice climber, Manoah Ainuu. Manoah popped up on a lot of climbers’ radars in the film Black Ice from last year’s Reel Rock, but he’s been a North Face Athlete for 3 years and getting it done in Bozeman for … Continue reading "Enormocast 225: Manoah Ainuu – Life’s Sustenance"

On Episode 224 of the Enormocast, I connect with bouldering legend, John Sherman. “The Verm”, as he is widely known, is a seminal boulderer in America and the world. Known as much for his antics and his legendary toughness, John Sherman also likely bouldered there first as he spanned the continent looking for and developing … Continue reading "Enormocast 224: John “The Verm...

On Episode 223 of the Enormocast, I sit down with legend, John Long. I first met Long, AKA Largo, some 25 years ago in West Los Angeles at a climbing gym. As I got to know him in that gym community, I quickly realized that the John Long I knew from his books like Gorilla … Continue reading "Enormocast 223: John Long – Existential Horsepower"

On Episode 222 of the Enormocast, I connect with Harvey Merritt Wright. Harvey Wright is a climber, musician, and hair dresser from Vancouver, BC and the recent subject of a full length documentary film, Crux. Harvey also deals with drug and alcohol addiction. When Harvey first started climbing, he hit it hard and quickly achieved … Continue reading "Enormocast 222: Harvey Wright – Hea...

On Episode 221 of the Enormocast, I manage to sit down face to face and maskless with Lor Sabourin. Lor’s recent send of East Coast Fist Bump in Northern Arizona piqued my interest and a tip from Mary Eden got them in the room. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, like so many kids before, Lor started … Continue reading "Enormocast 221: Lor Sabourin – Being Themself"

On Episode 220 of the Enormocast, I sit down across the internet with Alex Honnold. A lot has happened to Alex Honnold since we last talked in 2017. Back then, he had just free soloed El Cap, but the Oscar winning film of that ascent was still year away from blowing our minds and moistening … Continue reading "Enormocast 220: Alex Honnold – The Same, but More So"

On Episode 219 of the Enormocast, I connect online with Genevive Walker. Genevive is living the “dream” on the road full time. In the last year, she’s taken some offers for sponsorship and is now trying to reconcile the life of a public figure and “pro” with the realities of living hand-to-mouth in a van … Continue reading "Enormocast 219: Genevive Walker &#8211...

On this BONUS episode of the Enormocast, I rebroadcast an interview we did on Steven Dimmitt’s The Nugget Podcast where he interviews me. Steven and I decided it would be a nice addendum to the Enormcast feed. In the interview, we focus much more on my climbing than any interview I have done previously. If … Continue reading "Enormocast 218.5: REBROADCAST Kalous Talks to Steven Dimmitt...

On Episode 218 of the Enormocast, I connect after some really weird internet glitching with climber and author Mark Synnott. Mark’s book The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest and its imminent release was the occasion for our talk, but the convo quickly turns to our shared past and his personal struggles … Continue reading "Enormocast 218: Mark Synnott – 5...

On Episode 217 of the Enormocast, I connect after some internet trouble with the indomitable Michaela Kiersch. Michaela grew up a Chicago girl – loving baseball and the White Sox- but when she found the climbing gym, her baseball goals were supplanted. The climbing community embraced Michaela at just the right time as her mother’s … Continue reading "Enormocast 217: Michaela Kier...

On Episode 216 for the Enormocast, I luck into an interview with the elusive Jim Reynolds. Jim popped onto most of our radars with a really fast ascent of the Nose with the late great Brad Gobright followed by some truly audacious solos in Patagonia including an onsight solo up and down of Fitzroy. Finally, … Continue reading "Enormocast 216- Jim Reynolds Searches for the Rhythm"

On Episode 215 of the Enormocast, I connect with climber, writer, former YoSAR member, Lauren Delaunay Miller. Lauren found climbing in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, and quickly made a plan to climb El Cap in 5 years despite not having any idea what rock climbing actually entailed. She pursued her goal not … Continue reading "Enormocast 215: Lauren Delaunay Miller – The...

On Episode 214 of the Enormocast, I beam myself to Sheffield, England, the heart of British climbing, to talk to Pete Whittaker. Pete is one half of the infamous Wide Boyz but not just an offwidth climber. His prowess on cracks of all sizes is well known and has lead to his new definitive modern … Continue reading "Enormocast 214: Pete Whittaker – A Right Wad"