The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Aaron Shamy has an inspiring story: he won the X Games in the ‘90s, took a 15-year hiatus from climbing, got out of shape, and then began a 6+ year comeback that culminated in sending the hardest route of his life. We talked about his early climbing and hiatus, the turning point, Project 127, living in the crescendo, balancing family life, his 33 days on Flight of the Conchords, the tactics that h...

Matt Samet is the former editor-in-chief of Climbing Magazine, a writer and author, and a sport-climbing pioneer. We talked about his decade-plus battle with benzo addiction, his advice for people who experience anxiety or depression, what Rifle was like in the early ‘90s, how Chris Sharma broke the paradigm, embracing training to send his hardest routes, his new role with the American Alpine Club...

Jeff Patterson is a martial arts instructor with black belt equivalency in 6x different martial arts, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Tai Chi. We talked about how practicing the meditative arts helped his boxing, how 20 minutes of meditation per day for 1 year can permanently change your life, breathing tips for climbers, how to regulate your nervous system, and much more. You can le...

Herm Feissner is a lifer climber based in Fort Collins, CO. We talked about doing the FA of The Practitioner V11 in Leavenworth, WA, in the early 2000s, his training philosophy at 53 years old, how his relationship with climbing has improved, balancing an engineering career with traveling and climbing, discovering and understanding moves, the boulder he is most psyched to complete, and much more....

Sonnie Trotter is a Canadian professional rock climber and one of the most accomplished and respected climbers of his generation. We talked about his goal to climb 5.15, my impression of meeting him at Smith Rock, our parallel family histories, treating life as a game, how the Cobra Crack changed his career, how he trained as a teenager, stamina vs. strength, what makes Dave Graham so strong, and...

Peter Mortimer is an award-winning filmmaker (King Lines, Valley Uprising, The Dawn Wall, The Alpinist) and co-creator of the Reel Rock Film Tour. We talked about his latest project, The Dark Wizard, a new 4-part documentary series now streaming on HBO Max about Dean Potter, which shares the full story of Dean in all of his human complexity—as a visionary, climbing legend, and a tormented soul. Fr...

Dave Thompson is a 5.14 and V14 first ascentionist, alpinist, and coach for Evoke Endurance . We talked about his early climbing in the North Cascade mountains of Washington State, doing the first ascent of some of the best hard boulders in Leavenworth (Beautification, God is in the Details, The Teacup), how he got so strong, how to apply your strength on the wall, the challenges of endurance trai...

Sam Watson is the current world record holder in speed climbing (4.64 seconds) and an Olympic Bronze medalist. We talked about breaking the world record in Paris, how he makes a living, building a social media following in China, the future potential of speed climbing, recovery routines and tools, chess, favorite books, airport stoicism, and more. Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Cl...

Melissa Strong is a boulderer and restaurateur based in Estes Park, CO, who nearly lost her life in an electrocution accident in April 2017. We talked about her accident, what she experienced on the other side of the veil, having her arms sewn together, what climbing was like before and after the accident, skin graft DNA, the healing process of writing Climbing Through , and much more. You can lea...

Joel Unema is a high-performance rock climber and coach for Climb Strong, and has climbed V14 and 5.14b. We talked about how Tyler Nelson helped him unlock V14 finger strength, how Steve Bechtel helped him send a 20+ move roof boulder, how to optimize your power endurance for a sport climbing trip, and much more. Buckle up for a good old-fashioned training chat. The Nugget Training App (14-Day Fre...

Today, I am resharing one of the most valuable episodes I have ever recorded. This episode with Tom Randall was originally aired on Patreon in Feb, 2022. We talked about how to use your friends to discover your strengths and weaknesses, how to work backward from goals, how long it takes to make major changes in your climbing, like switching from bouldering to sport climbing, and much more. Don’t s...

Charlie Boscoe is a former IFSC commentator, writer, and co-founder of the Pro Climbing League, a bold new head-to-head bouldering series debuting on February 28. We talked about his first experience in the outdoors, why Janja Garnbret and Adam Ondra are the G.O.A.T.s, and why climbing competitions are about to get a lot more exciting. You can learn more at proclimbing.com The Nugget Training App...

Chris Schulte is an elite boulderer known for bold first ascents, compression mastery, and a thoughtful approach that prioritizes style over grades. We talked about his evolution as a climber, developing his own style, how Fred Nicole inspired him, redefining progress with age, tips for compression problems and wide cracks, and the state of elite bouldering and cutting-edge grades. Increase Your F...

Christian Beckwith is the former editor of The American Alpine Journal and Alpinist Magazine, and the creator of the award-winning podcast, Ninety-Pound Rucksack. We talked about the formation of the 10th Mountain Division in WW2, the breaking of Hitler’s Gothic Line, stories of mountain gorilla warfare, gear innovations that changed climbing forever, and much more. You can listen to Christian’s p...

Carol Simpson returns to the podcast to talk about life after 80 years old, and everything she does to stay healthy and climb hard. We talked about making the move to Salt Lake, discovering Dr. Peter Attia, her health routines, training for a world record in grip strength, balance training, rediscovering art, and much more. The Nugget Training App | 14 Day Free Trial training.thenuggetclimbing.com...

Domen Škofic is a Slovenian professional climber and a 5x World Cup gold medalist. We talked about his Red Bull Plane Climb project, skydiving, building a climbing gym with his father, retiring from the competition circuit, taking up archery, rediscovering his passion for climbing, sending Move 9b/+ in Flatanger, trying Silence 9c with Sean Raboutou, training lessons, and much more. Red Bull | The...

Steve Moss is a high-level boulderer and the co-founder of a brewery and pizzeria in Spokane, WA. We talked about finding climbing at age 24, his breakthrough season climbing three V12s in less than two weeks at age 40, why discomfort helps us grow, his training routine for the past year, building a successful brewery and pizzeria from the ground up, what matters most in climbing, gratitude for li...

Tyler Stableford is a lifelong climber and psychotherapist specializing in trauma resolution and treatment-resistant conditions. We talked about how to find more joy in our climbing, whether high performers are happier, controlling the inputs while releasing attachment to outcomes, what to do with anxiety before we climb, how to break mental plateaus, memory reconsolidation, why self-compassion wi...

Dr. Jared Vagy returns to the podcast and is joined by three physical therapy students and graduates, Sarah Kremer , Dawson Freeze , and Michael Larson . We talked about three recent articles covering the benefits of seasonality for maximizing climbing performance, rehabbing and preventing common knee injuries while heel hooking, and off-the-wall strength training for climbers. See the show notes...

The Nugget Training App is the ultimate hub for every training session I've discussed with my guests on the podcast. Get guided sessions, track your progress, schedule your training, and more. New features coming soon. Check it out at training.thenuggetclimbing.com

Adrian Ballinger is a renowned alpinist and mountain guide, and has summited Mt. Everest and K2 without supplemental oxygen. We talked about his childhood, misconceptions about what he does, what climbing Everest is actually like, skiing above 8,000 meters, risking his life to send K2, sending Fall of Man 5.13b, how mountaineering compares to projecting 5.13, meeting his wife Emily Harrington, how...

Kerwin Loukusa lives in Leavenworth, WA, and sent his first V12 and V13 last year while juggling a full-time job, wife, and two young kids. We talked about how he improved his flexibility to send the Freerider in Yosemite, bouldering after having kids, home wall training, the key to building persistent strength, bodyweight manipulation, energy availability, beginner's mind, feeling vs. analysing,...

Robb Wolf is a 2x NYT Best-Selling Author ( The Paleo Solution , Wired to Eat ) and a leading voice in health, fitness, and nutrition. In this short segment, we cover the benefits of Vitamin D and Zone 2 cardio, how to optimize your strength training, Robb’s recent health struggles, and why you should never give up on your health. You can listen to the full episode by searching for Something Diffe...

Eryn Phelps is a licensed trauma counselor who specializes in helping outdoor athletes with anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. We talked about how EMDR helped cancer survivor and podcast guest Sol Wertkin, how to navigate time scarcity and get clear on what you want, overwhelm and panic attacks, grief and shame, labels and identity, and much more. Rúngne (Chalk & Apparel) rungne.info/nugget Use code “NUGGET”...

Alex Bridgewater (M.S. in Sports Psychology) is back again to share three new sports psychology skills that have the potential to change your climbing forever. We covered how to practice these skills in your day-to-day life, as well as how to put them into practice in your climbing, and much more.  Become a Patron to get access to the full episode and support the podcast.  *The full version is 1:2...