The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Maddy Cope is a world-class rock climber and the head of education for Lattice Training . We talked about Maddy’s transition from dancing to climbing, living in a shack in the woods in Chamonix, and lessons from her personal reflections on climbing. We also talked about Lattice’s new online training course that Maddy was in charge of creating and gave a discount for listeners! Check out the Lattic...

Nathan Williams is obsessed with ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ 9A/V17, and estimates he has spent 100+ days trying it. We talked about getting mentored by Jimmy Webb and Kasia Pietras and sending his first V10 within one year of climbing, why he took a year off, falling in love with ROTS, how to stay psyched after bad days, friction control, climbing with a purpose, gaining legendary finger strength...

Neely Quinn returns to the podcast! We talked about how doing mindset work with Hazel Findlay changed her life, why she decided to become a life coach herself, simple tactics for working through negative emotions and banishing shame, why working on your mindset will make you climb harder, and much more! Neely also gives Steven a life coaching session and helps him find more contentment with his cl...

Simon Lorenzi is a world-class climber from Belgium and the first person to climb three boulders graded 9A/V17. We talked about lessons from his three hardest boulders, tactics for trying ‘Burden of Dreams’ in -13°C, the projecting bubble, the goal of struggling, dealing with bad weather on ‘Alphane’, facing frustration with optimism, using a book under his kneepad on the FA of ‘Soudain Seul’, dre...

Carlos Mason is a filmmaker and the creator of SENDING , a new film featuring Ethan Pringle, Anna Hazelnutt, and Dan Beall. We talked about how a car commercial inspired this unique film, why he chose Bishop as the primary location, writing the poem that became the narrative for the film, the connections we form through climbing, how the in-between moments make up our experience, what it took to m...

Davis Ngo (dr.climb) is a climber, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Instagram personality. We talked about his upbringing as a first-generation Vietnamese American, blowing up on Instagram, why Sean Bailey deserves to make a living from climbing, breaking his back while highballing, overcoming fear after his injury, his dream of creating a bouldering competition in Bishop CA, and much more! Become...

Stefano Ghisolfi is an Italian professional climber and one of the most accomplished sport climbers in the world. We talked about racing bikes growing up, discovering climbing, using humor in his YouTube videos , how having fun helps him send, why he loves projecting limit routes, chasing the impossible, trying ‘Silence’ 9c, sending ‘Excalibur’ 9b+, two drills for legendary endurance, supporting h...

Graham Zimmerman is an award-winning alpinist, writer, filmmaker, and climate advocate. We talked about his harrowing ascent of Mt. Bradley in his early 20s, getting injured in New Zealand, how his relationship with risk has evolved, losing friends in the mountains, the mystery of passion, the 100-year-plan, falling in love with his wife Shannon, getting shut down on K2 by global warming, the clim...

Jesse Grupper is a 27-year-old American who will be competing at the 2024 Olympics. We talked about his nomad lifestyle, the idea of “training trips”, climbing as an art form, the concept of optimistic training, thinking of ourselves as bodies of water, how he turned around his bouldering after placing last in his first World Cup, balancing Olympic prep with his job, soft robotics, and more! Becom...

Will Bosi is back to talk about sending ‘Return of the Sleepwalker, his third V17/9A! We talked about surprising himself by sending the stand start in three sessions, why ROTS suited his style better than he expected, how he trained during the bad weather breaks, his process, how he felt on the send, how ROTS stacks up against his other hardest boulders, plans to try Megatron V17 and return to Ter...

Paul Houghoughi ( The Climbing Physio ) is one of the top physiotherapists in the world for climbing injuries. We talked about how to rehab lumbrical injuries, training with hypermobile fingers, wrist strengthening exercises, causes of synovitis and capsulitis, why stretching your fingers is important, blood work for stiff joints, tennis and golfers elbow, how to decipher different types of elbow...

Charlie Schreiber returns to the podcast! Charlie joins me from Fontainebleau to talk about the epiphany he had in Rocklands, leaving his job to focus on Paradigm Climbing, teaming up with Alex Johnson, getting obsessed with ‘The Big Island’ 8C/V15, building a perfect replica of the boulder, how to train on your limit projects, the concept of the “ideal circuit”, and much more! Become a Patron - 7...

Kai Lightner is back on to talk about his recent send of 'Life of Villains' 5.14d/9a at the Hurricave! We talked about the emotional rollercoaster of sending 'LOV', how it felt to send 9a in his current body, not rushing the process, his trip to Jamaica, bolting his first route, what's going on with Climbing 4 Change, and more! Donate to C4C: climbing4change.org Kai’s Original Episode: EP 55: Kai...

Adrian Vanoni is an up-and-coming finger crack wizard who has been on fire for the last few years. We talked about him breaking into 5.14, freeing El Cap ground up and then in a day, training for the famous ‘Cobra Crack’ using a campus board, doing the first free ascent of a 5.14 finger crack in the alpine, lucid dreaming about beta, going after hard routes that will force you to grow as a climber...

Anak Verhoeven is a professional climber from Belgium and one of the most accomplished female sport climbers ever. We talked about growing up with her mom as coach and dad as trainer, why she quit competitions, dealing with a strange injury that plagued her for 3+ years, winning her first World Cup, building 9a+ endurance with mediocre training facilities, making up rules in the gym, her onsightin...

Jakob Schubert is one of the greatest competition climbers ever. In 2023 he won the World Championships in both lead and combined, secured his ticket to the Paris Olympics, sent his first 9c with his FA of ‘B.I.G.’, and sent his hardest boulder with ‘Alphane’ 9A. We talked about his incredible year, learning from Adam Ondra’s risky and efficient climbing style, what he learned from failing on ‘Sle...

Jon Cardwell is back on to talk about his new route ‘Wind Up Bird’ 5.15b at The Fortress of Solitude in CO, how moving away helped him send, what he learned from failing on ‘Super Crackinette’ in France, how he applied Uphill Athlete principles to his training for sport climbing, plans to go back for the extension, bolting 5.15 projects in New Mexico, and much more! Jon’s Original Episode: EP 50:...

Dr. Tyler Nelson is back on the podcast! We talked about the biggest takeaways from all of his years of finger strength experimenting, how he warms up for a limit bouldering session, how to gain finger strength while minimizing risk, the value of wrist and hand training, common causes of climbing injuries, his advice for my trip to Hueco, what he learned from his trip to Squamish, why climbers sho...

James Pearson is one of the world’s best trad climbers. We discussed a 15-year-old controversy that nearly ended his career, how meeting his wife Caroline saved him, climbing his first 9a after learning how to train, eGrader and quantifying E grades, his decision to suggest E12 for his new route ‘Bon Voyage’, why he was afraid of becoming a dad, what kids taught him, and much more! This was one of...

Brooke Raboutou is an Olympian and a V15 boulderer from Colorado. We talked about growing up in a family of world-class climbers, balancing college with training for the Olympics, her mindset for competitions, why she meditates every day, her favorite hype music, working on her confidence, using pressure as fuel, focusing on the bigger picture, competing to win while supporting friends and teammat...

Will Anglin returns and is joined by coach and trainer Matt Jones . This is one of the most valuable episodes I’ve ever recorded. It’s a GOLD MINE for anyone who wants to progress their climbing. Will and Matt provide clear and in-depth guidance for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers in this three-hour masterclass. If you feel stuck at a plateau or simply want to progress to the next le...

Travis Tameirao is a 33-year-old from Rhode Island. On August 13, 2018, his life changed in a freak accident in the climbing gym. Three years and a dozen surgeries later, Travis miraculously returned to climbing and sent his first V10 and V11. We talked about his accident, getting a full knee replacement, how he made a full recovery, his incredible wife Katie, why he swims four times per week, tre...

Melina Costanza swept the US National Championships in October, making one hell of a comeback after her competition break. She returns to the podcast to talk about why Nationals was the hardest competition she has ever done, how to use nerves to focus and thrive, training for Nationals, praising effort, her fueling strategy, gaining weight to be more powerful, Alex Johnson’s hype shirt, balancing...

Pete Whittaker is widely regarded as one of the best crack climbers of all time. We talked about his current trip to Moab trying Stranger Than Fiction, how he trained for the FA of Crown Royale 9a, the skills needed to climb cutting-edge cracks, why he is still working on improving at ring locks, the futuristic Crucifix Project, his most fun/rewarding/miserable/traumatic trips with Tom Randall, an...

Matt Segal is back on the podcast! Matt is one of the boldest trad climbers of his generation and just had his best climbing year ever at age 39. We talked about his new YouTube channel cooking show, his top cooking tips and the key to making delicious food, how he prepared to send Kryptonite 9a, and his ascent along with teammates Jesse Huey and Jordan Cannon of the famous Todd Skinner route ‘Cow...