The Nugget Climbing Podcast

This is a short clip that I shared at Darek Krol’s memorial service. I felt that this clip captured some of Darek’s philosophy of life, his spirit, and his humor. I wanted to share it here in case you don’t have a chance to listen through the full 3-hour episode. We will miss you, Darek.  Full Episode:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/darek-krol  

Darek Krol was known by many as the “Mayor of Rifle”. He managed to climb 400+ of Rifle’s roughly 500 routes in his 23 years in the canyon. Darek was killed in an avalanche shortly after this interview. We talked about his love of climbing, about stewardship, and about his close friend, the late Dave Pegg. Darek was well-loved, and he will be deeply missed.  Darek Krol Memorial Fund:  http://www.gofundme.com/f/darek-krol-memorial-fund  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/darek-krol  Nuggets:  4:07 – Discovering climbing in Poland  7:44 – Love at first rock climb, and climbing in his “whities” before harnesses  11:35 – ‘Philology’, and ‘The Conquerors of the Useless’  17:04 – What defines us as human beings, and hugging the planet  26:00 – Balancing relationships with climbing  28:25 – Moving to America  32:58 – Parallel lives in America and Poland, telling stories, and connecting with people in Rifle  38:56 – Climbing as a social sport, Darek’s first trip to Spain in the mid-80s, and selling his sleeping bag to buy chalk and shoes  47:48 – Working for ‘Gory’ (‘Mountains’) magazine, and starting his own climbing magazine  52:25 – Discovering training, building an indoor climbing wall in Poland, and hosting a climbing competition in an arena  59:30 – Waiting to be recognized as climbers, and the quarry in downtown Krakow  1:01:40 – Why Rifle?  1:05:06 – Meditating on the drive to Rifle, and commuting to climb in Poland  1:09:28 – Darek’s “dope” psych-up music, and sharing music w/ Dave Pegg  1:12:45 – Encouragement and self-talk  1:15:14 – Memories of Dave Pegg, and the new Rifle guidebook  1:24:37 – Rifle in the 90s, and Dave’s dedication  1:27:06 – ’Sprayathon’  1:31:28 – Rediscovering Lower Tier  1:38:16 – Movement vs. strength, and “there is always a way in Rifle”  1:41:45 – Kneebar pads and blue duct tape  1:48:58 – RendezSPEW event, and taking over duties from Dave  1:55:15 – Stewardship, and Dave’s legacy  2:04:28 – The bow and arrow  2:09:48 – Climbing his hardest route in his 50s, and excitement to push new ground  2:14:35 – Darek’s project during covid  2:17:38 – “What you eat matters”  2:25:30 – “It’s never too late”, and Stanislaw Lem  2:29:23 – “There is no good and bad”  2:32:38 – More about Darek’s project, and “Vitamin I”  2:41:16 – Trying the Anderson brother’s training program, feeling old injuries, and weighted pullups  2:49:15 – Homemade training weights (bolted rocks), and the magic of training  2:53:55 – Winter skiing and training plans  2:58:10 – Darek’s dry-tooling friend in Poland  3:05:05 – Gratitude  3:10:20 – “I am the mayor of Rifle, I know everybody!”  

In this episode, Steven thanks listeners for an amazing year and for supporting the podcast. He also shares some Christmas karaoke that he recorded in his van...Feedback Form:  thenuggetclimbing.com/feedback  Support on Patreon:  patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

This is part 2 of my conversation with Alex Johnson. We talked about how she improved from 12b to 14a in her sport climbing, why she no longer does weighted pull-ups, isometric training for arm strength, a typical strength training session, performance vs. training vs. practice, and about Athletic Brewing and the Post-Send Lock-Off Challenge.  Support on Patreon:  patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alex-johnson-part-2  Athletic Brewing:  Promo Code: “NUGGET25” for 25% off all orders for new customers  Shop Athletic Brewing Beer  Nuggets:  1:54 – Leveling up from 12b to 14a  5:11 – Testing with Dr. Tyler Nelson, fast hands, and pinpointing weaknesses (finger and arm strength)  12:52 – How Alex trained arm strength, and why weighted pull-ups are “moot”  16:27 – Breakdown of AJ’s isometric arm strength session  20:26 – AJ’s typical strength session layout (bouldering, arm strength, finger strength)  21:43 – Breakdown of AJ’s finger strength session  25:05 – “Snatches” on a campus board for contact strength  28:48 – Athletic Brewing and the Post-Send Lock Off Challenge  33:00 – Sending ‘The Muffler’ V12, and plans to go back to ‘The Swarm’  34:30 – Highballs  37:28 – AJ’s parting thoughts for her team kids, and “never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in”   42:07 – Outro  

This full episode is available for Patrons right now! This is a teaser of a follow-up call with Jasna Hodžić. We talked about the projecting process and Jasna’s notetaking process, what she learned from reflecting on ‘Voodoo’ 14b, and her considerations when choosing a new goal. We also talked about navigating climbing partnerships, and how to be honest upfront to avoid issues later.You can support the podcast and get access to follow-up conversations for $5 per month on Patreon at patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing. The full version of this follow-up call is 1:03:04.

Alex Johnson is a two-time world cup gold medalist and has been climbing at a professional level for a decade. We talked about sieging ‘The Swarm’ V13, her effort to qualify for the Olympics, telling an honest story, failing publicly, lessons from coaching, coming out as LGBTQ, learning about self-love from her partner Bree, and becoming a role model.  Support on Patreon:  patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alex-johnson-part-1  Athletic Brewing:  Promo Code: “NUGGET25” for 25% off all orders for new customers  Shop Athletic Brewing Beer  Nuggets:  4:09 – Mr. Golden Sun  7:40 – Googly eyed elephant  8:36 – Fritz  10:50 – An amazing day in Yosemite with Fritz  13:06 – The 100 V10’s goal, and Alex’s approach to climbing  18:33 – Balancing hard projecting with volume  22:10 – Obsession over a single project, and volume bouldering games  26:06 – The Swarm, trying to qualify for the Olympics, and the vulnerability of failing publically  32:58 – Storytelling and sharing training ideas on social media, and starting to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson  39:45 – Comps vs. outdoor climbing, and “my heart is in rock climbing”  44:38 – Moving back home to coach, and how coaching lead AJ back to competing  49:36 – Practice vs. training vs. performance  52:26 – Balancing practice, training, and performance, and “going to the gym is practice”  55:00 – Practice drills, and working a boulder to learn vs. to send  1:00:13 – Combining training and practice sessions on the same day, 6x2s, and mock comp days  1:02:39 – “Always with intension”, lone-wolf garage sessions, and the vulnerability of training  1:06:40 – AJ’s go-to exercises on the home wall, and “You have to try hard to try hard”  1:09:47 – Coming out, Bree’s quote, and being a role model  1:19:04 – “Be who you needed when you were younger.”  1:19:19 – Gus Kenworthy  1:24:49 – Bree  1:28:56 – Learning about self-love  

My friend Trevor made shirts for The Nugget Climbing Podcast, and I am giving them away to some of you! Well, sort of...Learn more and reserve your shirt at thenuggetclimbing.com/giveaway

Chris Kalous is the host of the Enormocast and has been immersed in climbing for more than thirty years. We talked about training to be a climber in high school gym class, climbing mountains in New Zealand, soloing El Cap in winter, the infamous “Aid Rant” and the mythical grade of A6+, the ‘Freerider’, old-guy training, raising a kid, and the future of the Enormocast.   Support on Patreon:  patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/chris-kalous  Nuggets:  2:41 – Election hangover and my visit to Bonfire Coffee  5:14 – Growing up in the Midwest and reading about John Bachar in Outside Magazine  6:34 – Training for climbing in high school gym class  9:53 – First day of outdoor climbing at Horsetooth Reservoir, and the Outdoor Adventure Floor at CSU  12:15 – Guiding at Colorado Mountain School  15:07 – Chris’s first big international trip to Australia  20:06 – Becoming interested in climbing history, reading ‘Climb!’ cover-to-cover, and idolizing climbers from the 70s  22:29 – Aid climbing in the Fisher Towers  23:30 – Doing an exchange to NZ in ’91, moving to LA, moving away from ice climbing, and starting to climb in Yosemite  27:29 – Climbing A4 in the Fisher Towers, and early aid climbing on El Cap  30:43 – Solo aid climbing ‘Lost in America’ in winter, and aiding through a waterfall  38:33 – Getting down the east ledges in the snow, breaking “the rule”, and the aid climber’s mindset  41:33 – The ‘Aid Rant’, and a breakdown of aid climbing grades (A0 through A5)  47:07 – Aid climbing as an engineering and mental challenge  50:24 – Patron Question: What exactly might constitute the mythical grade of A6+?  51:28 – Patron Question: What is the best way to train for hard aid in a gym?  52:19 – Why Chris moved away from aid climbing  56:30 – How Chris thinks about introducing his son Miles to climbing  57:36 – The ‘Freerider’ chapter  1:06:01 – ‘Learning to Fly’, Didier Berthod, “The bolts don’t make the sport climbing”, and traddy tendencies  1:12:16 – Embracing Rifle, climbing ‘Cantina Boy’, and the mental game of sport climbing  1:16:49 – Back to ‘Learning to Fly’, the advice Chris got from Peewee Ouellet, and taping for finger cracks  1:20:40 – The Canadian Rockies chapter and the FA of ‘Premonition’  1:24:15 – Putting up a 10-pitch 13a in Wadi Rum  1:26:03 – Patron Question: How do you balance fatherhood and climbing? Any secret beta for a new father who would like to keep improving at climbing while being present in his daughter’s life?  1:29:22 – Navigating a relationship with kids, climbing with your partner, and date nights  1:34:08 – Training lessons from working with Kris Hampton (Odub)  1:36:53 – Training can be fun, and “you can do a lot less than you think and still see gains”  1:38:42 – A breadth of experiences, and how climbing harder opens up the world  1:41:11 – One wish about sponsorship and being a sponsored climber  1:43:24 – Hoping to go to Tagia in Morocco, getting shut down on ‘Golden Gate’, prioritizing friends and family in climbing  1:47:34 – The sale offer, and the future of the Enormocast  1:50:31 – The Runout podcast (Chris’s other podcast with Andrew Bisharat)  1:52:12 – Chris’s recommended Enormocast episodes  1:55:11 – Chris’s recommended Runout episodes  1:55:48 – Grateful for Carbondale, CO  1:57:35  – The gift of podcasting, and the guest wish list  2:02:14 – The Mobile Studio 2.0  

This full episode is available for Patrons right now! This is a teaser of a follow-up call with Brittany Goris. We talked about her season in Vedauwoo and some of the top offwidth climbing techniques she learned, about onsighting her first 5.13 trad route in Indian Creek, about how she approaches gear selection and placement for hard splitter projects and onsight attempts, and about her growing finger sizes.You can support the podcast and get access to follow-up conversations for $5 per month on Patreon at patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing. The full version of this follow-up call is 30:50.

Dru Mack is a professional rock climber who spent his formative years in the Red River Gorge, and is now traveling full time pursuing hard sport climbing. Nat Gustafson sits in on our conversation to talk about hard projecting, tricks for maintaining power and finger strength, an update on “The List”, training recommendations, hype up songs, and Dru’s battle with ‘The Crew’ 5.14c in Rifle.  Support on Patreon:   patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dru-mack  Nuggets:  4:12 – Send Frosties vs. sad Frosties, DQ Blizzards, and steak dinners  6:01 – One “health day” per week, and crunches for beach abs  7:17 – Battling ‘The Crew’  9:14 – Project climbing vs. mixing it up, and “every project has a different process”  13:01 – ‘The Flame’, and going on bouldering trips to help his sport climbing  16:10 – Balancing performance climbing with Moonboard sessions, bouldering trips, and hangboarding  18:41 – Dru’s bouldering trip to Estes  19:55 – Bouldering sessions in the gym, and Is, Ys, and Ts  21:35 – Dru’s stretching practice  24:15 – The importance of  fun  26:28 – My breathing challenge from Ethan Pringle  30:07 – The theme I’ve noticed in top climbers through the podcast  31:28 – Introducing Nat, the prospect of shoulder surgery, and “decisions are always easier when they’re made for you”  34:14 – Question for Nat: What are some of the cultural differences you noticed (related to climbing) between Spain and the US? What can you attribute to higher climbing standards in Spain?  38:28 – The Spanish warmup  39:37 – Lessons from climbing with the Pou brothers  41:15 – Nat’s progression from 12d/13a to 5.14 in 3.5 years in Spain  42:31 – Nat’s challenges with the language barrier in Spain and feeling emotionally blunted  44:01 – “You don’t get over the fears.”  46:11 – Learning from friends  49:15 – Social media and room for mistakes and growth  57:37 – Lee and mentorship  1:03:30 – ‘Middle Child’  1:06:57 – Being “Lee” for some other kid someday  1:07:59 – Dru’s biggest weaknesses leaving the Red  1:09:45 – Dru’s first trip to Europe, climbing with J-Star, and doing ‘Fisheye’  1:11:32 – Getting lowered off the end of his rope, and “always getting better.”  1:13:41 – Plans to move to St. George, and what Dru is focusing on to continue getting better  1:15:36 – Dru’s mantras, little victories, and staying positive  1:18:06 – Update on “The List” (from J-Star), and campusing slabs at the VRG  1:22:18 – Stiff shoes and calf raises for kneebars  1:23:48 – Plans to continue “The List”, and balancing volume climbing with projecting  1:28:07 – 5.15?  1:32:51 – Moving to St. George, community, and balancing connection with solo time  1:39:54 – The book ‘Exhalation’  1:43:03 – Productivity vs. downtime, phones as a tool, and asking ourselves, “do I have the time to be entertained right now?”  1:46:37 – Shoutout to listeners! Thank you so much for your questions, seriously!  1:46:59 – Patron Question: What should I do to prepare for a trip to the Red? (given two to three months to prepare)  1:51:47 – Breaking down the “2x2” and the “3x3”  1:54:16 – Best angles to train on for the Red  1:55:03 – How to progress your training leading up to a trip to the Red  1:58:05 – Short summary of Red training  1:58:26 – Fingers and core, and Dru’s current approach to finger strength  2:01:18 – R&B and hype up music  2:03:16 – “Enjoy every second of it.”  2:05:44 – Gratitude for friends and supportive community  2:06:51 – “Would I be ok trying this route for a month and not doing it..?”, and last-ditch efforts on ‘The Crew’  2:09:17 – More gratitude, blue-point-thumb-wrestling, and basketball  2:11:50 – Send Frosty and donuts