The Nugget Climbing Podcast

This is part 2 of my conversation with Mikey Schaefer. We talked about climbing as a finite resource, footwear for big walls, rope tricks, Mikey’s “fix and follow” system for team-free ascents, climbing smarter, what Mikey is grateful for, and his refreshing perspective about COVID. You can find part 1 of our conversation in episode 18.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mikey-schaefer-part-2  Nuggets:  1:31 – Climbing ‘Moonlight Buttress’ in his 20s, 30s, and 40s  4:09 – Moonlight getting easier, wearing out climbs, being mindful of the impact we have on climbs and climbing areas, and Mikey’s advocate “rant”  10:06 – How Mikey thinks about footwear, and being smarter (as well as stronger)  16:27 – Tommy Caldwell as a one-show-size climber, and how Mikey chose his shoes for ‘ Moonlight Buttress’  18:45 – Compression socks, warmup up in socks and TC Pros, climbing in approach shoes, and developing footwork by climbing in shittier shoes  22:53 – Tinkering with systems, “It’s easier to climb smarter than it is to get stronger”, weighing gear with a gram scale, and measuring the force of different top rope systems  27:18 – “Friends don’t let friends belay”, Mikey’s “fix and follow” system, and leading in blocks  34:56 – Grateful for financial security, Mikey’s grandfather held captive, and a refreshing perspective on COVID  41:01 – Why Mikey feels content with where he’s at, plans to continue moving the spiral upward, and continuing to be a jack of all trades  

Mikey Schaefer is a photographer, filmmaker, and an all-around climber whose accomplishments range from dangerous first ascents in the mountains to 5.13+ big walls, 5.14 sport climbs, and V10 boulders. We talked about some of Mikey’s most meaningful first ascents, experiences on Liberty Bell, balancing risk and reward, becoming a jack of all trades, and building his pyramid.   Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mikey-schaefer-part-1  Nuggets:  3:03 – The ‘Eggsadilla’  6:56 – Mikey’s first major FA on the South Face of Mt. Bradley (‘Little Big Man’)  14:32 – The Dancing Dihedrals feature, and the A3 rating  18:10 – Getting old/soft (joke), how Mikey’s risk profile has shifted, and balancing risk and reward  21:44 – Putting up first ascents, “Who’s experience am I doing this for?”, and Mikey’s perspective shift in putting up new routes   25:33 – Learning by making mistakes, and when to push your limits  30:22 – Preserving the experience of routes  32:53 – Liberty Bell and the arc of Mikey’s climbing progression, rope soloing, father time, and putting up the hardest big wall route in WA  45:55 – Finding the gem (‘Dark Side of Liberty’)  49:54 – Being called a sandbagger and Mikey’s thoughts on grading routes  56:31 – Mikey’s tendency to not think he’s as strong as he is, “good” vs “great” climbers, and a shifted paradigm  59:00 – Being a jack of all trades, balancing multiple disciplines, how different disciplines help each other in a spiral, and climbing Cerro Torre  1:04:17 – The ‘Why’ behind Mikey being a jack of all trades in climbing, his influences and personality, and being the swiss army knife on productions  1:08:10 – Why Mikey doesn’t set long-term goals or make long-term plans, letting opportunities arise, and not knowing what’s next with COVID  1:13:18 – Varied approaches between different climbers, “There’s no recipe for success”, finding clues, and making the most of the cards you’re dealt  1:17:35 – Adding the training and bouldering bricks to the pyramid  1:19:03 – How Mikey trained to climb his first 5.14, repeaters using the Beastmaker App, weighted pull-ups, and muscle-ups  1:33:20 – Using video recordings as a tool, and front levers with Alex Honnold  1:37:13 – Being a shorter male climber (5’3”), different strength requirements for men and women, and an interesting comparison between Mikey and SJ  1:44:20 – The main benefits of bouldering and training the “try hard muscle”  

Drew Ruana is a 20-year-old boulderer, sport climber, and competition climber who is quickly becoming one of the best rock climbers in the world. We talked about climbing ‘Sleepwalker’ (his first V16), the significance of skin and conditions and tactics for optimizing them, his current training philosophy, transitioning from competitions to outdoor climbing, and his career and climbing goals.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/drew-ruana  Nuggets:  3:14 – Rest day during quarantine, Game of Thrones   4:57 – Bishop in February, ‘Goldfish Trombone’, and the worst skin injury Drew has ever had  6:55 – The Milwaukee fan, a game of 0.1 percents, and the importance of skin and conditions  10:13 – Night sessions and Drew’s light setup  11:02 – Drew’s chalk bucket of skin products  12:32 – Dry Spray, Climb Skin, and accepting bad skin  13:28 – Drew’s V15 rampage, a day in the life while projecting ‘Sleepwalker’, Drew’s best two days of climbing, and the sending drug  18:01 – Why Drew doesn’t warm up on other boulders  19:05 – Drew’s warmup routine  20:38 – How Drew thinks about working on multiple projects at a time vs focusing on one  21:58 – ‘Three Days In Joe’s’, mixing in volume, and doing V14 in a few minutes  23:39 – Griffin Whiteside, and Mike & Ikes as rocket fuel  25:36 – Drew’s training philosophy and workout  29:32 – Drew’s favorite rings exercises  31:17 – A day and B day, and “all the strength comes from recovery”  33:00 – The importance of nutrition and sleep, Drew’s protein intake (1-1.2 grams per lb bodyweight), and PhysiVantage protein powder  35:21 – Why Drew spent two years focusing more on weight lifting than climbing  38:18 – Climbing at Smith Rock at age 3, climbing ‘Dancer’, and Drew’s first set of quick draws  40:26 – Why Drew never felt external sources of pressure, competing as a kid, and the frustration of being too short for competition boulders  45:16 – Sticking it to the man, coach Tyson, and learning to climb tall  48:33 – Shifting motivation from comps to outdoor climbing  50:37 – Olympic qualifiers, world championships, frustrating comp results, and the validation of a successful outdoor season  1:02:39 – FA of ‘Pegasus’  1:06:10 – FA of ‘Assassin’  1:12:04 – Climbing at Smith and how that made Drew the climber he is today  1:13:26 – 5.15 projects at Smith  1:15:02 – “We’ll see where climbing takes me.”  1:16:15 – Psyche for bouldering, School of Mines, and dreams of alpine blocks  1:18:12 – Drew’s career plans, and wanting to give more back to the world than just climbing  1:20:32 – Why Drew thinks Salt Lake City is the best scene for hard training in the country  1:22:55 – A lot to be grateful for  1:25:26 – Instagram and Facebook, getting logged out of Messenger, and “You can always try harder.”  1:28:29 – BONUS: Drew’s campusing routine  

Tara Kerzhner is an award-winning photographer, cinematographer, and accomplished rock climber. We talked about being creative while stuck at home, the importance of shooting what you love, balancing her work with art and climbing, becoming a more powerful climber, and telling stories through film.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/tara-kerzhner  Nuggets:  2:06 – Using the podcast to hangout out with friends  2:51 – Cactuses  5:50 – Working from home, “the snack loop”, and Tara’s favorite tea  11:33 – Working in restaurants, learning to manage money, not having mentors, and a sheltered upbringing  15:21 – Learning to believe in herself, “garbage collecting”, and increasing your percentage of good photos  17:37 – “Shoot what you love”, being grounded for 6 months, and taking risks  19:29 – Some of Tara’s favorite photos and what made them memorable  23:51 – Learning about storytelling and film making, and why Tara feels like she hasn’t made her best film yet  25:16 – Tara’s new film camera  26:50 – Tara’s photo tick list, shooting “new” angles, and Jim Thornburg  29:59 – Balancing working with art and climbing, sending ‘Vesper’, and going in and out of shape  34:24 – Why Tara is considering doing more strength training for photo/video work  38:22 – “Un-Smithing” herself, seeking out more powerful climbs, and ‘Don’t Call Me Dude’  44:26 – Why grades “don’t really make sense”  47:06 – Tara’s goal routes at Ceuse, trying ‘Sprayathon’, and the irrelevance of grades  50:38 – ‘To Bolt’, and why climbing it would be such a meaningful route for Tara  53:33 – Alex Honnold’s free solo big wall tick list  55:02 – Multipitch sport climbing, wanting to go climb ‘Logical Progression’, and why multi-pitch trad climbing isn’t always type 1 or 2 fun  57:55 – Why free climbing El Cap isn’t a current goal  58:53 – Cats  1:00:08 – House cat —> ocelot  1:01:39 – What Tara feels especially grateful for  1:04:25 – Sladies 2, the ethics of what we choose to do right now (during COVID), and why Tara isn’t planning any trips right now  1:06:40 – Why Tara is excited to explore more editorial/journalistic photo and video work in the future, shooting in Fiji, and photos vs videos  1:08:50 – Tara’s website, Instagram, and why she prefers email when responding to people  1:10:32 – Climbing on the home wall, why 45 degrees might be the hardest angle in rock climbing, and “it’s all about body positions”  1:12:13 – Wrap up, why Tara doesn’t like some of her earliest films, and “it’s good to be up on the wall”  

Katie Lambert is an elite rock climber in just about every discipline of the sport. She is also a contributing author for Climbing Magazine, owns a business, and has a master’s in nutrition. We talked about the film Pretty Strong, her training and how she balances the many disciplines of climbing, and nutrition recommendations for climbers.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/katie-lambert  Nuggets:  2:15 – Pretty Strong  4:19 – ‘Father Time’ breakdown, blood blister, dropping the tape, and deciding to go into support mode  9:45 – “A big part of climbing is failing.”  10:49 – What Katie learned from climbing with Nina, and vice versa   13:16 – Deadlifting to fix low back pain, the Berto challenge, pulling 235 lbs, and how deadlifting has helped her climbing  18:11 – Iron Dragons  19:17 – Pinch training and hangboarding  24:36 – Sunday Funday  25:08 – Training power for a trip to the Red, and bouldering circuits (inside & outside)  26:57 – Campusing exercises, the importance of focusing on speed when training power, and campusing endurance  28:24 – The routes Katie was training for at the time  29:26 – Being a multi-discipline athlete, and how Katie thinks about structuring her climbing/training year  32:42 – Why Katie prefers the free-in-a-day style of big wall climbing  34:25 – Linking up ’The Rostrum’ and ‘Astroman’, Katie’s “little suffer bunny”, and feeling fit from The Hulk  36:39 – Goals for future linkups and quick ascents and plans to go back to ‘Father Time’  39:52 – Katie’s go-to climbing shoes  40:58 – “I know who I am and I know what I’m doing.”  44:10 – Why Katie recommends that newer climbers (less than 5 years) just climb a lot in a variety of styles instead of focusing on training  46:24 – How learning offwidth techniques has helped Katie with tufa climbing  48:07 – The one kind of training Katie wishes she had started doing earlier and would recommend for climbers  48:54 – Katie’s three go-to strength exercises, and fingerboarding for healthy fingers  50:59 – Past ankle and finger injuries, why Katie avoids climbing in the cold, and being clammy and cold  53:54 – Katie’s favorite Rhino Skin Solutions products and how she uses them  54:51 – Rehab ideas for elbow tendonitis and finger injuries, and why just taking time off isn’t necessarily the best rehab strategy  1:00:18 – What Katie wishes she knew when she was age 20  1:01:47 – Same question for age 30, noticing a trend of tendon injuries climbing in the cold, my own experience with a finger injury  1:03:38 – How dehydration plays a role in finger injuries, electrolytes, and Katie’s favorite hydration cocktail for cold days  1:04:19 – Masters in nutrition, Bishop Cowork, writing, and nutrition coaching  1:05:30 – Two key nutrition tips/takeaways for climbers, recommended intake of water per day (1/2 fluid ounce per lb of bodyweight minimum), and climbers as sugar burners  1:07:51 – How Katie eats in a day  1:10:10 – Eating red meat, why Katie is into local and sustainable food and why she feels so lucky being in Bishop, Polyphase Farm, and the challenges of feeding a growing population  1:13:52 – Some of the side effects of a crappy diet, why diet is important (even if you look fit), and some of Katie’s recommendations  1:17:29 – Katie’s recommendations for those that want to stick to a vegetarian or vegan diet  1:18:12 – Nuts, and why Katie recommends eating them raw/soaked, and why she recommends avoiding peanuts and processed nuts and nut butters  1:20:00 – Katie’s recommendation for daily protein intake (1 gram per lb of bodyweight—it’s ok to start with 75% of that)  1:22:54 – Writing, why Katie is stopping her column at Climbing Magazine, and working on a cookbook  1:24:24 – Founding and running Sacred Rok  1:26:50 – Being sick for 24 days, gratitude for health, and “it’s a man thing” (being pathetic when we get sick)  1:28:26 – Katie’s upcoming trip to the Red  1:29:09 – Melt Down  1:31:22 – Being a lifer, why Katie loves Bishop, and moving to France if Trump wins the election  1:33:20 – V11 as a goal  1:33:57 – “We’re really lucky to climb.”  

Jonathan Siegrist is a professional rock climber, and one of the most prolific sport climbers in the world. We talked about the evolution of his training, how he trained to climb 5.15b, current training methods, how he mixes in climbing with training, tactics for quick redpointing, a new direction for his climbing, and The Fins project.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/jonathan-siegrist  Nuggets:  3:31 – Breakfast, how Jonathan eats on a climbing day, favorite bars, and eating the local cuisine when traveling  8:38 – Training for the Red by climbing on campus rungs on the treadwall (while wearing socks)  13:21 – Jonathan’s training evolution, and sending ‘Jumbo Love’  18:18 – Current training methodology (broad strokes), working with Steve Bechtel, and adding more rest between sets and training days  21:21 – Carving out more time for the same number of training sessions  22:35 – Jonathan’s three favorite strength exercises (not related to finger strength)  26:46 – More about weighted pull-ups and how Jonathan generally programs and advances his training  29:19 – Combining heavy sets with plyometrics, and taking 10-15 minute rest between sets  30:56 – Circuit style hangboarding vs. straight sets  32:48 – 7:13 repeaters, why Jonathan now prefers them over 7:3, trying new things, and thinking about trying max hangs in the future  37:19 – How Jonathan integrates outdoor climbing with training and the benefits of combining the two  42:00 – Sending ‘One Hundred Proof’, and shifting focus to prioritize redpoint days  44:09 – Why Jonathan doesn’t do any maintenance training, and the importance of trying hard  47:36 – Jonathan’s propensity toward endurance, and the one thing he would do different if he could go back in time  49:47 – How Jonathan thinks about strength and power training vs. bouldering  50:36 – Sending ’Trice’ back in 2009, learning to climb at flagstaff, and testing well at finger strength but not knowing how to move fast  55:09 – “The magic of climbing”, how Jonathan stacks up against other 9b climbers and prioritizing sending  57:58 – Climbing with Adam Ondra and inspiration to focus more on flash and onsight climbing  1:02:43 – Jonathan’s approach to second-go redpointing, his affinity for remembering beta, and removing hesitation  1:04:49 – Jonathan’s spray wall drill to practice memorizing sequences, and how he uses visualization  1:08:42 – How Jonathan thinks about deciding between second-go redpointing vs. flash or onsight  1:11:36 – Leveling up, hopes to return to old crags to finish old projects, and Jonathan’s desire to (eventually) move away from sport climbing  1:18:14 – Multipitch sport climbing, and “the single coolest thing” Jonathan hopes to do with his climbing  1:19:33 – Trying the Dawn Wall with Tommy, and why Yosemite big wall climbing isn’t at the top of his list  1:21:34 – The Fins project  1:28:51 – Experimenting with techniques to combat dry skin and dry conditions, wet chalk, and Rhino Spit  1:31:52 – “Do you think that thing will be 15b?”, the polarizing crux of Algorithm, and Jonathan’s best try  1:34:08 – Establishing 5.15b in America and what makes that so hard (aside from it being hard…)  1:36:00 – Plans to head back up to The Fins  1:36:27 – Jonathan’s upcoming trip to Italy, plans to try Lapsus, and the coronavirus  1:40:09 – Why Jonathan is so grateful for his sponsors and how they have really stepped up to support him, and the Metolius Light Rail  1:43:58 – Writing, how his blog got hijacked and moving from jstarinorbit to jonathansiegrist.com, plans to write new content, and writing blogs for his brands  1:46:54 – Jonathan on Instagram and Twitter, his new YouTube channel, and plans for upcoming videos with EpicTV  1:49:17 – The Fins project video (WIP)  1:50:35 – What Jonathan thinks holds back most climbers, and trying to spend 75% of your time climbing (on rock) and only 25% training (or climbing inside)  1:53:11 – “Try hard.”  1:53:58 – My poster of Jonathan, and being an inspiration as the best thing Jonathan feels like he can ask for  

Bill Ramsey is a professor of philosophy at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and at 59-years-old, still climbs 5.14. We talked about his coffee addiction, his legendary training days and how he uses the treadwall, replicas, and the fingerboard, his two-part climbing career, favorite articles he’s written, and the crossover between philosophy and climbing.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/bill-ramsey  Nuggets:  1:47 – Skipping breakfast, one big meal per day, and red meat  3:35 – Fueling for a big training day  4:12 – How Bill’s legendary big training days came to be  7:20 – Shocking the body, and building the stamina to go all-day   9:03 – Coffee in bed  11:02 – Bill’s two-stage climbing career, how he started training for climbing, and self-coaching for the Marine Core Physical Fitness Test  15:01 – Climbing through the existing routes at the Red River Gorge, his first 5.14, climbing Omaha Beach and Transworld Depravity and playing a roll in the development of the Red and Smith Rock  19:39 – Feeling sorry for Alan and the wrongest Bill has ever been  22:32 – Climbing at the columns, Chris Jones, the contrivance rating system (C1-C4), and some of Alan’s one-handed ascents  26:44 – Focusing on academics and missing climbing and the climbing community  28:47 – What drew Bill to study philosophy  32:45 – Moving to Vegas and why Bill has never regretted making the move  37:20 – How Bill climbed all but one of his 26-27 5.14s after age 40 and   39:23 – Bill’s warmup and stretching routines  42:28 – How Bill combines training with projecting  43:58 – Bills hangboard routine  45:37 – Replicas, practicing the crux as the warmup, and comparing to gymnastics  47:51 – How Bill builds his replicas and makes custom holds  50:43 – Training on the treadwall, and why Bill thinks the treadwall is the most underutilized training tool for route climbers  55:31 – Targeting route lengths and ARCing with the treadwall  56:39 – Using the treadwall to work on climbing faster, and keeping a training journal  58:11 – Similar ingredients in each training day, Bill’s thoughts on training different energy systems, energy system training order, and why Bill doesn’t bother with skill training  1:01:33 – Training and simulating rest positions  1:03:07 – Opposition training and why Bill thinks ~85% of your training time should be climbing-specific  1:05:06 – Fingertip pullups and “finger ups”, and why Bill thinks both are beneficial  1:07:40 – Long duration (density) hangs  1:08:48 – An example of one of Bill’s legendary training days  1:09:35 – Being a local at 6 different crags, and trends and variation that Bill has noticed  1:12:09 – How Bill thinks about balancing building his route pyramid and quick ticks with big projects, his process on Jumbo Pumping Hate, and climbers as nerds trapped in athlete bodies  1:17:47 – The hidden secrets that routes have, Apollo 13, and problem solving  1:20:13 – Tinkering with new beta, and committing to trying 100% every try  1:23:44 – Bill’s writing, his article defending chipping, ‘The Day I Sent Golden’ and writing the forward to the new Smith Rock guidebook  1:28:16 – What Bill is most grateful for  1:29:38 – Crossover between philosophy and climbing  1:30:24 – ‘The Truth and Lies of Climbing’, climbing Separate Reality, and realizing they weren’t that far off from the top  1:35:52 – Bill and Alan’s influence on one another, why Bill feels so fortunate for his path through life and climbing, and feeling like Forest Gump  1:38:52 – Plans for a round 2 interview with Bill and Alan and the welcoming Vegas climbing community  

Mike Doyle is an elite-level rock climber who balances climbing with a career as a software engineer. He also has a long history of competition climbing and coaching. We talked about lessons learned from 10+ years of coaching, his training philosophy, onsighting tips, go-to climbing shoes, surfing, and the best breakfast he’s ever had.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mike-doyle  Nuggets:  2:06 – Mike’s go-to breakfast, and the best breakfast he’s ever had  3:09 – My climbing gym trip  3:25 – Mike’s early climbing and first (and last) experience with mountaineering  5:58 – Moving to Vancouver for college, coaching at the North Vancouver gym, and the stacked field of young climbers that came out of that program  8:29 – The culture that lead The Edge climbing team to be so successful  9:50 – Mike’s competition career and why he transitioned away from competitions  11:16 – Mike’s evolution as a coach, early coaching mistakes, the importance of building relationships with the kids on the team, and finding individual triggers   17:55 – Enjoying coaching, fear of falling, the story behind ‘Spank the Monkey’, and setting up a top rope on ‘Rude Boys’  21:58 – Flexibility training, and why Mike wouldn’t pay himself to be his own coach  23:25 – The best piece of coaching advice Mike ever got, and the importance of making the training environment fun  25:45 – More time in the gym, and “That’s when you learn technique is when you’re tired.”  26:49 – “Strength training is simple.”   28:13 – How Mike thinks about block training vs. integrating training with climbing   31:14 – Some of the nuts and bolts of Mike’s hangboard training—specifically how he prepared for ‘Necessary Evil’ (reference the TrainingBeta podcast episode linked above for the exact workout he was doing)  32:29 – Mike’s struggle with one-arm hangs  34:46 – Doing a single 10-second full crimp hang for recruitment  37:30 – Mike’s lineup of holds and the importance of sticking to a program  38:09 – Why strength = endurance, and training yourself to recruit less (i.e. relax your grip) on a hangboard  40:09 – Climbing tired to improve efficiency/movement economy  40:50 – Mike’s thoughts on the Moonboard, and “Every tool has its applications.” 42:00 – Nagging injuries and thoughts on climbing hard in the future and what that means  43:06 – Mike’s ‘Remote Controlled Climbing Life’, dreams of traveling and climbing, and the story behind ADATO   46:43 – Why Mike still works 60+ hours per week  49:32 – Creating boundaries around work, “ride or die”, and the balance that Mike hopes to achieve with his current company and work life  52:28 – Working “extra remotely”, two-month trips, and needing a change of scenery  54:54 – A few things Mike looks for in a potential “extra remote” work space  55:32 – Mike’s keyboard and mouse recommendations (Kinesis–link in show notes)  57:06 – The Canadian Alpine Trilogy  1:06:32 – “It’s the Rockies.”  1:07:33 – Mixing in other climbing with the trilogy and plans to go back this summer  1:08:40 – Necessary Evil and necessary diligence  1:11:47 – Climbing as an escape vs. having a focusing project, takeaways from projecting Necessary Evil, and support from the climbing community  1:15:15 – Why Mike’s process on Necessary Evil resonated with so many people  1:16:04 – Mike’s (lack) of unfinished business, ‘Just Do It’, and how he goes about onsighting and redpointing on road trips  1:18:54 – Onsighting tips  1:20:38 – Why Mike love the La Sportiva Genius and why it has become his go-to onsight shoe  1:23:50 – Mike’s favorite stiff shoe for face climbing and the shoes he wore on To Bolt  1:25:01 – The advice Mike would give himself at age 18, climbing standards when Mike climbed his first 14a vs now, Adam Ondra’s onsight attempt on Necessary Evil, and why I think ‘Just Do It’ is in the bag for Mike ;)  1:29:51 – Surfing and Mike’s recent trip to Costa Rica   1:33:30 – What’s next for Mike, his elbow injury, running for fitness, and the one thing about running that translates most to climbing   1:35:34 – Upcoming trips  1:36:31 – Woodford story  

Shanjean Lee is an orthopedic surgeon and a badass climber whose accomplishments range from V10 boulders, to 5.14a sport, to 5.13+ trad and multi-pitch climbs. We talked about how SJ trained to climb ‘City Park’ during her residency, some of her biggest challenges, differences between men and women, dating your climbing partner, and the importance of self-belief.   Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/shanjean-lee  Nuggets:  2:28 – I need a back massage  3:14 – Bouldering in Bishop for the winter  5:36 – SJ and Mikey’s shared goal of climbing V10, getting feedback from Nina Williams and James Lucas, and building the pyramid  8:59 – Bouldering projects, night sessions  10:36 – Moving to Reno, access to a wider variety of climbing, and climbing options while being on call   13:24 – Planning vs going with the flow, and why SJ has learned to plan in more broad strokes  14:35 – A wide ranging resume, and why SJ chose ‘City Park’ as a project  17:59 – The gear for ‘City Park’  19:01 – SJ’s process of projecting ‘City Park’, safety insight from Luke, and beta from Brittany  22:50 – A lesson that SJ learned from climbing ‘Mr. Yuk’, her first 5.14a  28:25 – Instagram post of Mikey doing bicep curls, and “you have to get your strength training in whenever you can.”  29:24 – Why SJ decided to reach out to Justen Sjong  for a training plan  32:01 – SJ’s training plan, her short pinkie, Lattice Lite, and the Crimpt App  36:50 – Takeaways from the Lattice Training assessment  38:51 – Moonboarding, no Moonboards in Reno, and SJ’s (very attainable) life goal  41:32 – Making the first team free ascent of ‘Dark Side of Liberty’ with Mikey and finding the line  47:58 – Breakdown of the route, debating the grade, recruiting Nathan Hadley for the second ascent, and SJ’s hardest boulder problem  54:20 – Pitch by pitch breakdown  57:00– SJ and Mikey’s style for team free ascents and the style they used to redpoint ’Dark Side of Liberty’  1:00:51 – How this climb ranks among SJ’s top achievements and what made it extra special  1:02:55 – Navigating a relationship with your climbing partner, why SJ jokes that “it’s a work in progress”, and the give and take of supporting one another’s goals  1:09:21 – “Climbing heightens your emotions” and the importance of communication in a climbing relationship  1:10:27 – The biggest challenge SJ faced when becoming a doctor-climber  1:16:16 – Adjusting goals to make both climbing and her career work  1:18:15 – What SJ wishes she’d know when she was starting her residency  1:22:07 – What SJ is reading right now (‘Roar’), experimenting with intermittent fasting with Mikey and getting very different results, and timing birth control around climbing   1:26:06 – What her intermittent fasting looked like, stress as a factor, and why she decided it wasn’t for her  1:30:31 – SJ’s favorite recent purchase that dramatically improved her life (Casper light link in show notes), caffeine addiction, and why SJ switched to (mostly) drinking decaf coffee  1:35:39 – Regarding past projects and routes: “They’ve all kinda taught me something.”   1:36:18 – Advice for women trying to break into 5.14 or hard trad, shoulder girdle strengthening, and being aware of and training your weakest link  1:38:53 – Shoulder girdle exercises  1:40:40 – The importance of believing in yourself (especially for women), and the pattern SJ noticed during residency  1:43:02 – SJ’s thoughts on whether an assessment could be used to give someone confidence to try harder  1:44:14 – Working on flexibility and SJ’s yoga subscription  1:45:19 – Yosemite plans, ‘Freerider’, and why the easier parts can feel like the hard parts to a lot of climbers  1:48:55 – What SJ is most grateful for   1:51:29 – Excited for this time in life and to be in Reno  1:52:41 – Work-life balance now vs. back in residency  1:53:58 – SJ’s social media handle (@shanjean on Instagram)  1:54:28 – Shanjean vs. SJ, and the councilor to the emperor  1:56:52 – Hustling, trying hard, and (almost) always smiling :)  

Peter Croft is an absolute legend in climbing. We talked about ‘The Shadow’ in Squamish and how his ascent became a climbing game, lessons from spending time alone, experimenting with burning fat for fuel, how he trains for big solos and linkups, some of his most memorable climbs, long johns vs. lycra, and the magic of inspiration.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/peter-croft   Nuggets:  2:39 – Morning person, taking more rest days, learning about resting from John Bachar, and linking up The Nose and Half Dome in a day  6:59 – “Climbing is a process.”  7:51 – “Peter Croft is my spirit animal.”  8:43 – The friendly introvert, the honesty that comes from spending time alone, doing vs. sharing, and why Peter prefers smaller more intimate groups  14:33 – Shadow games, Peter’s onsight of ‘The Shadow’, and the power of inspiration    18:05 – The video of Jesse Huey climbing ‘The Shadow’, “There’s no place in the world I’d rather be than right here and right now”, and Peter’s transition from Squamish to CA  19:29 – So many new crags, early FAs up in Squamish, and Peter the fun hog  21:18 – Escaping to Leavenworth, a little bit of heaven, and increasing competitiveness in Squamish  24:39 – Soloing up and down Castle Rock, Peter’s Squamish circuit, and how down climbing improved his crack climbing  28:15 – Why Peter hasn’t spent much time projecting  30:51 – Peter’s progression, climbing his first 3-4 5.13s first try, and training by soloing tons of 5.10s and 5.11s  32:21 – Peter’s current training and fingerboarding, current projects, and working on weaknesses   34:15 – Soloing ‘The Rostrum’ and ‘Astroman’ in a day, preparation, and how Peter thinks about training for big solos (“Fitness shouldn’t be a factor.”)  36:08 – Soloing ‘ROTC Crack’ in Leavenworth, testing  fat for fuel, traversing the Stuart Range with a single water bottle and a banana, and the handgun story (“This is how I die.”)  43:44 – Fat for fuel, Peter’s thoughts on (super) high-carb diets, bonking from too much sugar, and “if in doubt, go with less.”  45:55 – The ‘University Wall’  48:03 – Alex Honnold’s free solo of ‘University Wall’, and why Peter never considered doing it himself  49:11 – Why Peter moved to California and why he stayed  51:29 – Exploring the Sierras, ridge traversing, and what makes The Hulk “wonderfully peculiar”.  54:20 – The ‘The Venturi Effect’, and the best stemming corner Peter has ever climbed  55:09 – The gripping free soloing story Peter told on the Enormocast (linked in show notes), and why Peter has survived while so many legendary soloists have died  1:01:41 – Adventure, reading ‘I Chose to Climb’ by Chris Bonington, how Peter got into climbing, and why he never got sucked in to big expedition climbing  1:04:26 – More of the Enormocast free-soloing story, polypropylene long johns, and climbing wet 5.8 friction scoops on his knees  1:09:45 – Tights vs. long johns, an egocentric era, why Peter never wore bright colored lycra, and wearing long johns on rainy days  1:15:00 – Advice Peter would have for himself when he was young (warming up, taking rest days, and picking goals more carefully while being spontaneous) and inspiration as a superpower  1:17:29 – Stumbling on inspiration, and onsighting a hard roof crack after failing on a 5.11   1:19:32 – How inspiration can raise the ceiling from 100% to 150%  1:21:03 – Rare is special, how aesthetics speak to Peter, and the benefits of traveling  1:22:57 – What Peter hopes his 80-year-old self would say to him, health scare, and why climbing for Peter is so much more than just the climbing  1:25:13 – Why Peter is so grateful for his friends, community, the growth of the climbing community in Bishop, and being surrounded by good energy  1:26:56 – Why the increased popularity of Bishop has been a good thing  1:27:57 – Writing, telling stories, and Peter’s current writing project  1:29:51 – Peter’s thoughts on writing a book  1:32:05 – Meeting Alan Watts at Smith Rock in 1981, the one-arm pull-up show, and not putting labels on different types of climbing  1:35:56 – What’s next for Peter, and his thoughts on bouldering as an impact sport  1:38:16 – Feeling like a kid in a candy store, gratitude for finding climbing, and having “the thing”  1:39:46 – Peter’s final thoughts for younger climbers, why he recommends traveling a lot, and the old Greek lady with the baby goats  1:42:04 – Peter’s upcoming trips, flow state with writing, and writing advice from John Long