The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast

Allison Vest, a pro boulderer known for sending hard outdoor lines like The Mantra (V14) and The Expanse (V15), talks training, creative beta and her mental approach to big projects. She describes back-to-back sends, span mechanics, skin and session tactics. Conversation covers stopping traditional hangboarding, unique strengths from long levers, and how confidence and momentum shape performance.

Keenan Takahashi, boulderer and prolific first-ascensionist known for highball, aesthetic problems and projects like Dreadnought. He talks about discovering and sending sketchy lines, debating bolting and ground-up ethics, wrestling with ego and its costs, his '10 seconds of fear a year' idea, and how design and long-form media shape his Antigrav work.

Casual banter about being stood up leads into a lively breakdown of the new Pro Climbing League format. They debate head-to-head scoring, production and broadcast pacing, and how setting pressure and gender balance affected routes. Moments that worked for spectators get praise, and they imagine hybrid formats for future World Cups.

Katie Lamb, elite climber known for sharp insights and amusing anecdotes. Ben Wheeler, seasoned climber and raconteur who fuels lively debate. They riff on online criticism and community drama. They unpack training culture, MoonBoard and leaderboard controversies. Tangents include pad-stashing ethics, free-solo spectacle and gym-to-outdoor tradeoffs. Lots of banter, mishaps and offbeat stories.

Zach Galla, a pro climber riding a historic run of outdoor sends, chats about mindset, projecting and how physical training shaped his season. Short stories about timing projects, juggling backups to reduce pressure, and when to ease off after a streak. He also touches on filmmaking style and scouting bold new lines.

Reunited climbers catch up on big life changes, parenting chaos and a second home board. They debate the merits and fairness of outdoor climbing comps and strategies for competing. A heated discussion follows about Honnold’s Netflix-backed skyscraper climb, entertainment ethics and platform responsibility. They also reflect on travel, recovery and balancing training projects like Six Degrees.

Jed McDernal, CEO of The Hangar and former independent gym owner, shares operator-side views. He talks about scaling with outside investment, pricing experiments to grow accessibility, route-setting challenges and talent shortages, and the pressures of meeting investor targets while protecting climbing culture. Brief, candid, and industry-focused.

Aidan Roberts, a pro climber known for projecting hard boulders and long seasons in places like Yosemite. Rapid-fire banter covers favourite foods, routines in Berkeley and Yosemite, hand and skin care, training cadences and spray-wall work. They debate grades, pro-climber ethics, balancing long projects with community, and how climbing became a lifelong pursuit.

Hello all, I come to you with a different offering this week. There's no Aidan this week, it's just me chatting to three different independent climbing gym owners in London. Sounds a bit niche but I was hoping to get a bit of a conversation going and I thought that there would be good parallels to other areas of the climbing world. What do you reckon? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for giving it a go!If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help keep it going please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823Support the show

Jim Pope, professional climber and Arc'teryx athlete known for board climbing and big-wall ascents. He recounts a sustained push on Magic Mushroom on El Cap and the logistics and psychology of multi-day walls. He also describes Castle Hill, New Zealand bouldering culture, soft limestone feel, and local ethics. Plans for Algeria, Trango Tower and creative projects round out the chat.