On Episode 316 of the Enormocast I sit down with alpinist Chantel Astorga. Though Chantel didn’t grow up in a climbing family, it was her dad who lit the fire for climbing by giving a tween Chantel a book on the Alaska Range. Then an encounter with the writings of the enigmatic Polish climber Voytek … Continue reading "Enormocast 316: Chantel Astorga – What Would Voytek Do?"
On the Enormocast Tweener, we have Vikki Weldon and Em Pellerin on stage at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) BC for a live podcast. Vikki and Em are world climbers, but both have a “home” base in Squamish. Though they are of a similar age, the paths the two women took to arrive and … Continue reading "Enormocast Tweener: Vikki Weldon and Em Pellerin Live at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish, BC"
On Episode 315 of the Enormocast, I sit down with Boulder-born Yosemite-trained speed climbing maestra, Kate Kelleghan. Kate came to climbing at 20 despite, or maye TO spite, her climbing dad. A youth of dark eye make-up, music, art, and smoke-sessions behind the school finally gave way to a life of climbing adventure when dad … Continue reading "Enormocast 315: Kate Kelleghan – Turbocharged Life"
On Episode 314 of the Enormocast, I sit down with climber Sam MacIlwaine. Sam is a sport climber, trad climber, bigwall climber, but perhaps is most well-known for her invert offwidth jones. Somewhere in her kinda “normal” ascension as a climber, Sam ended up in Mary “Tradprincess” Eden’s Offwidth clinic and the two women became … Continue reading "Enormocast 314: Sam MacIlwaine – The Way of the Offwidth Warrior"
On this Tweener Enormocast, we rebroadcast a live interview with Swedish climber Matilda Söderlund captured in front of a smart well-dressed audience at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish, BC. Matilda has become a bright star of Swedish climbing progressing from a tween competitor to hot shot sport climber, big route climber, trad climber, and gyn … Continue reading "Enormocast Tweener: Matilda Söderlund Live in Squamish"
On episode 313, I sit down in the Enormocast headquarters in Carbondale, CO with two OG Devil’s Lake climbers: Dave Groth and Leo Hermacinski. Groth is a veritable legend amongst the purple quartzite walls and blocs of DL, and Leo was there to witness many of his finest moments. As members of the infamous DLFA, … Continue reading "Enormocast 313: Dave Groth and Leo Hermacinski – Giving Devil’s Lake Its Due"
On Episode 312 of the Enormocast, I invite comp and rock climber Maya Madere for a face to face interview at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish. Maya considers herself an opportunist, but in the good way. She looks for open doors and opportunities, and when they come, she grabs hold tight, works her butt off, … Continue reading "Enormocast 312: Maya Madere – Opportunity Rocks"
On Episode 311 of the Enormocast, I catch up in Moab with Brazilian climber Gisely Ferraz AKA Gisely Souza AKA Brazilianclimbergirl AKA Gi. Though Gisely started climbing in Brazil, she has spent much of the last two decades in North America- first in the Northeast and then out West. Though she fell in and out … Continue reading "Enormocast 311: Gisely Ferraz (Souza) – The Heart is a Puzzle"
On Episode 310 of the Enormocast, the inimitable Timmy O’Neill returns. Since Timmy’s Enormocast in 2020, several life-changes have gone down: a marriage, a kid, and maybe most impactful of all, Timmy suffered a stroke in Patagonia not long after his first Enormocast (not the Enormobump he was looking for!). O’Neill is a long time … Continue reading "Enormocast 310: Timmy O’Neill – The Charmed Life Must Not Yield"
On Episode 309 of the Enormocast, I reconnect with climber Anna Hazlenutt. Anna has built a career around her nom de plume (birth name Hazlett) starting out as an influencer making fun climbing based videos and evolving into a serious and skilled climber. Anna specializes in technical slabs and vertical rock, often tossing in a … Continue reading "Enormocast 309: Anna Hazelnutt (Hazlett) – A Positive Influence"
On Episode 308 of the Enormocast, Alpinist Angela Vanwiemeersch returns after over a decade since her first interview on the show. That interview featured a spunky overstoked girl who had more or less just discovered climbing. She had been ushered into the big leagues by association with her then boyfriend, Scott Adamson. Scott’s “no weak … Continue reading "Enormocast 308: Angela Vanwiemeersch – The Stars Not Wanted"
On this Tweener ™ episode of the Enormocast, we catch up with pro climber, Sam Stroh. When we posted the full-blown Enormocast with Sam in April, 2025, it had been gathering dust for nearly 9 months. Sam and I agreed that a catch-up was in the offing. In the meantime, Sam had been to Naranjo … Continue reading "Tweener: Sam Stroh Settles In"
On Episode 307 of the Enormocast, we are graced buy a drop-in concert and chat from Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski of Golden Shoals. Of the pair, Amy is the climber, but together they form Golden Shoals, an old time and folk duo formed over a decade ago with origins at Berklee. Amy and Mark … Continue reading "Enormocast 307: Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski of Golden Shoals – Rock Toppers"
On Episode 206 of the Enormocast, I sit down at Banff Mountain Film with alpinist and guide, Sarah Hueniken. Sarah was an outdoor educator before she was a climber, and though she is known for ice climbing and dry tooling, she was a rock climber first. She even found Canmore, Alberta a little bleak and … Continue reading "Enormocast 306: Sarah Hueniken – The Aftermath"
On Episode 305 of the Enormocast, alpinist and guide Caro North joins me in my lovely hotel room in Banff, AB during the Banff Mountain Film Festival for a heartfelt talk about her journey as an international female climber. Born in Switzerland, but raised in Germany, Caro actually found herself on top of Aconcagua in … Continue reading "Enormocast 305: Caro North – Magnetic"
On Episode 304 of the Enormocast, climber Sam Stroh drops by my suite at the Arcteryx Academy in Squamish to talk climbing and get to the bottom of a misunderstanding. Sam cut his teeth in New Mexico and soon after high school was on the road as a classic itinerant dirtbag. After falling in with … Continue reading "Enormocast 304: Sam Stroh – Naturally Decent"
On Episode 303 of the Enormocast I sit down with one of the most compelling and somewhat enigmatic climbers of our times: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll. It was a multi-year dance, but we finally sat down puss-a-puss in the Canadian Rockies at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Sean is known for his big wall antics across … Continue reading "Enormocast 303: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll – A Very Particular Set of Skills"
Episode 302 of the Enormocast is the annual airing of grievances in climbing: the laments, the beefs, and the sad truths of the dumb shit we do as climbers. What was formerly known as Taps is now Last Rites. Once again, this year’s slam evolves from listeners’ calls. Andy Salo, Andrew Bisharat, and Mary “Token … Continue reading "Enormocast 302: Last Rites 2025 (FKA Taps) Don’t Side-Eye the Trad-Dad Edition"
On Episode 301 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a posh hotel in Squamish, BC, with alpinist Quentin Roberts. We met up at the Arc’teryx Academy in August 2024 on a rainy day to talk about Quentin’s life as a climber. Quentin grew up attending boarding schools in several countries and despite not fitting … Continue reading "Enormocast 301: Quentin Roberts – Listening to The Mountain"
On the auspicious Episode 300 of the Enormocast, Alex Honnold hijacks the Enormocast to interview Chris Kalous of the Enormocast. Yes, it turns out that Alex Honnold gets to have everything. Alex takes the interview skills that he’s honed over at Climbing Gold and talks to Chris about his climbing origins, podcast pioneering, and why … Continue reading "Enormocast 300: Chris Kalous by Alex Honnold – No Retreat, No Surrender"
On Episode 299 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a fine hotel suite with the elegant Nina Caprez. We met up at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish, and after a Co-MC gig on the main stage the previous night, Nina and I reviewed our performance and then got down to business reviewing the 9 … Continue reading "Enormocast 299: Nina Caprez – Two Roads Just as Fair"
On Episode 298 of the Enormocast, I sit down in with Boulder, Colorado legend, Jim Erickson. Turns out that when Jim climbed the crags and roamed the streets of Boulder in the late 60s and 70s, it was a cow-town – not the bougie climbing mecca we love to hate on today. Erickson grew up … Continue reading "Enormocast 298: Jim Erickson – Clean and Free in the 1970s"
On Episode 297 of the Enormocast, I sit down in Munising, Michigan with local Midwest legend, Paul Kuenn. In his youth near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Paul was drawn to the outdoors: fly-fishing, cross-country skiing, and finally, climbing at Devil’s Lake. Climbing became obsession which brought him to the PNW to become a guide and to Colorado … Continue reading "Enormocast 297: Paul “PK” Kuenn – The Dairylander"
On Episode 296 of the Enormocast, we rebroadcast an interview that was recorded live at the Banff Mountain Film Festival with alpinist and Canadian legend, Barry Blanchard. Barry showed up at the Banff Centre at 9:45am and brought the fire and the wisdom of 50 years in the game. Barry’s feted exploits range from his … Continue reading "Enormocast 296: Barry Blanchard Live in Banff"
On Episode 295 of the Enormocast, I sit down at a splintery picnic table on a hot morning in Lander, Wyoming with Aaron Peterson. Aaron is a young (ish) climber for whom activism, protest, and speaking his mind goes hand in hand with his motivations as a climber. At a cost to his mental health, … Continue reading "Enormocast 295: Aaron Peterson – Paying His Dues"
On Episode 294 of the Enormocast, I connect to Katoomba, NSW in Australia- the heart of the Blue Mountains – to chat with photographer Simon Carter. Simon has been in the game as long as anyone currently active, and after four decades of producing some of the most iconic images in climbing, he’s published a … Continue reading "Enormocast 294: Simon Carter – Climbing Through the Lens"
On Episode 293 of the Enormocast, I connect with paraclimber Jim Ewing. Jim grew up climbing in the storied days of 1980s North Conway in New Hampshire. In his formative climbing years, Ewing rubbed elbows with the likes of Randy Radcliff, Alison Osius, and Hugh Herr. He didn’t know it while eeking out a dirtbag … Continue reading "Enormocast 293: Jim Ewing – The Quality of Life"
On Episode 292 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a hotel in Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) during the Arc’teryx Academy with Olympian Hamish McArthur and British competition climber Holly Toothill. I arrived in Squamish with Hamish booked and asked Holly to join at the last minute as a friend, teammate, and observer of Hamish’s performance in … Continue reading "Enormocast 292: Hamish McArthur and Holly Toothill – Showing Up"
On Episode 290 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a cool, dark hotel room on a bright and HOT day in Lander, WY with bigwall climber, Hayden Jamieson. Hayden and I both slumped into our chairs after escaping the 100 degree day outside and tried to gather ourselves for the interview, and that’s when … Continue reading "Enormocast 290: Hayden Jamieson -Through the Valley of Darkness"
On Episode 289 of the Enormocast, I connect to Nashville, TN to talk to climber and musician Smith Curry. Smith is one of the busiest session players in Music City on dobro and pedal steel. He also happens to be a veteran climber with big walls, first ascents, and alpine gnar under his harness-belt. Smith … Continue reading "Enormocast 289: Smith Curry – A Climber Boy Can Survive"
