The Thundercling Podcast

Nov 25 2022 192

The Thundercling Podcast artwork

Hosts Dave McAllister and Fidi Naj fall down the rock climbing rabbit hole, and they take down a bunch of folks with them. Interviews with professional climbers impacting the sport, industry insiders, gym rats (trainers/setters/coaches), road dawgs, photographers/writers/artists, and everyday ladies and gents that have chosen to make climbing a non-negotiable facet of their everyday lives. From low-ball bouldering to big wall slogging, the Thunderpod will introduce you to the folks keeping climbing weird, iconoclastic, and most importantly, entirely bad ass.

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Episode 42: Jamie Emerson – On the state of Mt. Evans bouldering, dropping the Sheriff’s badge, and assorted Thundercling goodbyes

Nov 25 2022 103 mins

Betcha didn't expect this! Jamie joins the boys once again for an in-depth chat on the state of Mt. Evans bouldering just after his beautiful new guidebook hit the shelves. If you're psyched on the alpine and want to know all the issues bubbling around access and best practices, you won't want to skip this one. Thanks for the listens, gang. Life is busy, trips are many, and this

Episode 41: Cameron Maier — The Rise of Bearcam

Dec 30 2020 116 mins

It's funny where we end up, this random world kind of chucking us around like socks in the laundry. Existential mysteries aside, watching the folks around us land where they were meant to be is one of the great joys of being a human. After leaving Delaware for the mountains of Colorado, Cameron Maier joined a trail crew in Rocky Mountain National Park, already infatuated wit

Episode 40: Molly Mitchell — Good Enough

Nov 16 2020 115 mins

Photo: Tory Powers Listening to her speak while reclined in bed, locked into a stabilizing back brace after a trad fall that saw her fracture two vertebrae, I couldn't help but think, Molly Mitchell makes sound and brave decisions. Weird, huh? While making a name for herself after crushing 5.14 sport and authoring bold and dangerous traditional first ascents, Molly kicked dow

Episode 39: Albert Ok — The Human Ghost Pepper

Oct 06 2020 120 mins

Albert Ok showed up to my house with a package of raw ghost peppers. They remain on my porch table because I'm terrified of them. He began that day in Clear Creek Canyon, taking down "Moulin Rouge," a V10 rapidly gaining classic status on the Front Range. Then he joined Fidi for a session at Movement Baker. And after our chat he literally jogged off the porch because he was late fo

Episode 38: Drew Ruana — Just Getting Started

Sep 02 2020 84 mins

When Drew Ruana (21) was nine years old, already deep into infatuation, he dreamed of becoming the greatest climber on the planet. Heady stuff for a kid who still slept with a night light. And yet, 12 years later, he's well on his way to making that starry-eyed little tyke proud. Drew is in the midst of one of the most head-spinning runs in bouldering history. After missing

Episode 37: Mac Gaugh — “I’m just trying to save this thing”

Aug 11 2020 113 mins

About an hour into our chat with Mac Gaugh, climber and owner of fledgling climbing apparel brand Creag, a dry microburst exploded and for a few minutes the wind did all the talking. At this point in 2020, you just kinda nod and acquiesce... Mac is certainly no stranger to microbursts unsheathing chaos and struggle. For the majority of his life he's fluctuated wildly between a

Episode 36: Aman Anderson — The Rise of an Industry Leader

Jul 01 2020 138 mins

It stands to reason many of you have never heard of Aman Anderson. He doesn't putz around on social media. His name, as far as I can tell, appears only once on his company's website. When his name is attached to work, it's generally citing his cutting edge data and analytics research, with titles such as, "Optimizing Muscular Strength-to-Weight Ratios in Rock Climbing." As a ru

Episode 35: Jamie Emerson — Rocky Mountain Iconoclast

Jun 11 2020 203 mins

Our hearts and minds, like the rest of the sane nation, are focused on the Black Lives Matter movement. Frankly, along with the implications of Covid-19 and a looming election, it dominates our thoughts and conversations. With confederate iconography tumbling, once-silent voices rising, and police reform seemingly inevitable, it's no time to lose focus. It's really all we're thinki

Episode 34: Chris Kalman — The Author

May 19 2020 125 mins

Chris Kalman wants you to know that he doesn't want to be famous anymore, not for writing and not for climbing. There was a time when he sought out heavy-hitting publishers and an agent to whisk him to climbing writing fame. This paradigm does not exist. There was a time when he was willing to give his life to the mountains, if that meant glory on the sharp end. This barter, also,

Episode 33: Thomas Betterton and Don Bushey — A Defining Moment in the Climbing Industry

Apr 23 2020 97 mins

Nobody is struggling more in the climbing industry than independent business owners, from gear shops to guiding services to climbing gyms. They've been forced to close their doors, furlough dedicated employees, navigate hazy government support programs, and figure out what the future looks like when the cloud of Coronavirus lifts and, hopefully, dissipates. Thomas Betterton is t