For the Love of Climbing

Dec 01 2023 67 ep. 39 mins 598

For the Love of Climbing Podcast artwork

This is not a climbing podcast. Well, sorta. This is a podcast about choosing vulnerability and talking about our pain—and how we are all really just shining examples of this messy human existence.

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55: A Price Too Big

Dec 01 2023 45 mins

On October 29, 2019, Michelle Xue and her climbing partner, Jenny Shedden, set off to climb Red Slate Mountain in the Sierra Nevada when they were struck by rockfall and killed. This story is told through the lens of her dear friend, Artem.While all genres of climbing can be dangerous, alpine climbing is likely the most. These stories of loss pay tribute to loved ones, but beyond t

54: Good Mom, Bad Mom

Nov 01 2023 37 mins

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” Glinda asked Dorothy when she crash-landed in Oz for the first time. The theory of everything is that every element has an opposite. And by this logic, if there are, in fact, “good moms”, then it would follow that there must also be “bad moms”. But it doesn’t really work that way because the system of measurement that dictates th

53: A Guy Walks Out of a Bar...

Oct 01 2023 45 mins

Addiction is the kind of topic where judgment is easy, and empathy is hard. Shame is at the core of addiction. It thrives best in secrecy when we feel most alone, and keeps stories like these hidden in the dark.Lucas spent years, bouncing and skidding off the bottom before sobriety. But you know what they say: every unconscionable low point has a silver lining. Before long-term rec

52: My Friend Kris

Sep 01 2023 29 mins

This is Jess and Chelsea. They’re both climbers, they both live in Colorado. They both love dogs, and they’re forever inextricably tied together by these very common, uncomplicated things. They’re also forever connected because of this one very complicated big thing.In September of 2020, the climbing community lost Kris Ugarizza to suicide. Three years later, we’re sharing

Bonus Episode 51: 40 Years to Freedom (Part 2)

Aug 01 2023 20 mins

Amin has been climbing for over 23 years, starting in Shiraz, a historical city in Iran. In 2017, he moved to the U.S. to work as a head routesetter, and was shot in a senseless act of violence that critically injured him and shook friends and family to their core. The irony of growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran and never being afraid of guns until he moved to America is...

50: 40 Years to Freedom (Part 1)

Aug 01 2023 30 mins

Amin has been climbing for over 23 years, starting in Shiraz, a historical city in Iran. In 2017, he moved to the U.S. to work as a head routesetter, and was shot in a senseless act of violence that critically injured him and shook friends and family to their core. The irony of growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran and never being afraid of guns until he moved to America is...

49: Good Grief

Jul 01 2023 60 mins

There are those who see grief as the final form of love—this one final act that we give to those we’ve lost. It’s also been said that it’s the price we pay for love, which is a funny way to look at it. But these two things unrelentingly go hand-in-hand.On September 2nd, 2021, Tara lost her dad to Covid. But…it's complicated. During that time, well-meaning folk comprised o

48: We Are the Currents

Jun 01 2023 45 mins

Civil discourse is a dying art, a complex practice that takes patience and well-rounded perspective to really master. Asking folks to be brave enough to make their convictions vulnerable means really listening, for both sides—it's not a one-way street. Surrounding ourselves with like-minded people is important to build community, but it doesn't mean that we should build walls to

47: How We Grow

May 01 2023 31 mins

Kids have a lot of questions when someone in their family is sick. But when you don't know to ask, certain things become the norm. In our parents' generation, bipolar disorder wasn't as widely talked about, nor given the compassionate treatment it deserves. Becca is changing that.Becca grew up with a dad who has bipolar disorder. She, herself, has been diagnosed with bipolar disord

Mini-Episode 11: Climbing Doesn't Change You

Apr 28 2023 12 mins

Welcome back to the podcast. I’ve always been a huge advocate of change, but not always the good kind. Usually the “shake the snow globe, throw caution to the wind” chaotic kind. Lorca from episode sixteen, season three (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Qna9nf5ug7sfgp1vZXGVz?si=vfoxtXpWT7aemxuAkONQBQ), sporadically sends a newsletter which, as a person who hates all newslett