The Climbing Advocate

Feb 01 2025 62 ep. 65 mins 118
The Climbing Advocate Podcast artwork

Learn more about the work that is happening beyond the crag to keep climbing areas around the United States open and cared for. Check out more on Access Fund's mission at accessfund.org.

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Episode #62 - Tribute to Armando Menocal

Feb 01 2025 46 mins  
Today’s episode is a tribute to one of the most influential characters in the climbing community and the original climbing advocate: Armando Menocal. Armando is known by many as a civil rights lawyer turned climber, and the dedicated founder of Access Fund. He passed away in October 2024 at the age of 83 after a battle with cancer. This episode is a short collection of words from

Episode #61: Climate Resiliency & Conservation in Tennessee

Nov 05 2024 83 mins  
Today’s episode features multiple guests who all bring a unique perspective and area of expertise to the topic of climbing and climate resiliency. The first half of the episode features Brian Tickle, Access Fund’s National Acquisitions & Texas Regional Director and Joel Houser, Director of Capital Grants with the Open Space Institute. Together, Brian and Joel break down some of

Episode #60: Fixed anchors in Wilderness areas, mentorship, and working in the tech industry

Sep 06 2024 62 mins  
Today’s episode features Access Fund’s new executive director, Heather Thorne. Heather joins Access Fund with nearly 30 years of climbing experience and nearly 15 years after she began climbing, advocacy helped save one of her favorite crags. Coming from a long background working in the tech industry, she aspires to apply a scientific approach and use a high level of creativity

Episode #59: The "stewardship gap" and creating adaptive access with Access Fund's Conservation Team

Jun 28 2024 69 mins  
This month’s episode features Loryn Posladek and Kyle Leihsing who are leading the charge on national stewardship efforts representing Access Fund’s Conservation Team. For the last five years, Loryn and Kyle have traversed the country dedicating themselves to assisting LCOs and other conservation partners on building sustainable trails and other critical infrastructure at our b

Episode #58: Daniel Dunn & Meagan Evans: New boulder fields, economics, and Tennessee conservation

Apr 11 2024 75 mins  
This month’s episode features two rockstars out of the Southeast. Meagan Evans, Executive Director of the Southeast Climbers Coalition (SCC) and Daniel Dunn, Access Fund’s Southeast Regional Manager. Together they have worked to steward and conserve some of the region’s most cherished climbing landscapes. Most recently, the SCC protected a 58-acre boulderfield in northern Ala

Episode #57 - Dave Thompson, Crystal Hudelson and Keith Murakata

Feb 22 2024 78 mins  
On today’s episode, we host two conversations to recap Access Fund’s 2023 Annual Climbing Advocacy Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. First with Dave Thompson, president of the Arkansas Climbers Coalition, and then with Crystal Hudelson and Keith Murakata with Climbers of Color. Dave shares insight into how the explosion of tourism in Arkansas has garnered support for climb

Episode #56- Erik Murdock

Dec 21 2023 77 mins  
On today’s episode, Erik Murdock returns to take a deep dive into an issue that Access Fund and the climbing community have worked on for decades: how fixed anchors are managed in Wilderness areas. It’s an issue that requires context, history, and nuance, which is what this episode delivers. Erik begins with a thorough history of climbing in America’s Wilderness areas, then

Episode #55- Andrew Staff

Nov 03 2023 73 mins  
On this month’s episode, we chat with Andrew Staff, president of the Illinois Climbers Association (ICA). Andrew’s experience climbing in southern Illinois spans over two decades, so it’s safe to say that he has intimate knowledge of the local climbing and a strong connection with the local community. What the ICA has been able to accomplish over the past 20+ years is exemp

Episode #54- Rob Schorr

Aug 31 2023 57 mins  
Today we are joined by zoologist and founder of Climbers for Bat Conservation, Rob Schorr. Rob has a particular passion for bats, which can be somewhat elusive and challenging to study given where they often roost. That’s where climbers come in. Around 10 years ago, Rob recognized an opportunity to partner with climbers to expand research on bat ecology. Since climbers and bats

Episode #53- Stephanie Giguere

Jul 14 2023 57 mins  
Our guest for this episode is Western Massachusetts Climbers Coalition (WMCC) operating director, Stephanie Giguere. Stephanie recently took on this leadership role after spending multiple years as a volunteer with the organization. In the past few years, WMCC has worked through a couple of major projects, securing access to important regional crags like Farley Ledges and Hanging