The Ground Up Podcast

Fresh off a record-breaking run at 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell, Nadya and Sean sit down with Ari and Rob to share how they approached the legendary 24-hour climbing marathon. From Sean’s disastrous first year of Oreos, Gatorade, and brand-new shoes to the meticulous (and sometimes improvised) strategy that helped Nadya smash the women’s points record, we dig into what works, what doesn’t, and why the right partner makes or breaks your experience. They also talk about the upcoming rule changes for the 20th anniversary of “Hell,” what excites them about a clean slate, and how community and stoke fuel their endurance. - Follow Nadya on Instagram: @nadyavorotnikova Follow Sean on Instagram: @seanvallefuoco Follow along with all the Horseshoe Hell Fun: @therealtwofourhell - Interested in signing up for the event?! Check out more details at https://www.twofourhell.com/  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!

Most would call climbing for 24 hours straight crazy — doing it 20 years in a row is downright ludicrous. In the nearly two-decade history of 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell, only one team has competed every single year: Dick and Natalie Dower, better known as Leather and Lace. Over time, they’ve become true legends of the 24-hour climbing scene at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. In part one of this year’s Horseshoe Hell miniseries, we sit down with Dick and Natalie to trace the history of the event. From hand-written scorecards and early strategy missteps to record-breaking ascents and the evolution of the competition itself, they’ve been through it all. We cover what it was like in the early years, the tactics and grit it takes to keep climbing route after route, and their historic pushes that inspired new generations of climbers. With the 20th anniversary on the horizon, Dick and Natalie reflect on how far Horseshoe Hell has come — and what still keeps them coming back. - Follow Dick on Instagram: @dickdower Follow Natalie on Instagram: @nadneal Follow along with all the Horseshoe Hell Fun: @therealtwofourhell - Interested in signing up for the event?! Check out more details at https://www.twofourhell.com/  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!

What happens when an arborist and a dog walker swipe right and end up traveling the world on a shoestring budget? In this episode, Nettie and Dave, better known as the Climbing Backpackers, share their incredible journey climbing and dirtbagging across the globe. Hear how a ruptured Achilles and a spur-of-the-moment decision sparked two years of non-stop adventure, what it’s like living on £10 a day, and the wild experiences that come with climbing in places like India, Thailand, Laos, Turkey and beyond. From top-rope guiding in Badami to navigating crumbling crags and tuk-tuk rides, this conversation is full of stories, laughs, and insights into the nomadic climbing lifestyle most of us only ever dream about. - Follow along on Instagram: @Climbing_Backpackers Check out their adventures on YouTube: @TheClimbingBackpackers Learn more about the Climbing Backpackers and their "Climb & Chill Weekends": https://www.climbingbackpackers.com/  - Climbing Destinations Covered in the Episodes Badami, India Batu caves, Malaysia North wall, Thailand Perlis, Malaysia Thakhek, Laos Huu Lung, Vietnam Geyikbayiri, Turkey - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!  

Making history in Yosemite Valley is no easy feat these days, especially if you can count the number of years you've been climbing on one hand. But on May 15th, at just 20 years old, Ethan Morf became the youngest person to free climb El Capitan in a day with an 18 hour ascent of Freerider. In this episode, Ethan recounts his rapid rise from Squamish gumby to Yosemite crusher — a journey fueled by a seemingly endless supply of psyche, long days on granite, and countless hours on the MoonBoard. We talk about learning to climb and place gear via Youtube, his early trad leads (and ground falls), dealing with injuries, and ultimately sending one of the most iconic free routes in the world. This is a story of momentum, partnership, and learning to dig deep when it matters most. - Follow Ethan on Instagram: @EthanMorf Watch Ethan's YouTube videos: @ETHANmorf Check out Ethan's climbing photography and videography: https://www.ethanmorfphoto.com/ Read more about his free ascent of El Capitan: https://www.climbing.com/culture/ethan-morf-youngest-climber-free-el-capitan-in-a-day - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!  

In this episode, we sit down with Southeast legend Eddie Begoon—lifelong climber, route developer, and storyteller with deep roots in the Shenandoah Valley and the golden age of Southeast climbing. From barnyard bouldering on a Virginia dairy farm to bold first ascents at Seneca Rocks, Looking Glass, and the New River Gorge, Eddie shares the story of a climbing life shaped by humble beginnings, a bare-bones rack of gear, and the power of partnership. Along the way, we hear about country store belays, legendary leads, and the friendships that defined a generation of ground-up development. - Follow Eddie on Instagram: @eddie.begoon Read more about the first ascent of Sea of Brows: https://carolinaclimbingmuseum.org/tales/2018/12/3/the-first-ascent-of-sea-of-brows Eddie and Chris Caldwell (CC) on Sea of Brows: https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/107650043/cc-starting-out-on-the-sea-of-brows-by-the-waste-side-2nd-pitch-with-eddie-begoo  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!

Few endurance challenges rival the infamous Yosemite Triple Crown — a mega link-up of three iconic big walls in Yosemite National Park: the Nose on El Capitan, the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, and the South Face of Mount Watkins. Since its first completion in 2001, no women had managed to complete the feat... That is, until Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau showed up. With impressive climbing résumés built in very different corners of the sport, Laura and Kate connected via a simple Instagram DM — both with their sights set on the Triple Crown. In this episode of The Ground Up Podcast, we dive deep into the world of big wall speed climbing and the story behind Laura and Kate’s historic ascent. We begin in Boulder, Colorado, where the pair completed a brief training stint — including setting a new all-female fastest known time on the Naked Edge, a notoriously tricky route in Eldorado Canyon. Then we head to Yosemite Valley, as they walk us through their preparation, strategy, and the push that made them the first women to complete the Yosemite Triple Crown — in a blazing 23 hours and 36 minutes. - The Yosemite Triple Crown The Nose of El Capitan The Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome The South Face of Mount Watkins The Naked Edge - Edorado Canyon - Follow Kate on Instagram: @katekelleghan Follow Laura on Instagram: @laurapineau Read more about this historic ascent: https://uk.coros.com/stories/more-than-splits/c/yosemite-triple-crown-laura-pineau-kate-kelleghan  Read more about the new fastest female ascent of the Naked Edge: https://coros.com/stories/more-than-splits/c/naked-edge-womens-speed-record-kate-kelleghan-laura-pineau  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!

In today's episode, we sit down with legendary climber, author, and coach Eric Hörst—an East Coast pioneer whose nearly five decades of climbing and route development have left an indelible mark on American climbing culture. Eric takes us back to the 1970s Gunks scene, where he cut his teeth on steep trad climbs before importing sport climbing ethics to the New River Gorge, helping transform it into the world-class crag it is today. We rewind the tape back to the ‘golden age’ of development at the New, where Eric, alongside notable first ascensionists, Rick Thompson, Doug Reed, Porter Jarrard, Eddie Begoon, Mike Artz, and several others started establishing the first sport routes on the blank walls of the NRG. Eric takes us through his pivotal first ascents like Diamond Life, the friendly competition that occurred during the 80s and 90s, and what drove him to drive 800-miles round trip weekend after weekend to hungry for that next first ascent. Lastly, Eric reflects on balancing family, career, and high-end climbing, shares why he eventually ‘switched allegiance’ to the Red River Gorge, and explains how his mindset—and the sport itself—has evolved over forty-plus years of routes, bolts, and hard-earned lessons. - The first 5.13 at the New River Gorge: Diamond Life  - Follow Eric on Instagram: @eric_horst Get the best training resources available at https://trainingforclimbing.com/  Check out Training For Climbing on Instagram: @training4climbing Level up you climbing with PhysiVāntage Nutrition Check out PhysiVantage on Instagram: @physivantage Use checkout code "Save10" to get 10% off your first order! - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!

In this episode, we sit down with Boone local Sam Dospoy—woodworker, van builder, and climber deeply rooted in North Carolina’s High Country. Sam shares how a two year stint dirtbagging in a minivan sparked both his love of climbing and his custom van build business, Stand Up Vans. We dig into his early days of bouldering over couch cushions at Blowing Rock, the tight-knit and low-beta climbing scene in Boone, and his progression into bold trad climbing and first ascents. Sam reflects on mentorship, the local ethics around development, and the draw of uncovering untouched rock. We also get into the nitty gritty of what it takes to repeat some of 221's most infamous and hardest trad routes, his futuristic project at Hawksbill, how bouldering has shaped his trad climbing, and what it looks like bolting steep routes ground up while hanging from sketchy hooks. - Climbing in Boone with Sam Dospoy: https://youtu.be/rEkMJdHC4gs?si=yB0C2b23oQV64-Gc The Castaway - Ship Rock: https://youtu.be/h6DG1F8K5qQ?si=IYFZRSrYfohA1NVV Blowing Rock Boulders: https://youtu.be/rEkMJdHC4gs?si=yB0C2b23oQV64-Gc Fire in the Hole: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/117126148/fire-in-the-hole Hawksbill Project: https://www.instagram.com/p/B571Y-XD-gN/ Heirloom (Moon Rocks Corridor Project): https://www.instagram.com/p/CM7QCbtDzZo/ Ishmael (Stack Rock): https://www.instagram.com/p/BaJ61_CAQ-H/ Pyramid Scheme: https://www.instagram.com/reel/B8l_ZwUJ_Pc/ - Follow Joel on Instagram: @sam_ayye_am Check out Stand Up Vans on Instagram: @standupvans Find a Stand Up Van that's right for you! - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!  

Boone, North Carolina is where photographer Drew Mercer first discovered his passion for rock climbing, so it’s no surprise that his new coffee table book, In Season, is a love letter to the High Country. A modern champion of Southeastern climbing, Drew uses his lens to share the story of days spent at some of his favorite local, and arguably underappreciated, crags like Ship Rock, Grandmother Boulders, and The Dump. We also cover Drew's dirtbag days in the Buttermilks and Hueco Tanks, an epic on the Linville Crusher, and ultimately what makes Boone the kind of place always worth coming home to. - Get a copy of In Season through Kickstarter - Follow Drew on Instagram See more of Drew's work on his Website - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup 

Training for trad climbing isn’t something most climbers think about—but Project Direct coach Dana Taylor is here to change that. Originally from Chicago, Dana spent years sport climbing at the Red River Gorge before catching the trad bug on a trip to Wadi Rum. In this episode, she takes us through her journey into the world of limit trad climbing, what inspired her to pursue coaching, and how she’s helping clients take their trad climbing to the next level. We also dive into some epic multi-pitch adventures at Mazama, wild mountain bike descents, and a few pivotal moments that shaped Dana’s climbing career. - Interested in working with Dana: Project Direct Coaching Follow Along: Instagram From bolts to cams: My journey to trad climbing - Mazama Multi-pitch: Flyboys More Monkey than Funky Separate Reality

Whether you know him as the Vampire Professor, the Banjo Man, or the founding president of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Climbers Coalition (SWPACC), you know that Joel Brady has the undeniable ability to crush nails hard rock climbs. Coming to us live from the Keystone State, Joel recalls his early days competing against legends like Chris Sharma, Dave Graham, and Tommy Caldwell in some of America's first major climbing competitions. We then get into some of his milestone contributions to the sport that have come from more than two decades of establishing and sending some of the Southeast’s hardest routes. Among them are Still Life, a benchmark 5.14b at Summersville Lake in the New River Gorge, which he first ascended at just 18 years old, and Green Magic in the Hills, a recently realized dead-vertical 5.14b at Seneca Rocks that Joel describes as his magnum opus. - Still Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEgbnWTMgmY ;  Green Magic in the Hills: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/124323457/green-magic-in-the-hills  South's Steepest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uT-XWc9ybY  Southwestern PA Climbers Coalition: https://www.swpacc.org/  - Follow Joel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vampireprofessor/  Photo Credit: Caleb Hills: https://www.instagram.com/calebjhills/  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  https://www.instagram.com/listentogroundup/

Speed climbing is the ultimate culmination of dozens, if not hundreds, of hours spent dialing in beta, trimming the rack, and pushing the body to move as quickly up the wall as possible. Few do it better than today's guest, Joe Kennedy, a speed climbing phenom who holds the record for the fastest bridge to bridge ascent of the legendary Naked Edge in Eldorado Canyon. He’s also known for blazing through the Flatirons, either solo or with Satan's Minions, and holds the fastest known times on "Roach’s Top 10" and the grueling "33 Spring Classics." Joe takes us through where he got the need for speed, how he teamed up with Stefan Griebel to take down the Naked Edge record, and what other epic link-ups he's got on the horizon.  - The Naked Edge Speed Record Video: https://vimeo.com/764407847 The 33 Spring Classics: https://www.strava.com/activities/9090791867/overview  Roach's Top 10: https://www.strava.com/activities/9899803294/overview  - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  https://www.instagram.com/listentogroundup/  

Finding first ascents and new potential link-ups in Yosemite Valley is a rare opportunity these days, especially when they're as monumental as the QUAD! In a mind-blowingly short one year between his first NIAD (Nose in a Day), Tanner Wanish and his partner Michael Vail not only broke the speed record on the infamous Yosemite Triple Crown, but also established the Quad, a mega link-up of El Capitan, Half Dome, Mount Watkins and Washington Column. As a former Navy Seal, Tanner is no stranger to pushing himself to the limit and he's quickly making a career out of maximizing his days in the mountains and seeing what he can fit into a single 24 hour window. We chat about everything from his introduction to climbing, how Mountain Project led to mentorship from Randy Levitt, a 50-hour fast and heavy push on the Nose, and everything that lead up to the first ascent of the Quad.

While most climbers gravitate to El Potrero Chico when visiting Nuevo León, Karly Rager has spent the past five winter seasons learning the dark arts of kneebars in El Salto's tufa filled playgrounds. Fresh off her all female team's First Free Ascent of Guerreras on La Gloria, Karly reflects on what it took to achieve their FFA in the demanding Mexican alpine desert, her early years as a climber in Boulder, Colorado, and lessons learned from training hundreds of other climbers through her coaching business (@ProjectDirect_Coaching). This episode is particularly special since Robert was actually part of the documentary crew that got to film Karly and her partner Mango during their push on Guerreras.

If you've pulled onto the perfect Nuttall Sandstone of the New River Gorge, odds are you've climbed a Doug Reed route. Boasting one of the most impressive list's of first ascents in Southeastern, and perhaps national climbing history, Doug was a true pioneer of pushing the standards for both difficult and high-quality climbing during the 80's and 90's. A true legend of the steep, Doug takes us through his journey putting up an almost unfathomable 600+ combined routes at the NRG, Little River Canyon and all over North Carolina. He also helps us relive some of his most outrageous stories featuring cutting edge free solos and difficult x-rated trad-lines, before getting into his climbing hiatus and what ultimately brought him back to the sharp end of the rope.   Cover photo taken by Porter Jarrard.

The Western North Carolina climbing scene has been experiencing a recent flurry of hard ascents and Zack Mintz is certainly someone who's been at the heart of it all. A true guru of granite, Zack joins the Ground Up to cover everything from his rapid progression as a climbing guide, how "learning to fail" has helped him succeed, and his passion for capturing other climbers through the lens of his camera. He also walks us through his process for the first ascent of Invisible Brailleways, an appropriately named 5.13 slab route at the North End of Looking Glass with beta so cryptic it required film review to dial in the moves.

Hailing from the great state of Georgia, our guest for this episode is the Southeast's latest climbing phenom, Armand La Douceur. It was only 18 months ago that Armand first tied into a rope, but he's since taken the climbing scene by storm, putting down many of the areas hardest test-pieces, including Western North Carolina's most iconic 5.13 multipitch, the Glass Menagerie at Looking Glass Rock. The boys dive into his wild introduction to climbing following Groover, a 900 ft 5.8 on Laurel Knob, recent burns on Wet Lycra Nightmare, lessons learned from various mentors that have allowed him to progress so quickly, and what lies ahead. 

If you tuned into the HBO reality series, The Climb, with Chris Sharma, Megan Martin and Jason Momoa, you probably recognize our next guest, Mario Stanley. A Texas based climber, Mario's impact on the local scene as a coach, guide, route developer and fellow podcast host can't be overstated. A wide ranging episode, we cover outdoor access in the Lone Star State, annual trips to Last Chance Canyon, deep water soloing in Mallorca and Mario's recent transition into documentary filmmaking. Mario then walks us through the mission of his latest film, Climb Malawi, and the impact he and guest of the Ground Up Genevive Walker had on equipping the local climbing community with the necessary skills for sustained organic growth.

You may have heard of Dad Strength before, but Erica Lineberry is making sure that you know all about Mom Strength. Better known as Cragmama, Erica is one of the Southeast's elite weekend warriors and has sent well over 100 routes of 5.12 or higher, all after having her first child! Whether she's pulling through roofs at Hidden Valley, jug bashing at the Red River Gorge or working her way down Endless Wall, it's always a family affair with Cragmama and her blog details exactly how she and her husband have kept sending while raising the next generation of young crushers. A wide ranging conversation, Erica sits down with the Ground Up crew to cover everything from her initial inspiration to start cragmama.com, sharing 5.12 projects with her son, tips & tricks for climbing with kids, and much, much more.

This one is for all the local North Carolina hardmen, the lovers of steep & spicy trad climbing, and anyone looking for a classic ground up adventure. The Mayor of Moore's himself, Tim Fisher, takes us through his 40+ year climbing career developing some of the region's best and boldest test pieces. We talk ground up ethics, adventures with other local legends like Doug Reed, Tim's shortlist of classic routes for the Southeast trad climber and route development at Moore's, Rumbling Bald, Linville Gorge and more.