Written in Stone: Climbing History

We're taking a short break because we want to make sure that we don't miss the important contributions from the women climbers of the 80's who were pushing things forward. We'll be back soon!
In the meantime, there are a bunch of free bonus episodes in our Patreon, The Secret Stoners Club!

Because this season is focused on the 1980’s, and we are talking about the two best free soloists of their generations, Peter Croft and John Bachar,  there is a Venn Diagram that puts today’s guest squarely in the center: Jeff Smoot. 
In Jeff’s book Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change and the Race for 5.14, he tells the tale of the beginnings of sport climbing in the U.S. -  of Alan Watts and Todd Skinner - tales that John Bachar often plays the antagonist for. His most recent book, All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, takes a look at, among others, Bachar and Croft. 
And Jeff was there for much of it. As I’ve been doing research, his name has come up over and over again as the author of key articles. I had to talk to him. No brainer. 
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Does Alex Honnold need an introduction? No, of course he doesn’t. But he was particularly suited for this conversation about Bachar and Croft for several reasons:
#1, Alex is a student of history. He cares about this stuff. If you haven’t listened to his Climbing Gold podcast, you should. I highly recommend the Dope Lake series - it’s a 5 part series about the 1976 plane crash in the Yosemite high country - a plane that was carrying 4 million dollars worth of marijuana. Go listen.
#2, he’s the obvious torch bearer for what these guys did - the soloing, yes, but also the pushing of Valley standards and the furthering of the conversation.
And #3, because as much as I want these stories to be larger than life, I also wanted them to be rooted in a realistic look at what we can learn. And if there’s anyone who can just be logical, it’s Alex Honnold. 
In this episode we get into an interesting progression that Alex didn’t even realize he was part of, meeting your heroes, mythologizing, big link ups, soloing, and what John Bachar and Peter Croft mean for climbing and for Alex personally.
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
Enter to win a Ladies Weekend Out Scholarship from Rab!
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.
Cover photo of Alex by Christopher Michel

It was 1986, over halfway through a decade that had brought turbulent change to climbing, and it was clear to John Bachar that even in Yosemite - hallowed ground as far as he was concerned - ethics were shifting. Sure, people still traveled here to do the big walls and to climb some of the classics, but the world knew that Yosemite and the once mighty best climbers in the world who called Camp 4 home, were now WAY behind.
But John Bachar had an idea of how he could get this train back on track. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to do this, and he knew exactly who he’d ask for help.
This is the story of the John and the Bachar-Yerian, Peter Croft and the University Wall, and the first one day link-up ascent of El Cap and Half Dome.
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
Enter to win a Ladies Weekend Out Scholarship from Rab!
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.
 

Shortly after my own trip to the Grampians and Araps, where I played briefly on Punks in the Gym, just to give it, as Ben Cossey would say, a tummy rub, I went back to the Blue Mountains where I met a bunch of Australian mega-crushers. One of those crushers was Andrea Hah. And because she was the first Australian woman to climb Punks in the Gym, and Arapiles had a big impact on her life, I really wanted to have her on the show. 
Andrea is not only a mega-crusher and one of the most accomplished climbers in Australia. She’s also a physio at Move Clinic, which she runs with her partner, Lee Cossey - also a mega-crusher. And she’s a mom to a little BMX shredder. Basically, an all around badass. 
So we talk Araps and Punks as well as other Australian history like her send of Ozymandias which was the first ground up in a day ascent of the route and her arch-nemesis climb, Lord of the Rings in Araps. 
Andrea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreahah/
Save Arapiles Climbing Petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-natimuk-stop-the-rock-climbing-ban-at-the-famous-mt-arapiles
Save Arapiles Climbing Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_bYfeWq_Nw
 
Our friends at Rab are excited to sponsor both full and partial scholarships to Ladies Weekend Out's events, making their educational programs more accessible than ever and helping to empower women in the outdoors.”
Learn more here: https://www.ladiesweekendout.com/rab-equipment-scholarships
 
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.
 

As I was researching Wolfgang, I would regularly come across candid photos taken inside the house he shared with Kurt Albert, and of course I read every story about Wolfgang I could find. In those photos and those stories, I often came across an American name - Jesse Guthrie. I had to try to find him and get him on the show. 
He was one of the people on the leading edge of sport climbing when it was first coming into existence, and established the first 5.13s in Alabama and one of the first 5.14’s in the country with Tour de Jour at Yellow Bluff. Jesse is now living in the Czech Republic with his wife and children, teaches English, writes books, plays music and yes, still climbs. 
In this episode we get into both Wolfgang and Kurt, what it was like traveling with them, how the ethics were evolving, Jesse’s time as a rodeo cowboy, and more.
Jesse’s Website: http://www.jesseguthrie.com/domains/jesseguthrie.com/
 
Our friends at Rab are excited to sponsor both full and partial scholarships to Ladies Weekend Out's events, making their educational programs more accessible than ever and helping to empower women in the outdoors.”
Learn more here: https://www.ladiesweekendout.com/rab-equipment-scholarships
 
Save Arapiles Climbing Petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-natimuk-stop-the-rock-climbing-ban-at-the-famous-mt-arapiles
Save Arapiles Climbing Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_bYfeWq_Nw
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.
 

Because the history of the Frankenjura can’t be told without Kurt Albert and Wolfgang Gullich, both of whom we lost too soon, I wanted to talk to someone rooted in that community to try and get an understanding of how their legacy looks. For me, the obvious choice was Hannes Huch. He’s a photographer and artist who balances a modern aesthetic with a love for history, and that’s evident in his work with Cafe Kraft and the Gimme Kraft books as well as Jerry Moffat’s Mastermind book, and many other projects. 
In this episode we talk Kurt, Wolfgang, and Jerry, legacy, the importance of connecting with community, and how climbing is the perfect sport if you should ever need to escape from prison.
 
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

There’s really no debate. In the pantheon of Wolfgang Gullich frothers, there is no person who is as much a frother as Australian superstar Ben Cossey. In May of 2024, Ben made the first ascent of a long-standing project at Mt. Arapiles in Australia, Lightweight Baby, finally finishing what became the hardest pitch in the area - and within sight of Wolfgang’s route, Punks in the Gym. 
In this episode we get into what makes Arapiles special, the history of Punks and the Birdbath, a wiggle sneak to Wallstreet, and then we come back to Araps to discuss Lightweight Baby. 
Save Arapiles Climbing Petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-natimuk-stop-the-rock-climbing-ban-at-the-famous-mt-arapiles
Save Arapiles Climbing Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_bYfeWq_Nw
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

From the early to mid 1980's, Wolfgang Gullich was steadily discovering his own power. Spurred on by American and British climbers coming to the Frankenjura and establishing the hardest routes, he tapped into a part of himself that he rarely showed. With that competetive side on display, he went to America to do the hardest routes there, returned home to establish himself the best, and to Australia to establish the world's first 8b+, or 14a, Punks in the Gym. 
Save Arapiles Climbing Petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-natimuk-stop-the-rock-climbing-ban-at-the-famous-mt-arapiles
Save Arapiles Climbing Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_bYfeWq_Nw
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

While we're working hard on the next episode, an update on some changes to the remainder of the season. 
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
----------------------------------
Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.