Steve Bechtel

Buster has been climbing since childhood. He competed for his country as a junior competitor where he made European Championship finals, World Cup semi finals and numerous domestic comp victories. Buster's main focus now is rock climbing. He's the second brit to climb 9a+/36 with his ascent of First Ley in Margalef. Buster has also climbed countless routes in the 8c+-9a 34-35 range including the historic test pieces Hubble and Action Directe.

In this chat, we dig into Buster's preparation for Action Directe, the worlds first 9a/35. His pocket training, finger injury recovery and just a bit of froth about the route overall. We also talk about his coaching business, his approach to coaching and how it all works. When we spoke with Buster, he was preparing for a trip to Spain to try a crazy 9b/37 called First Round First Minute, put up by Chris Sharma in 2011.

Buster started Kaizen Climbing, his coaching business, to share his knowledge and psyche for training with as many people as he could. If you're interested in connecting with Kaizen, head to their website and give them a follow on instagram. There really is some awesome information in there.

Video of Buster on Action Directe

Video of Buster on Hubble

Buster's instagram

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Krystal's journey is an inspiring one. She knew what she wanted and went after it. Capturing moments in crazy locations of crazy people doing crazy things, all around the world. We covered some good ground in this conversation and I really appreciated Krystal's honesty to just dive in.

You can follow Krystal on instagram here 

Krystal's website

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Steve is the founder of Climb Strong. He’s a climber for more than 30 years, and established over 300 new routes across the globe, from big wall free climbs to 25-foot sport routes on his home crags near Lander, Wyoming. An exercise science graduate of the University of Wyoming, Steve has been studying and experimenting with climbing training methods since his teens. After spending a few years as a full-time climber, Steve opened Elemental Performance + Fitness in 2002. Elemental is a full-service gym in Lander, but was built around the training needs of high-level climbers.

We love Steve's ability to boil down the science to lay terms and give practical advice on how to apply it in life. To us, that’s the hallmark of a great coach.

Steve’s new book Mettle was the catalyst for this chat. The book digs into the philosophical side of climbing and those softer skills which are so easily forgotten or overshadowed by going hard on strength.

We dive into :

Our approach to goals and the journey to them

Openness to new ideas

The evolution of training protocols and the big mistake many people make in their endurance training 

Also, no hangs. Are they legit. What are they even?

We have Steve’s new book in stock at baffledays.com.au (link in the show notes) along with a couple of Steve’s other awesome books. Unstoppable Force and Logical Progression 2. We also have copies of The Hard Truth by Kris Hampton aka Power Company Climbing and we also have Beastmaking – a fingers first approach to becoming a better climber. A book written by Mr Beastmaker himself, Ned Feehally one of the co founders of Beastmaker. It’s an absolute ripper.

I’ve also been working on a little side project product which is now live on the store as well. Take a look and if you think it’s something which may be useful for you or someone you know. I think they’re pretty cool and an environmentally friendly alternative to the single use versions of what’s already out there. Grab one or a couple and let me know what you think. Could be an easy Christmas gift? Far out, we are already saying that word.

Registration is now open for the Performance Climb Coach course. Courses content will go live on 14th November and you’ll have access to all the courses until 14th May 2023. Seriously, it’s so worth it. Link in the description.

THE LINKS:

Sign up for the new intake of PCC https://performanceclimbingcoach.com/

Check out Steve's new book and all the others we have. Plus the cool new product I made. https://www.baffledays.com.au/shop/

If you want to get in touch with Steve and the Climb Strong crew https://www.climbstrongcoach.com/

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Maddy Cope has climbed Freerider 28/7c+ in Yosemite, La Scimma Nuda, (9 pitch) 29/8a in Switzerland and countless other hard multipitch/trad routes. She's also cranked out a couple 33/8c's, Mind Control and Bat Route, and smashed out 32/8b+ on gear! She's a true allrounder.

We talk about her process on Freerider and desire to keep seeking adventure and exploration. We also dig into headspace and finding mental cues to focus the mind while climbing. 

Perhaps the best part of our conversation is when we dive deep into the menstrual cycle. Amanda puts her science hat on as well here (Masters Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics + accredited Sport Dietitian) and both Maddy and her talk us through it all. They talk about their own  experiences as well as picking through the current research, discussing what it can tell us. They both have some awesome insights with how their cycle can effect their climbing, training and life and ways you can still get the most out of yourself.  There's some total gold in there for everyone to take home. Fellas, if you're still reading at this point and haven't yet listened to the whole episode, please do. There's a lot to learn and every bit is great. Do your part to understand what half the population experiences for four decades of their life.

Links we mention in the show.

Female Climber Series part 1

Female Climber Series Part 2

Female Climber Series Part 3

An overview of the menstrual cycle

Contraception

Pregnancy and Postpartum

Tracking

Clue (good for diverse resources on the menstrual cycle, contraception and health

Follow Maddy Cope on Instagram

Get in touch with Lattice Training

See Amanda to help fuel your climbing life

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Ollie Torr is one of the founders of Lattice Climbing, a Sheffield based training and research company. Perhaps best known for their research and accumulation of testing data to help predict performance. In doing so, they have helped answer the big question in climbing. How strong do I need to be?

In this episode however, we don't get buried in the weeds of numbers and energy systems, rather, we dig into the real-life side of climbing. We get into mental fatigue, the benefits of having a team around you, being kind to yourself, a little about testing and much much more.

It was a total pleasure to talk with Ollie and we can't wait to catch up again.

Lattice Training website

Lattice Training YouTube

Lattice Instagram

Ollie Torr instagram

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In December 2020 Oceana qualified to represent Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. She did this proudly when climbing made its debut in Tokyo during August 2021.

Oceana is a Bouldering World Cup Finalist, won basically every domestic competition she's ever entered, plus on the real rock front, shes bouldered V11!  Pretty impressive for someone who's  just 19 years old!

In this episode we dig into the early years of Oceana's climbing life and her progression through the youth series. She talks about competition with other competitors (or lack there of), what it was like being in a World Cup final and the pressures and mindset while being there. We also talk about peanut butter, foot slips and her plans for 2022.

Follow Oceana on instagram @oceana_climbing 

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It’s hard to know where to start in telling this story. It’s been a wild journey. After qualifying for the Olympics in December 2020, we thought things were going to get a bit simpler. We have a date when the Olympics are going to run and a training plan to execute, easy. The reality was a fair bit different. We naively underestimated the path to getting prepared for the biggest sporting event in the world. Perhaps we needed a bit of that to get us to the start line though.

We had big goals and put everything into making it happen. No stone was left unturned in getting Tom to Tokyo in the best shape possible. One of the biggest challenges was creating a training environment in Australia which had never existed. We were like the bow of a ship, breaking through the ice. This took a huge team effort to get Tom as prepared as we possibly could. We couldn’t be more grateful for the support.

Thank you to everyone that helped along this journey, you’re all incredible. Thank you to those who donated to the ASF fundraiser and sent messages of support. It was truly humbling to see how amazing and psyched you all are. Thank you to everyone at Sport Climbing Australia for all the hard work behind the scenes. Thank you to Tom’s sponsors for all their support. Thank you to the climbing gyms for giving me the space to train and prepare. Especially Villawood Climbing gym, Skywood Climbing and Nomad Bouldering. Thank you to Lee Cossey and the Move Clinic for the training plans which took Tom’s climbing to another level. Thank you to Amanda Watts and Thrive Sport Nutrition for keeping Tom fuelled and recovered for seven of the hardest months of training he had ever done. Thank you everyone for everything. This is a team sport!

The only thing left to do now, is decide where to get the tattoo.

You can check out the story of the Olympic qualification here on Episode #24.

Check out our chat with Sherro in Episode #15. He is a power lifting coach and runs Burley Strength in Canberra.

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Dave Jones is one of the rare ones. Growing up in Victoria, he quickly ended up spending many of his early climbing years making his way out to Arapiles and The Grampians. It wasn’t long before Dave started finding his own lines to climb, searching out unclimbed features which caught his imagination. Some of his notable First Ascents include Punks Addiction 32/8b+, Somoza 32/8b+, Academia 31/8b, Feather Boa 28/7c+ and Shai-Hulud 25X/7bX just to name a few. Dave also spent some time in England, checking out the infamous Gritstone, which landed him in one of the best climbing films of all time, Hard Grit.

Dave is also and artist, creating mind bending sculptures. He says the inspiration he found in finding new, improbable lines to climb is similar to what inspires him with his art. He wants to create pieces he isn’t actually sure he can pull off. To have to really problem solve and work out how to make it all come together.

Dave is also part of the Gariwerd Wimmera Reconciliation Network, a group formed to help bridge a gap between Traditional Owners in the area and climbers. The group is doing a fantastic job in opening communication between the two parties and hopes to continue to learn and build understanding. https://gwrn.org.au

You can check out Dave's art via his website http://www.transience.com.au/wp/

As many of you may know, there is currently (June 2021) widespread climbing bans through the Gariwerd and Wimmera area. Please stay up to date with where you are and aren’t allowed to climb through this time. You can find out info at https://vicclimb.org.au as well as speaking with locals.

Check out more episodes, news and grab yourself some Baffle Days merch at www.baffledays.com.au

You walk into a climbing gym, look around at all the nice fiberglass shapes, the funky volumes and order yourself a coffee. A coupe hours later you walk out having had a blast of a time with your friends and a few layers of skin down. In a few days time you'll be back and do the same thing again. You are a climber and the sport has taken over your life, even if its just for a few hours each week. How good is it!

What really goes into making this sport and life so good though? Well a large part of it is the product of the setters and their creative flow. They dream, concoct and set the things that make you smile, drive you insane and keep you coming back.

In the Baffle Days studio today we have Pat Banda and Dan Gordon two head setters from the uber massive Urban Climb. Dan's official roll is actually 'Head of Climbing,' how cool is that! Anyway in this ep we dig into the ins and outs of the indoor scene. We talk setting, comps, creativity, holds and much much more. It's a super interesting insight to a world we really only see the top layer of.

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I'm almost certain many of you  have done one or all of these things. A generation ago, employing some of these tactics may have resulted in being chased out of the crag. Perhaps there are still a few strong holds which keep the torch burning in a quest for pure ascents. The question is, do these tactics sit within the lines of fair play or have we pushed the boat out too far? Are those who shun these ideas just the beard stroking class of yesteryear, too lost in tearing people down to actually evolve with the times. Or is there legitimacy to their cries.

Helping the Baffle Days team to unpack our chosen ethical quagmires is Lee Cujes and Helen Day.

Check the Baffle Days website for training books from Climb Strong and Power company climbing, as well as Baffle apparel. https://www.baffledays.com.au/shop

Check out more Baffle Days episodes https://www.baffledays.com.au

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