nugget climbing

Ron Kauk is a legendary Yosemite climber. He recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his many accomplishments, within and beyond climbing. We talked about life in Camp 4 in the 70s, climbing ‘Astroman’ with John Bachar, influential music and books, stories from a brief career in Hollywood, doing the FA of ‘Magic Line’, his non-profit Sacred Rok, daily practices, connecting with Mother Nature, and much more.

Support on Patreon:  

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing 

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ron-kauk

Nuggets:

4:17 – Out of the blue, and reflecting on a life of climbing

8:19 – Sylvester Stallone, Wolfgang Gulich, and a brief career in Hollywood

18:48 – Doubling for Tom Cruise, and working on films in Yosemite

20:14 – “We would do anything to make $1000.”

23:24 – Ron’s first wilderness trip at age 14, and early rock climbing

28:43 – Rattlesnake Ridge

32:33 – Climbing ‘The Nutcracker'

35:17 – Catching rides to Yosemite, and Dale Bards bakery van

38:07 – ‘Outer Limits’ with Bridwell

39:28 – Ron’s first summer in Yosemite, and “all I needed to do was get there.”

42:55 – A day in the life in Camp 4, and climbing The Nose in a day

48:23 – Jimmy Hendrix

52:40 – ‘Midnight Lightning’

57:41 – Playful training, and 100 fingertip pull-ups

1:00:13 – Catching waves, and freeing ‘Astroman’ with John Bachar

1:07:53 – Carlos Casteneda, ‘Tales of Power’, and ’Separate Reality’ 

1:13:47 – The end of the 70s, ‘To Bolt’, and ‘Magic Line’

1:18:27 – “I am that waterfall.”

1:20:19 – Mother nature, nurture, and becoming better caretakers

1:21:47 – Sacred Rok, and the universe as our university

1:26:15 – Sponsorship and performing

1:29:34 – Ron’s vision for what climbing could be

1:35:44 – Taking time in nature, and getting back to the basics 

1:39:45 – Barefoot standing

1:49:12 – Slowing down

1:54:11 – Words from Alan Watts (the climber)

2:03:30 – Questions from Alan 

2:12:12 – The photograph

2:15:56 – “We really are all connected.”

2:19:21 – Follow-Up teaser, and show notes

This full episode is available for Patrons right now! This is a teaser of a follow-up call with Emily Harrington. We talked about her send of ‘Golden Gate’ in a day, finding flow state after a minor head injury, using two pairs of TC Pros to climb the Monster Offwidth, her recent trip to the VRG, how she has trained Adrian (her partner) to climb his first 5.13b, and favorite pancake toppings. 

You can get access to follow-up conversations for $5 per month on Patreon at patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing. The full version of this follow-up call is 36:17.

Learn more: thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups

This full episode is available for Patrons right now! This is a teaser of a follow-up call with Mike Doyle. We talked about some of the exercises that have helped Mike in his recovery from his elbow injury, working with Natasha Barnes and retraining his brain to reduce pain, and Mike shared his go-to hangboard protocol for maintaining finger strength throughout the year between training blocks. 

You can support the podcast and get access to follow-up conversations for $5 per month on Patreon at patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing. The full version of this follow-up call is 30:04.

Jon Cardwell is a professional rock climber who specializes in bouldering and sport climbing. Jon’s tick list includes V15, multiple 5.15a’s, and hundreds of 5.14s. We talked about lessons learned from ‘Biographie’ and ‘La Rambla’, about his off-season and pre-training modes, about bouldering for sport climbing, and about his current 5.15 project at The Fortress in Colorado.  

Support on Patreon:  

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/jon-cardwell  

Nuggets:  

4:05 – Training at home during quarantine, and forced time off from climbing  

5:44 – Taking time off over the holidays, and setting goals for the new year  

8:14 – How Jon trains for a goal route (broad strokes)  

10:45 – Tapering, the performance window, and incorporating hiking when preparing for ‘Biographie’  

14:04 – Jon’s typical climbing schedule when trying a 5.15 project, and differences between ‘Biographie’ and ‘La Rambla’  

15:46 – Sending ‘La Lambla’, and taking a step back to recharge for a hard project  

20:03 – Jon’s current 5.15 project, and how his training has changed vs. previous 5.15s  

23:24 – More details about Jon’s project  

28:50 – Running to circulate blood and aid recovery  

30:31 – Breakdown of project pitch 1  

33:32 – Skin cooling, and portable fans as the future of sport climbing  

37:48 – Using the tension board, Jon’s “pre-training” mode(s), and bouldering for sport climbing  

43:16 – Outdoor vs. indoor bouldering  

46:53 – Moderate days and enjoying climbing  

50:55 – Jon’s trips to Ten Sleep this summer  

53:06 – Memorable climbs/sends that didn’t make the headlines, and Carlo’s “Triple 14” day  

59:36 – ‘Misty Wall’  

1:09:40 – Patron Question: What are some of Jon’s favorite FiveTen shoes?  

1:12:43 – Patron Question: Do you have any takeaways from dealing with climbing finger injuries?  

1:19:16 – Thoughts on preventing finger injuries, and when to let go  

1:24:01 – Advice for newer climbers (first few years)  

1:28:06 – Advice for climbers with limited access to outdoor climbing, and coaching kids  

1:32:52 – Route setting  

1:36:06 – Moving toward a new career  

1:37:55 – One of the best decisions Jon has ever made  

1:39:55 – Photography, dog walking, and being in the mountains  

1:40:43 – Gratitude for health  

1:42:02 – Favorite post-climb meal  

1:42:52 – ‘The Wind-Up Bird’  

My friend Trevor made shirts for The Nugget Climbing Podcast, and I am giving them away to some of you! Well, sort of...

Learn more and reserve your shirt at thenuggetclimbing.com/giveaway

Steven Dimmitt is the host of The Nugget Climbing Podcast. In this reverse interview, Ethan Pringle takes over and asks Steven about his upbringing, his path through climbing, and about starting the podcast. This episode also features questions from past guests on the show, asking Steven about some of his biggest mistakes, lessons learned, climbing heroes, and inner life.  

Support on Patreon:  

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/steven-dimmitt  

Nuggets:  

2:13 – Beef and veggie breakfast tacos   

5:04 – Switching interview roles  

6:49 – The early years and growing up in Wenatchee, WA  

10:27 – Traveling as a kid, South America, and cockroaches  

13:02 – Getting robbed in South America    

15:22 – Parents, podcast hikes, and connecting through the podcast  

20:40 – Piano lessons and threatening to cut my fingers off  

22:13 – Music up through high school  

26:01 – Going to college in Bellingham, majoring in music, and playing in (and living with) a band  

29:30 – My first (and second) climbing experiences, and working at the climbing gym in college  

34:01 – My first climbing trip to Bishop and climbing ‘The Hunk’  

35:47 – Connecting with climbing and moving away from music after college, and a new excitement for music now  

38:50 – Summer jobs in the fruit warehouses  

43:53 – Working for the Forest Service, bouldering my first V0 through V10 (except V6) in Leavenworth, and discovering I had weak fingers in Joe’s Valley  

45:31 – Learning how to sport climb at Equinox, and resonating with sport climbing  

49:45 – Living in my Subaru after college to climb, Ten Sleep, the first Climb Strong Training Camp, and the ‘Superman’ video  

53:20 – Visiting Bend/Smith for the first time, lacking purpose on the road, and moving there to work for Entre Prises (EP)  

57:31 – Making climbing holds for EP, and working in aerospace   

59:57 – The Adventures of Sloth blog and my uneventful 25th birthday  

1:02:28 – Smith Rock, “eating your vegetables (with sand in them)”, and working in the grind  

1:05:31 – My approach to training while working in Bend, my ‘Grinding’ blog post, following the (altered) Rock Prodigy program, and changing my tune   

— [Guest Questions] —    

1:11:45  – [Mike Doyle] What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in regards to training?  

1:16:53 – [Drew Ruana] What inspired you to start the podcast?  

1:24:32 – [Audrey Sniezek] What is the biggest challenge in producing a podcast?  

1:25:51 – [Ian Yurdin] How has the podcast influenced your climbing? How is it a drain and/or boon for your climbing? Are you sending more since you started the podcast?  

1:28:50 – [Bill Ramsey] When interviewing famous climbers how do you strike a balance between interviewing them for things they’re famous for and therefore have already been covered, and asking original questions that cover new ground?  

1:30:37 – [Tonde Katiyo] You are a great listener. Do you think that is a personality trait or something that you’ve cultivated?  

1:32:33 – [Charlie Manganiello] What’s the one thing you wish someone would have told you when you first started pursuing hard rock climbs?  

1:36:09 – [Mike Kerzhner] If you could take a trip for a month with one climber, dead or alive, who would it be and where would you go?  

1:37:11 – [Steve Bechtel] If you could only do one more hard route in your life, which one would it be? Why aren’t you trying it now?  

1:38:59 – [Brittany Goris] If you could climb only on one type of rock (i.e. granite, sandstone, limestone, etc.) for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?  

1:39:59 – [Chad Andrews] What’s your ideal balance between meaningful work, travel, and climbing in the future?  

1:42:11 – [Blake Cason] Describe a snapshot of a memorable climbing experience you’ve had.   

— [Ethan’s Questions] —   

1:46:56 – What is your inner life like? And do you think there is a discrepancy between how you seem to others and how you seem to yourself?  

1:52:23 – What have you been especially grateful for lately?  

1:57:30 – What does the word “God” mean to you?  

2:07:36 – “Be kind to one another.”  

2:11:55 – “Is a whale a fish or a mammal?”  

This full episode is available for Patrons right now! This is a teaser of a follow-up call with Ethan Pringle. We talked about surfing, about the stories we tell ourselves about what we can and can’t do, about the biggest difference between Adam Ondra and everyone else, about Ethan’s projects in Northern California, and about my recent projects in Ten Sleep. 

You can support the podcast and get access to follow-up conversations for $5 per month on Patreon at patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing. The full version of this follow-up call is 51:13.