Written in Stone: Climbing History

Ted Kingsnorth on The Influence of Jerry Moffatt And Chasing History

A big part of my research for any UK climber ends up being first, climbing-history.org run by Remus Knowles, but then immediately after I start reading endless threads on UKclimbing.com. While there, I often bump into an authoritative voice who obviously absolutely LOVES climbing history. Ted Kingsnorth. 
I first came across Ted’s name when he made an extended effort to climb Just Do It at Smith Rock - a route whose history we detailed last season and I’m sure Ted’s descriptions of the route influenced the episode. Ted made multiple trips to Smith from the UK over 3 years before succeeding, and it’s that determination and belief that made me take notice. 
I could have reached out to a lot of people to talk about the influence of Jerry Moffatt, but as you’ll hear in this conversation, Ted was absolutely the right person. 
Follow Ted on YouTube and Instagram.
Image credit: Sam Lawson
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Jerry Moffatt Climbs Everything, Everywhere

In 1984, Jerry Moffatt was quite possibly the best climber in the world. A year later, he was out of climbing entirely, with severe elbow problems. During his couple of years off, climbing moved on without him - and it moved fast. Bolts became the norm, yo-yo ascents were all but gone, replaced by redpoint tactics, difficulty had skyrocketed from 13c to 14b, and the best climbers were all competing. To make it that much more daunting, Jerry couldn't even climb his old warmups. 
But he wanted to be the best. So he got to work.
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.
 

Mark Anderson on Wolfgang Güllich, The Campus Board, and Climbing on Your Heroes' Routes

Beyond being a top athlete, Wolfgang Güllich was also a training nerd and developed the campus board. Because of this, I knew I needed to talk to Mark Anderson. Mark is one of the twin Anderson Brothers - both great climbers and pioneers in the training space. They wrote The Rock Climbers Training Manual, developed the Rock Prodigy Hangboard and Training Method, and Mark made a pilgrimage to The Campus Center in Nuremberg to see the original campus board. He climbed some routes in the Frankenjura while there too, of course. In this episode we get into the campus board, Wolfgang’s impact, over-romanticizing the routes of your heroes, and more.
The original campus board measurements and specs.
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Wolfgang Güllich is a Wolf on Wallstreet

After establishing Punks in the Gym, the first 14a (8b+), Wolfgang Güllich was looking for a change. First he accepted an invitation to a competition in Bardonecchia, Italy. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Over the next year, after doing a few more hard routes, he experimented with bold climbing on gritstone and free soloing, culminating in his free solo of Separate Reality in Yosemite. After that, he established his second 14a, Wallstreet, in the Frankenjura. Being in his home area, this one was special. So when someone enlarged the crux pocket, he took it personally.
 
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Back To The Regular Season Plus An Announcement

Thanks for listening. We're back next week with our regular season. 
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2.
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Rosie Andrews on No Spare Rib and Women in Climbing From the 80s to Today

Over 40 years ago, Mountain Magazine published an article by Rosie Andrews called No Spare Rib. Filled with photos of strong women and asserting that women would eventually climb at the highest levels while explaining why they were behind in the 80s, it did two things: inspired some and ruffled the feathers of others. 
Today, women like Brooke Raboutou, Katie Lamb, Babsi Zangerl and Janja Garnbret are proving Rosie right. 
In this episode we go back to the 80s and discuss The Gunks, climbing Right Wall with Jill Lawrence, the other leading women of the era, and of course, we dig deep into No Spare Rib. We finish with Rosie setting the record straight on an old Supertopo thread. 
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. 
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Louise Shepherd on Her Female Climbing Role Models and Connecting With Other Women in the 80's

Louise Shepherd was and is a juggernaut for women’s climbing, particularly in Australia, where she did for climbing what Lynn Hill did in the US - make it impossible to ignore that women are excellent at this. And this was before everybody got the news from everywhere immediately - so, yes, there needed to be a palpable example in all of the climbing hotspots. And there was. Jill Lawrence in the UK, Catherine Destivelle in France, Christine Gambert, though French, was often climbing in Germany, Lynn Hill in the US, and of course, Louise Shepherd in Australia.  
Louise and I only had a short time to chat, so I came in researched and ready, and trying to fill some of the gaps that I hadn’t been able to fill through my reading, and in turn, got some great stories from Louise about climbing with the other women we’ve been discussing. 
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
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Season Two is generously supported by Rab. 
This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. 
Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Alison Osius on The Women of Climbing and Media in the 80s

Alison Osius is easily one of the most impactful people in climbing media. She helped to shape how so many climbers learned more about and engaged with the sport from the 80s into the 20s. She’s a former editor at Climbing, Rock and Ice and Outside, the first woman president of the American Alpine Club, wrote Second Ascent: The Story of Hugh Herr and has received the AAC Literary Award.  She's a climbing legend. 
In this episode we discuss how she discovered climbing through journalism, her first times meeting the other top women of the 80s, and some of the first big competitions. We also get Alison's side of the rivalry with Bobbi Bensman that we heard about last season, and of course, because she's a media legend, I ask her theorize about the answers to impossible to answer questions. We start the conversation talking about a big event that had just happened before we recorded. 
Power Company Climbing Anniversary Sale! 
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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.

Lynn Hill on the Women of the 80s, Who Inspired Her and Who Is Inspiring Her Now

Lynn Hill is THE legend, and quite possibly the most impactful climber of all time. I could make a case that Lynn's free ascent in a day of The Nose is the greatest climbing achievement of all time. 
But Lynn and I aren't talking about Lynn. We're talking about the other women of the 80s: the women she climbed with, competed against and was inspired by. We also get into who is inspiring her now. 
More from Lynn at her website. 
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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.

Amy Skinner on Las Vegas Climbing in the 80s and the Importance of Great Female Partners

Today I sit down with my good friend Amy Skinner - who, in the early 80s in Las Vegas, sort of stumbled into the scene that would eventually be called sport climbing. We discuss that movement, where she first encountered other female climbers, who her favorite female climbing partners have been, and more. 
Like many of the women who have been mentioned in this series, Amy is still involved in the climbing community, but has also become a pillar in her greater community. A business owner, an advocate, a supporter, and a friend. 
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Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
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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.