On Episode 308 of the Enormocast, Alpinist Angela Vanwiemeersch returns after over a decade since her first interview on the show. That interview featured a spunky overstoked girl who had more or less just discovered climbing. She had been ushered into the big leagues by association with her then boyfriend, Scott Adamson. Scott’s “no weak shit” motto was already practically Angela’s own when they met. A love affair and bountiful climbing partnership bloomed for 4 years. But then Scott and Kyle Dempster disappeared on Oger II in Pakistan and Angela was shattered. On this deep and emotional face to face interview at The Michigan Icefest, Angela explains her journey through the darkness of grief and how she put her life back together, sort of. Her connection to climbing and the climbing community was a lifeline that never let her go.

Photo Taylor Shaffer @taylorshaffer_photo





On this Tweener ™ episode of the Enormocast, we catch up with pro climber, Sam Stroh. When we posted the full-blown Enormocast with Sam in April, 2025, it had been gathering dust for nearly 9 months. Sam and I agreed that a catch-up was in the offing. In the meantime, Sam had been to Naranjo De Bulnes and Majorca in Spain, spent a couple months holed up in Bend, and a long trip to the Blue Mountains, Arapiles, and the Grampians in Australia. He’d also settled into the life as a full blown pro. Unfortunately, along with the rest of us, he found out a couple months after our first interview that teammate Mike Gardner had lost his life in Nepal. So yes, a lot had happened, and another talk seemed like a good idea.

On Episode 307 of the Enormocast, we are graced buy a drop-in concert and chat from Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski of Golden Shoals. Of the pair, Amy is the climber, but together they form Golden Shoals, an old time and folk duo formed over a decade ago with origins at Berklee. Amy and Mark dropped by the Enormo-headquarters to talk about music, climbing, but most importantly play a few tunes. Amy and I discuss the divergent and similar pursuits of the life of a dirtbag climber and itinerant musician. Mark and Amy together talk about inspiration and balancing life on the road with other interests. Amy and Mark play two climbing inspired originals and more. Its quite the hootenanny over here at the Enormocast. Enjoy!



Golden Shoals



Buy Track 1: Rock Topper



Buy Track 2: Traveling Man



Buy Track 3: Old Buffalo



Roscoe Holcomb

On Episode 206 of the Enormocast, I sit down at Banff Mountain Film with alpinist and guide, Sarah Hueniken. Sarah was an outdoor educator before she was a climber, and though she is known for ice climbing and dry tooling, she was a rock climber first. She even found Canmore, Alberta a little bleak and cold for her taste. Nevertheless, Sarah eventually set up shop in Canmore and pursued guiding as her career choice and first love. Almost as an afterthought to that pursuit, she became an accomplished alpinist in her own right and took to the emerging disciplines of mixed climbing and dry tooling. She became the first woman to climb M11-M14. But then, well into her advanced guiding career, a terrible incident occurred during an ice-climbing camp under her direction in 2019. An avalanche swept over a a guided group at Massey’s Waterfall and buried and killed Sonja Findlater. In the aftermath of that incident, Sarah found herself wallowing in guilt and trauma and the loss of her friend. Finally, she emerged from her despair to rejoin the climbing community, start guiding again, and form the Mountain Muskox organization to see others through the trauma of mountain accidents.Sarah On FireSarah’s Guiding WebsiteMassey’s Incident Guide ReportNot Alone by Heather Mosher

Middle Photo Ramona WaldnerOn Episode 305 of the Enormocast, alpinist and guide Caro North joins me in my lovely hotel room in Banff, AB during the Banff Mountain Film Festival for a heartfelt talk about her journey as an international female climber. Born in Switzerland, but raised in Germany, Caro actually found herself on top of Aconcagua in Argentina at the age of 16. She was hooked on the climbing life from that moment forward. Soon she was deep in the alpine clubs in Germany and learning amongst a group of her female peers. So once Caro set out on her own, it seemed natural to try and climb with women in the mountains. Then she found that being a polyglot and multinational opened her partner pool to the world and a frantic decade of expeditions ensued. Some burn-out was the cost, though, and Caro took assessment of her exhaustion at the ripe age of 26. This talk finds her a part time resident of El Chalten, a full blown UIAA Swiss guide, and on a (very) slightly more restful path as she still pursues her goals in the mountains. Caro on the GramPasses for Banff 2025

On Episode 304 of the Enormocast, climber Sam Stroh drops by my suite at the Arcteryx Academy in Squamish to talk climbing and get to the bottom of a misunderstanding. Sam cut his teeth in New Mexico and soon after high school was on the road as a classic itinerant dirtbag. After falling in with his climbing-life-partner, Adrian Vanoni, the duo started audaciously skipping through the grades and finding themselves on bigger and bigger missions. El Cap sends ensued. Professional offers appeared. Deals were made. And now Sam is out on a limb farther than he ever dreamed. But somewhere in there, Sam and Adrian heard something from one of their thought leaders, yours truly, that didn’t sit well with the boys. In this interview, we get to the bottom of my apparent diss that’s been stuck in their mutual craw for years. But we hug it out in the end.Wet Lycra Nightmare with Sam and Jordan CannonGet ‘Em While They’re Hot: Sam Stroh Arcteryx Academy Clinic Spots

On Episode 303 of the Enormocast I sit down with one of the most compelling and somewhat enigmatic climbers of our times: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll. It was a multi-year dance, but we finally sat down puss-a-puss in the Canadian Rockies at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Sean is known for his big wall antics across the globe, often in the company of his broer van een andere moeder, Nico Favresse. But that bright and shiny sense of humor belies the fire and climbing beast that Sean can muster when the going gets tough, cold, and seemingly insurmountable. We discuss his Belgian, Irish, Spanish multi-cultural background and what his Irish roots in particular mean to him. Sean also fills us in on his beginnings, partnerships, forced COVID retreat in El Chaltén, Greenland, sea sickness, meditation, philosophy and more. And of course, I didn’t unlash him from his seat until we got some Irish tin whistle. I mean, come on!Riders on the Storm and Reel Rock 19Sean’s mentee Siebe Vanhee on the EnormocastWide Boy plus Sean in Patagonia

Episode 302 of the Enormocast is the annual airing of grievances in climbing: the laments, the beefs, and the sad truths of the dumb shit we do as climbers. What was formerly known as Taps is now Last Rites. Once again, this year’s slam evolves from listeners’ calls. Andy Salo, Andrew Bisharat, and Mary “Token girl” Harlan join Chris to dole out advice, ethics, and perform last rites for the dying trends in climbing we’d like to see live on. We also mark a few things for extermination. Ryan Devlin of the Struggle Podcast stops by, too. On this year’s docket: chalkbag carabiner (again), bitchy looks and girl-on-girl side-eye, downgraders, soft routes in the gym, trad-dads, and much more. Finally, we propose our start-up idea: need a belay on the proj and all your bros are out golfing? Call a Beluber. As usual, the laughs come fast and furious, but leave your sensitivities at the door because one of your sacred cows is likely headed to the butcher.Last Rites by Ingested (on tour)Last Rites by OmenLast Rites by Merciful Fate

All photos Jesse HueyOn Episode 301 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a posh hotel in Squamish, BC, with alpinist Quentin Roberts. We met up at the Arc’teryx Academy in August 2024 on a rainy day to talk about Quentin’s life as a climber. Quentin grew up attending boarding schools in several countries and despite not fitting in with the style of education, he managed to find climbing and skateboarding. In his teens, Quentin focused on hard sport climbing before the bug of alpinism took control after finishing high school in Vancouver. In his 20s, Roberts racked up standout ascents like the third ascent of Canadian Route on Cerro Fitz Roy, the first ascent of The Devil’s Reacharound on Chacraraju Este in the Cordillera Blanca, and the first ascent of Hiding in Plain Sight in the Canadian Rockies. Somewhere in there, soloing took hold culminating (so far) in a solo ascent of Striving for the Moon on Mt. Temple in the Canadian Rockies. Now in his 30s, and after years of expedition climbing, Quentin is ready to reflect on some close calls, some lost friends, and his future dancing on the razor’s edge.

Photos: Castleton Tower by Andrew Burr, Suesca Colombia by Cody Roth, Independence Pass by Chris NobleOn the auspicious Episode 300 of the Enormocast, Alex Honnold hijacks the Enormocast to interview Chris Kalous of the Enormocast. Yes, it turns out that Alex Honnold gets to have everything. Alex takes the interview skills that he’s honed over at Climbing Gold and talks to Chris about his climbing origins, podcast pioneering, and why he’s so much more scared now. Some old ground covered from a new perspective, and some new shit comes to light. Finally, here’s just too experienced climbers shooting the breeze about a combined 65 years in the sport. Upcoming Runout Live Show

Photos: Jérémy BernardOn Episode 299 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a fine hotel suite with the elegant Nina Caprez. We met up at the Arc’teryx Academy in Squamish, and after a Co-MC gig on the main stage the previous night, Nina and I reviewed our performance and then got down to business reviewing the 9 intervening years since our last Enormocast. Among other things, Nina climbed El Nino on El Cap, got shut down on the Nose, fell in love, had a kid, moved into a surplus military vehicle, and got pregnant a 2nd time. But that’s not all! She also had an epiphany that perhaps, just perhaps, there was more to life than the next big climbing trip. We now get a Nina who is in an ongoing mission to calm down, balance momming and climbing, and be a less selfish partner.Nina’s remarkably up-to-date blogClassic Nina in WOGÜThe UBER-Duo of Nina and Babsi Zangerl

On Episode 298 of the Enormocast, I sit down in with Boulder, Colorado legend, Jim Erickson. Turns out that when Jim climbed the crags and roamed the streets of Boulder in the late 60s and 70s, it was a cow-town – not the bougie climbing mecca we love to hate on today. Erickson grew up climbing at Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin, but was looking for a college experience with close-by climbing and ended up out west. Quickly, he established himself as the most psyched climber of the small community and was raging through Eldo in no time. Jim’s free ascent of the Naked Edge with Duncan Ferguson in 1971 put him on the top of the heap worldwide. But just months later, Jim embraced clean climbing and embarked on a sending spree that went a very long way to evangelize for using removable rock-friendly nuts exclusively. Jim’s ethics evolved to eschew chalk and several other modern conveniences, yet he nearly sent Half-Dome free in 1976 with Art Higbee. This ascent and many others established Jim as one of the best and unique free climbers of all time.Free Climb: The Northwest Face of Half Dome, Jim Erickson and Art Higbee scale Half Dome

On Episode 297 of the Enormocast, I sit down in Munising, Michigan with local Midwest legend, Paul Kuenn. In his youth near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Paul was drawn to the outdoors: fly-fishing, cross-country skiing, and finally, climbing at Devil’s Lake. Climbing became obsession which brought him to the PNW to become a guide and to Colorado to ply his craft as a guide but also a builder. But the upper midwest drew him back, and Paul set out on a mission to find and climb ice all around Lake Superior. He also created Dairyland Expeditions which specialized in alpine training in Wyoming and Montana, and guiding ice in Munising. Paul also help organized and popularize the AMGA. Now decades later, Paul still revels in the ice climbing community he helped to form on the lonely ice flows of Lake Superior and attends the Michigan Ice Fest nearly without fail since its inception in a tiny cabin on the shore of mighty Gichigami.

On Episode 296 of the Enormocast, we rebroadcast an interview that was recorded live at the Banff Mountain Film Festival with alpinist and Canadian legend, Barry Blanchard. Barry showed up at the Banff Centre at 9:45am and brought the fire and the wisdom of 50 years in the game. Barry’s feted exploits range from his home in the Canadian Rockies to the worldwide ranges of Alaska, Pakistan, India, Chamonix, the Andes, Patagonia and frankly, anywhere there are mountains to climb. During the one hour interview in front of a hometown crowd, we talk about the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat, The North Pillar of North Twin, but more interestingly, we get into Barry’s motivations, indigenous roots, darker side, and lost partners. Finally, we preview Barry’s next book and hear the story of his rebirth after a more domestic accident nearly took his life. Just a fine hour of Barry Blanchard. The BMFF World TourSpindrift: The Barry Blanchard StoryMore Barry over at the Firn Line Podcast

Middle Photo: Fallon RoweOn Episode 295 of the Enormocast, I sit down at a splintery picnic table on a hot morning in Lander, Wyoming with Aaron Peterson. Aaron is a young (ish) climber for whom activism, protest, and speaking his mind goes hand in hand with his motivations as a climber. At a cost to his mental health, Aaron will engage on the thorny subjects of racism and Trumpism online and in person wherever he goes. His need to speak up comes from a youth exposed to inequality in Phoenix, AZ and a previous life with one foot in the dangerous side of hip-hop culture. A difficult illness for his mother and theft of his life-collection of music production equipment sent Aaron on a difficult path to wellness and climbing, in that order. Now Aaron is a half-time road-dawg spreading the gospel of equality, inclusion, and environmentalism as he sees it while climbing and visiting the far corners of the America. Music Tracks:Boom, BoomWake Up, E$cott ft. Shawn PE$cott – Cliche Ft. DobermanJames Baldwin Quote

On Episode 294 of the Enormocast, I connect to Katoomba, NSW in Australia- the heart of the Blue Mountains – to chat with photographer Simon Carter. Simon has been in the game as long as anyone currently active, and after four decades of producing some of the most iconic images in climbing, he’s published a retrospective: The Art of Climbing. After a demoralizing start in the mainstream world of photography, Simon began using his camera to capture climbing in the late 80s and early 90s and thereby found his muse. A State-promoted course in business planning resulted in Simon creating a selling a climbing calendar and voila, he was a professional. In the 40+ years since, Simon travelled the world shooting climbing, publishing photos, and writing guidebooks. He also worked through the shift from film to digital. Carter’s done more than anyone to bring the incredible beauty of Australian climbing to the world, and now he’s fighting a battle to keep two of its most legendary areas open to climbing. The Art of Climbing at CNN

On Episode 293 of the Enormocast, I connect with paraclimber Jim Ewing. Jim grew up climbing in the storied days of 1980s North Conway in New Hampshire. In his formative climbing years, Ewing rubbed elbows with the likes of Randy Radcliff, Alison Osius, and Hugh Herr. He didn’t know it while eeking out a dirtbag life in New England, but that early friendship with Herr would become one of the most pivotal relationships of his life. Fast forward decades to Jim family-climbing in Cayman Brac, and a fateful day that resulted in a 60 foot ground fall and a broken body barely clinging to life. Later, while looking for solutions to a painfully destroyed ankle and leg, Jim found himself in the office of his old friend Hugh – now the preeminent inventor of leg prostheses in the world. Hugh laid out the argument for amputation, and Jim started down an experimental path to a better quality of life than he could have ever imagined while being stuffed into an ambulance in the Caribbean. Augmented Documentary

Photos Sam PrattOn Episode 292 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a hotel in Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) during the Arc’teryx Academy with Olympian Hamish McArthur and British competition climber Holly Toothill. I arrived in Squamish with Hamish booked and asked Holly to join at the last minute as a friend, teammate, and observer of Hamish’s performance in Paris. Hamish finished 5th in the combined at the 2024 Olympics. The conversation ranges from examining their friendship, competitive styles, to Hamish’s Olympic experience. Hamish also reveals that his path to the Olympics was never a dream, and he was sometimes even reluctant to pursue the contest. But when he got in, he knew he would show up and do his best. Turns out that showing up is his superpower.

Photos: TL, B Ian Dzlienski, TR Hayden Jamieson CollectionOn Episode 290 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a cool, dark hotel room on a bright and HOT day in Lander, WY with bigwall climber, Hayden Jamieson. Hayden and I both slumped into our chairs after escaping the 100 degree day outside and tried to gather ourselves for the interview, and that’s when Hayden began the tale that you hear on the show: Pakistan, protruding bones, blood, pain, anguish and heroism from his partners. Underneath this harrowing tale are obvious questions to contemplate: why climb? why go back? how do we honor those who do not come back from the mountains? And to cap it off, we end with Hayden’s comeback in Cochamó. Check your knot for this one, and try not to drive off the road.

On Episode 289 of the Enormocast, I connect to Nashville, TN to talk to climber and musician Smith Curry. Smith is one of the busiest session players in Music City on dobro and pedal steel. He also happens to be a veteran climber with big walls, first ascents, and alpine gnar under his harness-belt. Smith was introduced to climbing as a kid on a trip to Yosemite when Wayne Merry gave him a lesson at the Church Bowl. Then the next 15 years saw Smith on two paths: climbing and music. Music edged ahead as an obsession after he saw a young Jerry Douglas on Dobro. Then Smith ended up in Nashville and a 30 year career which lead him to play on over 20k songs, record for or with over 200 signed musicians including Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. All the while, Smith snuck in his climbing with ascents from Canada to Peru, Yosemite, the Southeast and everywhere in between. Smith is still on a session recording hot streak with the current Hot 100 #1, The Bar Song (Tipsy), and his climbing is still going strong.Smith’s WebsiteT- Swift with Smith