In today's episode, we sit down with legendary climber, author, and coach Eric Hörst—an East Coast pioneer whose nearly five decades of climbing and route development have left an indelible mark on American climbing culture. Eric takes us back to the 1970s Gunks scene, where he cut his teeth on steep trad climbs before importing sport climbing ethics to the New River Gorge, helping transform it into the world-class crag it is today. We rewind the tape back to the ‘golden age’ of development at the New, where Eric, alongside notable first ascensionists, Rick Thompson, Doug Reed, Porter Jarrard, Eddie Begoon, Mike Artz, and several others started establishing the first sport routes on the blank walls of the NRG. Eric takes us through his pivotal first ascents like Diamond Life, the friendly competition that occurred during the 80s and 90s, and what drove him to drive 800-miles round trip weekend after weekend to hungry for that next first ascent. Lastly, Eric reflects on balancing family, career, and high-end climbing, shares why he eventually ‘switched allegiance’ to the Red River Gorge, and explains how his mindset—and the sport itself—has evolved over forty-plus years of routes, bolts, and hard-earned lessons. - The first 5.13 at the New River Gorge: Diamond Life  - Follow Eric on Instagram: @eric_horst Get the best training resources available at https://trainingforclimbing.com/  Check out Training For Climbing on Instagram: @training4climbing Level up you climbing with PhysiVāntage Nutrition Check out PhysiVantage on Instagram: @physivantage Use checkout code "Save10" to get 10% off your first order! - Follow along on Instagram: @listentogroundup  Check out our new website: https://www.thegrounduppodcast.com/ Sign up for the Mailing List!