May of 2023, Chris set out to rope solo Virgin Wool (5.8 C2) in Arches National Park. The description of the first pitch read: "5.7 - sporty - no pro.” To Chris, it looked harder than a 5.7 from the ground, and he noticed a seam that he thought he could aid up, so he decided to try and aid climb the route. It didn’t go as planned and he ripped out …

In April of this year (2024), Tanner and Parker were swept down Mt. Shasta after triggering a wind stab. After a 12 hour ground rescue, they were finally off the mountain, but did sustain physical and mental injuries from the traumatic event. Tune into this episode to hear their story.This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. This podcast is sponso…

In March of this year, Brandon took his wife and a visiting climber from Hungry to the Atlantis climbing area in Queen Creek Canyon near Phoenix, AZ. They were warming up on some easy routes and were all thoroughly enjoying the day. On Brandon’s second lead of the day climbing an easy 5.8, things were going fine until they weren’t.From what Brandon…

Sean Oldfield was climbing Mount Shasta this year in May when he was violently struck in the back of the head by a falling rock on his descent. Despite wearing a helmet (which saved his life), Sean ended up getting flown off the mountain in a helicopter to the hospital, where he received multiple staples in his head, a fractured skull, and a concus…

Kirk and Fred have been friends for a long time. They have done adventure races together in the past and know where their limits lie. During this adventure, Fred nearly lost his life to heat stroke when they were doing the Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) in the Grand Canyon. Kirk and Fred talk openly about what led up to the incident and how they managed…

This is a crazy incident where my guest was bit by a rattlesnake in June of 2022 and ended up in the hospital for 12 straight days. She was climbing at Consumnes River Gorge in Lake Tahoe and it was going to be her first time trad climbing. The crew was getting all set up near the first climb, she decided to use the “facili-trees” (if you will) bef…

This is Part Two of this story sequence with Taylor Rose. If you haven’t tuned in to episode 99, stop here and go back and listen to Part One (Episode 99) where Taylor Rose shares all about the details of his accident when he broke his femur on April 2nd, 2021 backcountry skiing in Huntington Ravine in the Mount Washington area. In this episode, Ta…

Taylor Rose is a twenty-four year old guy who loves the outdoors. He was out skiing in the backcountry with some friends in Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington in 2021 when he suffered a broken femur from a long sliding fall that resulted in a rescue involving his crew and the Mount Washington Avalanche Center. Tune in to hear part one of this se…

Devin Farkas was instructing a ten day climbing course in Joshua Tree National Park this last January. They were on day two of this ten day course when Devin’s trip was cut short. Tune into this episode to hear why.This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. This podcast is sponsored by Rocky Talkie and then American Alpine Institute and supported by…

On Fourth of July weekend, two climbing partners, Grant and David, set out to climb a 2,200 foot climb on the Northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in California. The conditions were perfect to climb this beautiful and exposed twenty-three pitch climb. Things started out perfectly, but not everything turned out as they had planned. …

In this BONUS episode, I chat with Jeannie Wall and Catherine Coe about an idea that came to life. Jeannie is the founder of BroadBeta which aims to “embolden women through shared stories to embrace wild ideas, wild experiences, and preserve the wildness.” Tune into this bonus episode to hear more about this idea, how it came to life, and what it’s…

Andrew Clements was climbing in Indian Creek on October 18, 2023 with a couple of climbers he had met in the parking lot the same day. He was on a route called Gorilla, which is rated 5.10b, which was his 3rd route of the day. He was standing about 2 feet above his last piece of gear when he fell. Drew injured his hand and both of his heels. Tune i…

Douglas started this small gear company because he saw a need in the outdoor climbing and rescue community. As a member of Search and Rescue, he found he needed specific gear for specific tasks that could create efficiency within certain tasks. Tune into this episode to hear what RopeLiteLLC is, why and how it started and how this whole interview c…

In May of 2023, Allen and Samuel were out skiing Mt. Baker, a 10,781 foot active glacier-covered stratovolcano in the North Cascades of Washington when they came upon another skier who fell 35 feet down inside a crevasse after the snow bridge he was standing on collapsed. With their knowledge of rope skills and crevasse rescue, they sprung into act…

Have you ever heard the phrase “Cotton Kills?” One thing that we can each do to be a responsible outdoors person is to dress appropriately for the activity and weather to minimize the risk of getting too wet and too cold which could lead to hypothermia. Today I talk with Lawson Glidden, owner of Minus33, an American company founded in New Hampshire…

In April of 2023, Michael Habicht headed over to Nepal to climb the striking 6,812 meter tall mountain, Ama Dablam. As a solo climber, he was met with some unique challenges and learned a ton from his expedition. After Michael got back from this trip he made the decision not to climb 8,000 meter peaks because of the experience he shares on this epi…

Duane Swanson was rope soloing and found himself in a situation where he got stuck on the rock wall without food or water for nine hours and then had to figure out how to descend… by himself. Tune in to this episode to hear what rope soloing is and how he managed to self rescue. Other articles on Rope Soloing mentioned in the episode include: https…

Myriam Bouchard and her partner were at the City of Rocks having an amazing climbing trip. They were on a 5.8 climb called ‘Twist and Crawl’ and when her partner was at the anchor, he told her that he was ready to be lowered. She began lowering him when all of a sudden, the rope slipped through the belay device and he fell 20 feet down to the groun…

BASE jumping accidents are rarely talked about and I’ve always wondered why. Last month, Derek reached out to me to share his story regarding a BASE jumping accident that he was involved in and I was eager to hear it. He was jumping with three of his good military friends on October 25, 2014 when his lines got twisted very shortly after he jumped o…

In July of 2022, one year ago, just last summer, Bryce and James took a climbing trip to the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. They planned on climbing the Cirque of the Towers traverse. First, they started out up the South Buttress of Pingora and had a beautiful time on the route. At the top of the climb, that’s when they wo…

On July 30, 2022, Austin suffered a heat illness that could have cost him his life. He was climbing on the Olympic Peninsula with two of his friends. They set out to climb ‘The Brothers,’ which are the two highest mountains in that range that you can see from miles and miles away. Due to his heat illness, he ultimately pressed the SOS button to get…

I recently interviewed Christian Beckwith who is (among many additional pursuits) the founder of The Teton Climbers’ Coalition, co-founder of the Alpinist Magazine, founder of the non-profit SHIFT, a skilled alpinist, and most recently, creator and host of the podcast, Ninety-Pound Rucksack.Ninety-Pound Rucksack is a podcast dedicated to retracing …

Last spring in May of 2022, Matt Randall took a 1,000 foot fall from the top of South Maroon Bell, one that he undoubtedly shouldn't have survived. He was solo ski mountaineering just outside of Aspen Colorado and Matt somehow got lucky and walked away with zero injuries and one broken ski. He wants to share his experience because he believes it wo…

On June 3, 2020, two good friends, Kat and Amy, set out to climb the North Twin Sister in the North Cascades in Washington State. They initially had a beautiful weather window so they went for it. They were having a great time when the weather started to move in, visibility got low and they decided to turn around. On the descent, Amy accidentally d…

Gabs was coming down the Athabasca Glacier after spending nine days winter camping up on the Columbia Ice-Fields. Her crew had just re-supplied two days prior with another ten days worth of food/fuel, and soon after, her ski went parallel to a narrow crevasse and her pulk (a snow sled she was towing behind her) lined up with her body. She then brok…

On November 22, 2022, just two days after Thanksgiving, River Barry was gearing up to go mountain biking in Kings Creek, Moab, Utah. Things quickly changed when all of a sudden, a base jumper crashed into the sandstone rock and was dangling ever so delicately 80-100 feet above the ground. River soon found herself in the middle of a rescue. Listen i…

On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, Taylor Fields needed to release some school stress so he chose to go rock climbing. He went out with his best friend to climb "The Odyssey" on the Sun Wall at Looking Glass Rock in North Carolina. The Odyssey is a 5 pitch traditional route that is rated 5.11- on Mountain Project. Let's just say Taylor didn't walk back to …

On October 6, 2021, Ryan and his climbing partner headed out to climb at a crag in North Conway, New Hampshire called Whitehorse Ledge. This climbing area is known for runout slab climbing. They had their eyes set on a nine pitch trad route rated 5.9. They loaded up their climbing racks and went for it. On pitch five of the climb, Ryan slipped. Lis…

Aavron was on Mt Rainier when he slipped and fell, pulling his climbing partner down a slippery slope with him. During the fall, he was impaled by his ice ax. The surgeons said that packing the wound with snow saved his life. Using that resource was life or death to Aavron. By packing snow in his open chest wound, he was able to see his two boys an…

Andrew has been sport climbing for around 10 years and wanted to get some alpine/mountaineering experience under his belt. He did a handful of mountaineering climbs leading up to this particular climb (one being Mt Whitney) and then he and his climbing partner set their eyes on Mount Baldy (aka Mount San Antonio), the highest peak in the San Gabrie…

In today’s episode, I talk with Enji Cooper about what happened on Oval Peak with Glenn Block on the 8,800-foot mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. This episode is a follow up from last month’s episode number 79. (Make sure to listen to episode 79 before listening to this one!) There were many questions that listeners had about some…

Glenn Block and his friend Enji set out to climb Oval Peak, an 8,800-foot mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. At the time, Glenn was a novice hiker and admits he didn’t fully understand what he was getting himself into. As a result, he has many learnings from this experience. Being prepared and prepping for a hike like this is extre…

Rachel Pisula set out on July 29, 2020 on a pretty nice, mostly sunny day in Colorado to climb two fourteeners in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains about 3 hours from her home in Golden, Colorado. By this point in the summer, Rachel thinks she already hiked ten fourteeners with her dog, Emmett. She was feeling strong and confident. Her objective on th…

Clara was climbing at a local crag in Tennessee called King’s Bluff where she witnessed a free solo accident & was heavily involved in the rescue. The climber was out alone on a weekday, and her and her partner were the only other people at the crag. The climber that fell was climbing on an unestablished route and ended up being rescued via boat on…

On January 10th, 2020 Adam Campbell and his wife, Laura Kosakoski were skiing with their friend Kevin in the Mount Hector area of Banff National Park. Laura skied first, Kevin followed, as Adam approached the slope, he triggered a size 2.5 avalanche that pushed Laura into a terrain trap and buried her with over 12 feet of snow. Although Adam and Ke…

Tune in to episode 75 of the Sharp End Podcast to hear Joe Lovin share his story about a climbing fall he took in Clear Creek Canyon outside of Denver, Colorado. He talks about what went wrong and the important lessons he learned from his fall. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and the American Alpine C…

Bad fall, Broken face (Ep. 75)Tune in to episode 75 of the Sharp End Podcast to hear Joe Lovin share his story about a climbing fall he took in Clear Creek Canyon outside of Denver, Colorado. He talks about what went wrong and the important lessons he learned from his fall. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. Episode sponsors include Rocky Ta…

In this episode, Ken Wylie, author of the book “Buried,” recounts the horrific accident of La Traviata in Revelstoke, British Columbia. On January 20, 2003, thirteen people were caught in an avalanche while ascending the La Traviata West Couloir. Seven people died. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and …

Mount Emerson is located in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. It’s the 116th highest mountain in California. Christian and a friend set out to climb it and ended up spending an extremely cold and uncomfortable night out on the mountain side at 13,000 feet. Listen in to hear Christian’s learning from the unplanned bivvy. This podcast is produ…

Kyle Broxterman was consistently climbing strong. He was stoked on pushing himself physically and to continue to push the grades. Kyle and a couple of friends went out to a new crag on Donner Summit outside of Lake Tahoe, California. It was a beautiful day, they climbed a few routes and then Kyle decided to attempt to onsite a slightly overhanging,…

In late July 2016, Ed and three other climbers in his group were caught in a sudden storm on top of 180 foot, two pitch climb called ”Waves" in the Black Hills behind Rushmore. With estimated 50 mph winds, a dangerous plunging temperature, and golf-ball-sized hail, getting off the climb was a test of experience, concentration, and teamwork. Listen …

Aaron and Ian are a father / son climbing team. Aaron is a teacher and Ian is a student and they both had summer break off. In June of 2021, they decided to take advantage of their summer break and head to Zion National Park, a climbing destination they try and go to at least once a year. Listen in to episode 71 to hear what went wrong and how they…

Nick, owner of Beta, wanted to learn how to multi pitch climb. He’d been climbing in a local indoor gym on a pretty regular basis for about three years. He went out with his climbing partner and someone they recently met who said he’d teach them how to multi-pitch climb. The three of them went out to Clarks Canyon to learn the basics. This is where…

Foster and his two best friends were in the sport multi pitch climbing paradise that is El Potrero Chico in north eastern Mexico. It was their fourth visit to that climbing area and they had their eyes on a 15 pitch climb called ‘Devotion 5.11d.’ It’s a lesser known climb that is notorious for being a bit run out, hard for the grade, and chossy. Li…

On June 26th, 2021, Tori and a few of her friends were feeling strong and decided to climb Ellingwood Ridge on La Plata in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. The weather was forecasting classic Rocky Mountain afternoon thunderstorms so they got an early start. Knowing that this route was well in their ability level, they decided to go lig…

Four friends set off to climb Mount Rae. A 4.9 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Kananaskis Improvement in Alberta, Canada that features a beautiful forest setting and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. On the descent, one women slipped and fell and wasn’t able to self arrest in the snow. Ultimately, she …

Matt and Trevor had plenty of experience hiking 14ers in Colorado, so when Matt's Dad was in Colorado visiting they decided to take him up Mt. Bierstadt so he could check off his first 14er to celebrate turning 70. On May 8, 2021 the group was nearing the top when weather changed dramatically from what the forecast had informed them of earlier. The…

Jes Scott and Erica Ellefsen set out to travel 80km from Mt. Washington to Flower Ridge over eight days. Their goal was to climb eight of Strathcona Park’s tallest and most remote mountains. Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. They wanted a trip that was physical…

Jean and Ken summited Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental US, on what they thought would be their last day of the trip. On the summit they were caught in a severe snow and lightning storm. Using their ice axes, they began to descend via the north face in full self-arrest position. Ken fell 800 feet down the mountain while Jean, not k…

Near-misses are greatly under-reported in general, yet they are plentiful. What leads them to be under-reported? Joel Reid, the Washington Program Director at the Northwest Outward Bound School and Steve Smith, from Experiential Consulting, chat with Ashley about why near-misses matter and the importance of reporting near misses in an institutional…