Written in Stone: Climbing History

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We're taking a short break because we want to make sure that we don't miss the important contributions from the women climbers of the 80's who were pushing things forward. We'll be back soon! In the meantime, there are a bunch of free bonus episodes in our Patreon, The Secret Stoners Club!

Because this season is focused on the 1980’s, and we are talking about the two best free soloists of their generations, Peter Croft and John Bachar,  there is a Venn Diagram that puts today’s guest squarely in the center: Jeff Smoot.  In Jeff’s book Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change and the Race for 5.14, he tells the tale of the beginnings of sport climbing in the U.S. -  of Alan Watts and Todd Skinner - tales that John Bachar often plays the antagonist for. His most recent book, All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, takes a look at, among others, Bachar and Croft.  And Jeff was there for much of it. As I’ve been doing research, his name has come up over and over again as the author of key articles. I had to talk to him. No brainer.  Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. Enter to win a Ladies Weekend Out Scholarship from Rab! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout. This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Does Alex Honnold need an introduction? No, of course he doesn’t. But he was particularly suited for this conversation about Bachar and Croft for several reasons: #1, Alex is a student of history. He cares about this stuff. If you haven’t listened to his Climbing Gold podcast, you should. I highly recommend the Dope Lake series - it’s a 5 part series about the 1976 plane crash in the Yosemite high country - a plane that was carrying 4 million dollars worth of marijuana. Go listen. #2, he’s the obvious torch bearer for what these guys did - the soloing, yes, but also the pushing of Valley standards and the furthering of the conversation. And #3, because as much as I want these stories to be larger than life, I also wanted them to be rooted in a realistic look at what we can learn. And if there’s anyone who can just be logical, it’s Alex Honnold.  In this episode we get into an interesting progression that Alex didn’t even realize he was part of, meeting your heroes, mythologizing, big link ups, soloing, and what John Bachar and Peter Croft mean for climbing and for Alex personally. Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. Enter to win a Ladies Weekend Out Scholarship from Rab! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout. This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Cover photo of Alex by Christopher Michel

It was 1986, over halfway through a decade that had brought turbulent change to climbing, and it was clear to John Bachar that even in Yosemite - hallowed ground as far as he was concerned - ethics were shifting. Sure, people still traveled here to do the big walls and to climb some of the classics, but the world knew that Yosemite and the once mighty best climbers in the world who called Camp 4 home, were now WAY behind. But John Bachar had an idea of how he could get this train back on track. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to do this, and he knew exactly who he’d ask for help. This is the story of the John and the Bachar-Yerian, Peter Croft and the University Wall, and the first one day link-up ascent of El Cap and Half Dome. Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. Enter to win a Ladies Weekend Out Scholarship from Rab! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing. Use code WRITTEN15 at checkout. This episode is supported by our research partner, NOLS: The National Outdoor Leadership School. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.