The Broad Beta Podcast

Tune in to get reacquainted with Jeannie Wall, co-founder of Broad Beta. Jeannie epitomizes the term mountain athlete, with high-level accomplishments in a mind-boggling array of disciplines from nordic racing to mixed climbing. She is the ultimate mentor, sharing her knowledge and stoke with climbers of all levels. In this episode, Jeannie shares a story about climbing Ruby Peak in the high Sierra. She and her partner deal with exfoliating rock and rockfall, and she reflects on Yvon Chouinar...

Getting Consent on El Cap was written by Amber Smith and originally published on the Broad Beta website in June of 2026 (visit the link to see photos!). Amber shares her past hesitations about climbing El Cap, and how she eventually overcame them with a successful ascent of Lurking Fear. We love how she articulates her questions and fear about this endeavor. Amber is a Certified Rock Guide with the AMGA and has been guiding for over a decade. The first half of her career was spent in the Nort...

Our guest, mountain runner, climber, and mountaineer Jenny Abegg, tells the story of how wild places became her venue for finding agency and learning to live from the heart after leaving a religious community. We talk about the shift from hard rock climbing to mountain running, and Jenny shares what it means to earn the style of moving fast on technical terrain. Her parents took her into the alpine as a young child, and she continues to build on that foundation of skills by going further and ...

She broke a legendary New Zealand endurance race record. She completed Eco Challenges in places like Australia, Patagonia, and Borneo. Then she walked into an even tougher arena: environmental governance. We’re joined by Andrea Hamilton Davis, an American expat who’s lived in New Zealand since the ‘90s, to unpack how a life built in wild terrain can shape the way you lead, decide, and collaborate as an environmental policy decision-maker. We get into what adventure racing really entails: nav...

We sit down with IFMGA-certified mountain guide Lyra Pierotti, a rare blend of international guide, avalanche professional, and strength and conditioning specialist, to unpack what it actually takes to build a long career in the mountains. Lyra shares how she found her way to the Sierra and the French Alps in early adulthood, her path into the guiding world, plus the honest realities of paying for certifications, chasing seasonal work, and making “security” mean more than a paycheck. The con...