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Enormocast 331: Mick Fowler – Fortune, Turn Thy Wheel

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On Episode 331 of the Enormocast, I have the distinct honor of sitting down with everyone’s favorite alpine climbing taxman, Mick Fowler. Despite having been gainfully employed since his early 20s at His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Mick built a climbing resume to rival any professional climber or full-time dirtbag. Or maybe it was because of his limited free time as a bureaucrat that Mick was so focussed. Either way, over four decades he amassed bold ascents on rock, chalk, ice and seastacks at home in the UK, and technical alpine ascents in the greater ranges abroad. His brilliant run of climbs that included three Piolet D’Or awards hit a snag when in 2017 he was diagnosed with cancer of the anus and the resulting treatment left him with a stoma and forced to use a colostomy bag. Mick recounts the years and ascents that followed in his new book Eternal Alpinist: A Bottom to Top Climbing Memoir. Now in his 70s, Mick has adapted and pushed on with his love of Himalayan Alpine first ascents.

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Enormocast 330: Shara Zaia – What’s Past is Prologue

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On episode 330 of the Enormocast, I sit down in Lander, WY at the International Climbers Festival with climber Shara Zaia. Shara grew up solidly in the midwest- Ohio and Indiana- with parents who immigrated from Iraq. Though Shara was born in the US, she also has roots in the Assyrian community and culture. By the time Shara found climbing in 2019, her life had been a roller-coaster of trying to find her place in America, the Assyrian community, professionally, and in climbing. This interview falls on the eve of the premier of her short film, Sharp Edges, which takes an artful look at the intersection of her Assyrian roots and her climbing. Shara also helped found Cruxing in Color to promote broader diversity in climbing. And though Shara’s path had seemed to smooth out a bit into the climbing/working lifestyle, a tragic event two years ago changed her relationship with climbing forever.

Shara on Instagram

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Enormocast 329: Cole Brauer – Every Day the Sea Part 2

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On Episode 329 of the Enormocast, I resume my conversation with sailor, Cole Brauer. Cole made history and won the internet when she raced solo around the world in 2023. She live-streamed and updated often from her 130 day journey alone, finally coming in 2nd in the Global Solo Challenge. She was the first American woman to race nonstop around the globe. Then her personal doldrums set in as she resumed life onshore. Lost and bewildered by modernity and celebrity pressures, it took a year or more for Cole to return to the joys of sailing and racing. In the meantime, she finished her book, First Light, and eventually found the sea again. When opportunity knocked, Cole took a chance and joined Team Malizia and started racing one of the most high-tech boats on the ocean. First Light is in stores now.

Cole Brauer – Every Day the Sea Part 1

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