Posted on by Chris Kalous

Episode 167: TAPS part Deux AKA Climbing Humor is Dead.

Clockwise from Top : The Nose, El Capitan. Andrew Bisharat hungover but sending in Wales. Steve Dilk sans fixed lines on El Cap.

On Episode 167, Steve Dilk, Andrew Bisharat, and I load up the whiskey glasses and sit down for a good old fashioned shit-talking session about climbing trends that have died, should have died, or are wobbling toward the grave. What better way to start the New Year than a metaphor about death? First we review last year’s Zombies, and then on the hit list this year are Gear Reviews, Fixed Ropes, Mexican Beer, Unhealthy Climbers, and more. Sit back, try to relax, and try not to overreact if your sacred cow is on the list.

Andrew’s “Online Journal” (NOT A BLOG) Evening Sends.

Steve Climber 37Trillion Augmenteon

Our other Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

15 Replies to “Episode 167: TAPS part Deux AKA Climbing Humor is Dead.”

  1. Loved the unhinged feel of this one. I think next time you could say that Indian Creek is Dead, and the Desert SW in general. Kansas is where the real action is. Have you seen ‘Lead’ and ‘Pull’? Short climbing humor vids that made me crack up.

  2. Humor is not dead.
    It is hard.
    That’s why people value it.
    Kalous is hilarious.
    That’s why we are here.

    1. Thanks. I try to make myself laugh, or say something I think would make my friends laugh. Luckily, the Enormocast community have so much in common, I think some of it does translate pretty far. But I think true, relatively universal comedy is really hard.

  4. Niall seems to mention you fairly often on Jam Crack. I don’t understand half of what he says, either, (and his intros are way too long) but he fills in the gap between Runout and Enormocast episodes pretty well.

  5. Here is my obligatory British outrage: Joe Brown is not way dead, he’s not even slightly dead!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Brown_(climber)

    I believe he kept climbing until he was 80 or so, and only quit because the approaches were getting too hard on his joints, not the climbing.

    But — relevant to the topic — he was never self-destructive in the way Whillans (who drank himself rapidly out of his climbing prime and into an early grave) was. Brown’s always been a canny and somewhat enigmatic survivor.

    1. Yes. Many folks have pointed out our mistake. And we will be issuing an apology to Mr Brown on the next show (more to his dedicated fans as I would be quite surprised and delighted if he actually listened!!!). And I did know that Joe was a bit aloof from that hard partying scene, as the chroniclers often are, otherwise they don’t survive, either. Or often, I think the hardcore guys are too narcissistic to ever think outside of themselves to look around and record an age. Bridwell never did anything like that, either, only his own ascents. Thanks for the correction, though. Nothing about that episiode was “journalistic” so I don’t feel like we blew it too hard, and I would hope that our assessment of the wonderful Wales climbing scene extends to this as well and the folks there, including Joe if he ever got wind of it, would use something akin to Mark Twain’s response to such a mistake: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

      1. At some point, you’re going to have to come over here and check out the scene in Wales (and the Peak District) for yourself, you know. We can offer eccentricity, terrible weather, and the arcane mystery that is the British trad grading system!

        Maybe you could negotiate a job-swap with Niall Grimes for a month or two?

        1. Just chatting with Niall about my Joe Brown gaff. We like to trade podcasting stories and tips once in a while, though I don’t understand half the shit he says. Would love to come over and tour the whole UK, provided it doesn’t sink into the sea after this whole Brexit thing. I’m jealous of Andrew that he got to go. I will get there in the next couple years, I think. I’ll bring Steve…

          1. Well, I think the Scots are threatening to saw Scotland off and sail away to join Scandinavia, so you may have to get a separate visa if you want to sample the basalt-and-graffiti joys of Dumbarton, but I’m sure it can be arranged …

            To be more serious: I’ve particularly enjoyed some of the podcasts where you’re interviewing someone about an aspect of climbing that you don’t “get” (like bouldering) or experience that you don’t share (like being blind or transgender), because you come across as respectful and sincerely interested, and as a result the interviews are sometimes especially insightful — the one with Nalle is a great example.

            So I’m kind of curious to see what the British climbing scene would look like through your perspective.

  6. I got a good laugh out of your using Ondra to make the point that Europeans can crack climb, being the typical climber that he is….

    1. Haha. Yeah. But here’s a few more off the top of my head: Babsi, Babsi’s boyfriend, Nico Favrasse, Jorge Verheoven, Siebe VanHee, Didier Berthoud (before he went AWOL), my buddy Joseba Lareategi…

Comments are closed.