Author: Chris Kalous

Owner, operator, guru, yogi of enormocast.
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Enormocast 303: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll – A Very Particular Set of Skills

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On Episode 303 of the Enormocast I sit down with one of the most compelling and somewhat enigmatic climbers of our times: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll. It was a multi-year dance, but we finally sat down puss-a-puss in the Canadian Rockies at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Sean is known for his big wall antics across the globe, often in the company of his broer van een andere moeder, Nico Favresse. But that bright and shiny sense of humor belies the fire and climbing beast that Sean can muster when the going gets tough, cold, and seemingly insurmountable. We discuss his Belgian, Irish, Spanish multi-cultural background and what his Irish roots in particular mean to him. Sean also fills us in on his beginnings, partnerships, forced COVID retreat in El Chaltén, Greenland, sea sickness, meditation, philosophy and more. And of course, I didn’t unlash him from his seat until we got some Irish tin whistle. I mean, come on!

Riders on the Storm and Reel Rock 19

Sean’s mentee Siebe Vanhee on the Enormocast

Wide Boy plus Sean in Patagonia

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Enormocast 302: Last Rites 2025 (FKA Taps) Don’t Side-Eye the Trad-Dad Edition

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Episode 302 of the Enormocast is the annual airing of grievances in climbing: the laments, the beefs, and the sad truths of the dumb shit we do as climbers. What was formerly known as Taps is now Last Rites. Once again, this year’s slam evolves from listeners’ calls. Andy Salo, Andrew Bisharat, and Mary “Token girl” Harlan join Chris to dole out advice, ethics, and perform last rites for the dying trends in climbing we’d like to see live on. We also mark a few things for extermination. Ryan Devlin of the Struggle Podcast stops by, too. On this year’s docket: chalkbag carabiner (again), bitchy looks and girl-on-girl side-eye, downgraders, soft routes in the gym, trad-dads, and much more. Finally, we propose our start-up idea: need a belay on the proj and all your bros are out golfing? Call a Beluber. As usual, the laughs come fast and furious, but leave your sensitivities at the door because one of your sacred cows is likely headed to the butcher.

Last Rites by Ingested (on tour)

Last Rites by Omen

Last Rites by Merciful Fate

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Enormocast 301: Quentin Roberts – Listening to The Mountain

All photos Jesse Huey
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On Episode 301 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a posh hotel in Squamish, BC, with alpinist Quentin Roberts. We met up at the Arc’teryx Academy in August 2024 on a rainy day to talk about Quentin’s life as a climber. Quentin grew up attending boarding schools in several countries and despite not fitting in with the style of education, he managed to find climbing and skateboarding. In his teens, Quentin focused on hard sport climbing before the bug of alpinism took control after finishing high school in Vancouver. In his 20s, Roberts racked up standout ascents like the third ascent of Canadian Route on Cerro Fitz Roy, the first ascent of The Devil’s Reacharound on Chacraraju Este in the Cordillera Blanca, and the first ascent of Hiding in Plain Sight in the Canadian Rockies. Somewhere in there, soloing took hold culminating (so far) in a solo ascent of Striving for the Moon on Mt. Temple in the Canadian Rockies. Now in his 30s, and after years of expedition climbing, Quentin is ready to reflect on some close calls, some lost friends, and his future dancing on the razor’s edge.

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