Author: Chris Kalous

Owner, operator, guru, yogi of enormocast.
Posted on

Episode 195: Tom Randall – Just a Pony Shuffler at Heart.

On Episode 195 of the Enormocast, I sit down in my comfortable study with British climber Tom Randall. Tom just happened to be driving by in a snowstorm and turned up on my doorstep desperate for shelter. So we made a deal: warmth and comfort for an Enormocast. Tom talks about his entry into the gladiatorial climbing scene in Sheffield, England, how his crack addiction started despite the lack of cracks in the UK, and the battle that him and Pete Whittaker took on with the world’s hardest offwidth (?!?!?), Century Crack in Canyonlands National Park. Good cheer and good tales abound in this rare Anglophile edition of the Enormocast.

The Wide Boyz Declare War on America’s Offwidths

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on

Episode 194: Dru Mack – Getting Out of His Own Way.

On Episode 194, I sit down in Denver, Colorado with Louisville, KY native and Red River Gorge climber, Dru Mack. Dru is a youngish climber and coach who dropped roots in the Red as a kid, and now uses the base he gained there to tick hard sport pitches and boulders worldwide. At an early age, Dru experienced therapy for clinical anxiety, and he now can bring that experience to bear coaching kids not just in climbing, but finding their way in the complicated world of adolescence. Also, Dru is one of those seemingly rare climbers with a love of a ball sport, namely basketball, and apparently he has some actual skill? He uses the inspiration from that sport to drive his goals in climbing.

Dru in the Red

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on

Episode 193: George Lowe III – A Fortunate Man.

George high on North Twin. Photo: Chris Jones

On Episode 193, I sit down with American alpine legend, George Lowe. George grew up in Ogden, Utah, among an extended family of climbers, skiers, river runners that included his equally legendary cousin, Jeff. A self-described dork, George found a home among the small counter culture of climbing and began using his problem solving skills on the granite of the Wasatch and the Tetons at a fairly early age. Decades later at 75, Lowe’s resumé rivals any American mountaineer with winter ascents in the Tetons, first ascents of many “last great problem” type routes throughout the Canadian Rockies and Alaska and finally the Himalayas. Despite his maniacal effort to downplay his achievements, this episode solidifies what we already know: George Lowe is one of the best to ever climb – and also may or may not have helped with denuclearization.

Slideshow images courtesy of Michael Kennedy.

  • Lowe and Michael Kennedy .
  • Foraker
  • Foraker
  • Foraker crux.
  • Foraker
  • George and Jeff Lowe.
  • George, Micheal Kennedy, Jeff Lowe.
  • George on Hunter.
  • Hunter
  • Below Latok 1.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS