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Enormocast 218: Mark Synnott – 50 Shades of Adventure

On Episode 218 of the Enormocast, I connect after some really weird internet glitching with climber and author Mark Synnott. Mark’s book The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest and its imminent release was the occasion for our talk, but the convo quickly turns to our shared past and his personal struggles juggling adventure, family, and marriage. Mark is one of the preeminent explorers of our time with not just mind-boggling climbing feats under his belt, but adventures in massive caves, deep jungles, and wild landscapes on his resume as well. His former life as a dirtbag expedition climber has been supplanted by a career in journalism and documentation, but his wit and love of adventure remains.

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Enormocast 217: Michaela Kiersch – Life’s Greater Needs

Photos: Simon Carter, Kiersch Collection, Brennan Robinson

On Episode 217 of the Enormocast, I connect after some internet trouble with the indomitable Michaela Kiersch. Michaela grew up a Chicago girl – loving baseball and the White Sox- but when she found the climbing gym, her baseball goals were supplanted. The climbing community embraced Michaela at just the right time as her mother’s long battle with cancer ended in her death when Michaela was just a girl. Michaela cites the embrace of her climbing community in Chicago as a major help in her grief. Michaela’s mother lived long enough to instill Michaela with ambition and drive that brought her to the top of competition and sport climbing with national championships and multiple 5.14c ascents. Those same traits are seeing her through a PhD program in occupational therapy. Truly someone who sees more to life than climbing, Michaela may just have the energy to have it all.

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Enormocast 216- Jim Reynolds Searches for the Rhythm

Photos: Alexa Flowers, Ted Hesser, Jim Reynolds

On Episode 216 for the Enormocast, I luck into an interview with the elusive Jim Reynolds. Jim popped onto most of our radars with a really fast ascent of the Nose with the late great Brad Gobright followed by some truly audacious solos in Patagonia including an onsight solo up and down of Fitzroy. Finally, his sort of comic appearance in the Real Rock 14 film about Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold breaking 2 hours on the Nose made a lot of people wonder, “Who’s that guy with Brad Gobright?” But of course, there is way more to Jim than that guy. This episode brings to light the stories that made him renown and also the details of his soloing life and life in Yosemite. Jim loves to disappear into the mountains, but he is also starting to love to tell the tales when he returns.

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