145 Replies to “Episodes 1-100”

  1. I have listened to every single episode at least once and enough several times. Thank you so much for all of them Chris. Ps: my favorite episode by far is We shall be brothers. Rip Aaron and Nolan

    1. Thanks for kind words. In light of Aaron’s death, that episode has such a weight. I am proud to say that Aaron’s mother reached out to say that she was glad that interview exists and Aaron’s voice is there for all to hear. This is a serious game we play.

  2. Chris has way too high an opinion of himself and often overspeaks his much more accomplished and interesting guests.

    One great example and laughable moment was when he hosted Janja Garnbret, and said that he was able to control his nervousness interviewing her by thinking that there wasn’t much difference between himself and Janja – saying he was an outdoors climber, while she was an indoors climber.

    I dunno, Chris – the bigger difference really is that she’s a world class climber who has climbed much harder outdoors in her spare time than this podcast host.

    1. I’m guilty of the first half of this criticism, but you can find way more coherent examples than that bit from the intro. I simply meant to imply we could find common ground.

      But in the end, no, I don’t automatically defer to anyone as “better” than me, you, or anyone else until I get to know them as a person. And even then, we are all struggling with our own shit, so being able to claw your way up plastic blobs on a wall does not automatically get my respect even if you’re really good at it.

      But here’s a story: I used to guide these things called “Burn Camps” when I worked for the Colorado Mountain School. These camps brought juvenile burn victims from Denver to a couple days of climbing. So kids with seriously melted and destroyed limbs, faces, trunks, everything. Some of the most tragic shit you have ever seen in your life. Kids had prosthetics, clear masks to protect the fresh skin on their faces, scabs, you name it. Some could not walk to the cliff without assistance. Kids, mind you, that had been whole just months earlier, now facing a life disfigured and in pain.

      And we challenged them to rock climb. And by and large, they did. Often painfully, frightfully dragging themselves up slabs. Scared out of their minds, but never as scared as when their house or apartment was burning around them and some monstrous looking firefighter dragged their smoldering still-living body from the structure.

      It was a very stressful couple days. You were trying to keep it light. Trying to inhabit a place of empathy and sympathy, but never pity. But that was nearly impossible to do in the confines of your mind. Kids often broke down hard, months of anguish finally breaking forth. Then they’d build themselves up and keep trying. What I saw on those days were truly incredible moments of perseverance from kids one after another who likely, in their darkest moments, wished they’d died in the fire that nearly consumed them.

      Beautiful, frightful, awe inspiring.

      Those kids on those 5.3s were the greatest climbers I’ve ever seen and have ever met since. Being around them humbled me and made me nervous.

      So yeah, I think of those kids, and then the plastic blob climbers, or the sport climbers, or the expedition climbers, or the boulderers, whatever are never going to measure up. Neither am I.

      Janja seems like a good and fun person, and is an incredible athlete, and it was fun to talk to her. Did it change my life the way being around those kids did? Haha. No way. It didn’t change my life at all.

      1. No, he is not. Jim is a really nice guy. We climbed together during the 1970’s. He has a ton of great stories and is a great sense of humor.

        1. I had some very friendly encounters with Jim back in the 90s, too. But then I’ve had friends in Durango and Yosemite have downright ugly encounters with the man. Do you still have a contact?

  3. The work you’ve put into these podcasts is amazing and a great service to the climbing community! Thanks!

    Another person you might interview is Todd Swain. Guidebook author, climbed all over. Good storyteller once you get him going.

    Thanks for all your efforts at keeping the Enormocast going!

  4. Hey Chris,
    Just wanted to say thanks, my jogs and drives to and from work are a lot more entertaining now 🙂 Despite being a “core climber” I discovered your podcast late (2016), but I’m about halfway through them now. Keep up the great work!

  5. John Sherman would have to be an intriguing episode. Especially with his recent comeback. Thanks for all the kickass podcasts and for muddin’ it up with us in Wisco a couple months ago.

  6. I’d love to hear an interview with Brad Young if you’re ever passing through California and want to hear some stories about Pinnacles.

  7. Here’s a shoutout to a job well done. I’m just about caught up on all the podcasts and have a few favorites, Episode 60, anything with Kelly Cordes and HK, all are great. I’m a big fan of your work and actually attribute a few episodes to the new way I am approaching my climbing. With that being said, if I have to suffer through another listener mail how-to-date-climber-girls/guys-101 I’m gonna sell my climbing gear and join Didier at the monastery. I like the Listener Mail format but surely there must be better questions out there to address?? No?? Anyways, purely constructive criticism.

    A few topic suggestions, in Episode 60 you say you could spend a whole episode talking about how to make that breakthrough to being comfortable with the fear and falling and the leading and the efficiency. It’d be interesting to hear from some of the pros how they managed to do that as I think that’s a struggle for a very large percentage of the climbing community. It’d also be interesting to hear about some technique ideas/skills to make things more efficient, you said you climbed with Josh Wharton and learned a lot, why not pass some of that info on to your listeners so that we too, can become more efficient in the mountains?

    Thanks again for what you are doing here, it makes my 10 hour days at work go by a lot faster. Cheers Kalous,

    Oh….and I’d be willing to throw in cash to help fly Rolo up here for an interview…maybe a two part series for the legend!?

        1. Chouinard would be quite the coup. Does not do a lot of interviews. Is kind of cranky about modern climbing from what I understand. I’d need an in for sure. I’ll keep hoping.

          Been trying to get Frost on the show. And Ed Webster. I’ll keep working at it.

  8. Been loving your show ever since R&I let us all know about the Jeff Jackson interview. You just keep getting better. Please reach out to Hugh Herr and see if you can work it out to interview him. His story was inspirational when he was a teenager; now he’s doing incredible work with prosthetics.

  9. Hey Chris,

    I am just not starting to listen to the enormocast. I am up to number 10 now. I think it is great!! I am just getting into climbing here on the north coast of California and I’m loving it. Your podcast gets me pumped in a realistic way. What I mean by that is that it feels real and authentic and that you are simply sharing the perspective of the climbing community.
    Being a trail runner for a number of years now, I can link the two sports together in perspective. It is great to conquer a new long ass fucking steep ass run, just as so to send a new more difficult route.
    I don’t know if you do cross over episodes, but it would be great to hear about people in other sports that casual climb second to their main sport and see what links they have made.

    Keep it up!

      1. How did I just see this now?! thanks for responding man, Arcata is super sick for all things Rad.

  10. Hey Chris!

    Thank you for this great podcast, I really enjoy it a lot. I myself am mostly a boulderer, but I hav so far enjoyed getting some insight in to the other parts of this sport, and it has really changed my way of looking at climbing as a whole, and also changed my view on bouldering, as I now see it more as a part of something bigger and not something separate. I don’t know if that makes any sense.

    That being said, I would really enjoy getting some more boulderers on the show. In part for my sake, but also I think other climbers who don’t boulder a lot might get something out of it (in the same way I did, just in reverse), and help develope their views on their climbing.

    Any way, most importantly, take care and keep making great shows, regardless of the contents.

    /Jakob

    1. I’m always hunting the boulderers who want to talk. I’m just not as connected to that community as I am to some others. But I’ll keep trying. Certainly, Angie Payne’s was one of my favorites.

  11. Hidetaka Suzuki would make a very unique interview about the old days.
    If you could talk Jon Schaffer into spilling some beans on his extensive Black Canyon experience that would also make for wicked story. Love the enormocast! Keep it up.

  12. Hey Chris,
    I’m new to climbing (and I suck but that’s besides the point) I bought some gear off someone and they raved about your podcast and gave me a sticker with the website so I’ve been listening to a few each day. So far my favorite is episode 3 with Kelly, dude seems awesome.

    Anyways thanks for having this out here its good for newbies like me.

    1. Just hung out with Dave and listenned to him spray me down about Baffin. We laughed about how it felt like and enormocast, but it was just me, him, and HK hanging in a van in Rifle. I’ll put him on the list, though.

  13. Hey Chris,
    Just wanted to aay thanks for all the sweet podcasts.. I’ve been rly enjoying them lately.
    Just a thought, It would be rly rad if you could try and get an interview with Will Gadd!

  14. Thanks for the great podcasts, I’ve been enjoying them enormously! They have been making my last two days of laying in bed with flu a hell of a lot more bearable to say the least. Really liked the ones with Hayden Kennedy and Stevie Haston and been pleasantly surprised with many others. Keep up the good work!

      1. Other requests: JP Ouellet, Brad Gobright, Joe Mills, Josh Wharton, Sonnie Trotter, Will Stanhope, Marc-Andre Leclerc…should I go on?

  15. Hi Chris,
    I’ve been churning through all the back issues of the Enormocast the past few weeks. As a climber of the Russ Clune era I especially liked Russ’, Barber’s and Lynn’s interviews but was most impressed by Cody Roth. What an incredibly mature and intelligent guy. And I’d never heard of him! I have been out of climbing the past ten years (took a wrong turn and became a bike racer for a while, so I liked your slagging of MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra) during one of the podcasts). It’s fun catching up with the new generation.
    I have a couple of suggestions for future interviews if you don’t mind – Alan Watts (father of American sport climbing), Sean Myles (Brit living in SLC, contemporary of Moon and Moffat, probably knew Pegg too), Jim Karn, Dale Bard (SLC), Dale Goddard, John Bragg (contemporary of Barber’s, found Toni Egger’s foot at the base of Cerro Torre, usually at OR Show, rep for Jansport I think), Brit Paul Ross (IME’s Andy Ross’ dad, living in SLC I think, contemporary of Joe Brown), Sonnie Trotter, either of the Wide Boyz, Sharma,.. ah too many to list.
    I’d also like to hear more about the “industry of climbing,” having worked at Chouinard/BD from ’89 to ’02 it always amazed me how little knowledge climbers have of it, sponsorships, sales, what it takes to build good gear…you should have one of the current BD product guys on, like Bill Belcourt or Doug Heinrich, or maybe Kolin Powick. Or some of the Metolius crew. Anyway, like the podcast, you’re doing a great job on a shoe string.

    1. Great list of hopeful guests. Any and all are welcome. I’d be nervous about interviewing Sharma. I’ve seen some public appearances. Not terribly dynamic. I’d probably talk too much. I’d give it a try, of course.

      Watts. Of course. That’d be huge. I think my friend Bill Ramsey could put me in touch.

      Sean Myles. Hadn’t thought of that. Woodward, too, speaking of expats in SLC.

      Karn/Goddard. Early american sport climbers. perfect. I recently talked to Christian Griffith about coming on, too.

      P Ross is back in the old country. But the entire staff at IME could come on.

      Trotter is a homie and has agreed to do it if we can cross paths.

      Bragg said a lukewarm ‘yes’ through an intermediary. About to post a show with Kelly Cordes about Cerro Torre. We mention Bragg a few times.

      KPowick has agreed to do a show. BD would love for me to run down some of those other guys. Supposed to get Metcalf on this month.

      The list is endless, eh? I’ll be put in the grave still talking.

      Anyway, glad you are stoked on climbing again. Harnesses are slightly better for your testies than a bike seat.

  16. My husband put Enormocast stickers in my Christmas stocking….. Thanks for helping him out 😉 Keep doing what you do!

  17. Hey Chris, just got hooked a couple of months ago when a friend played the Dr Vagy episode for me on a long climbing trip drive. I regularly do a 3 to 4 hour trip to the Grampians and Arapiles and your podcast keeps the psych alive until that gorgeous rock comes into view. The Henry Barber ep was probably the most rad – never known anyone with that much psych to climb! Enormo is alive and well in oz, and I tell anyone who will listen to my obsessive climber ramblings that they should get on it. My family are getting tshirts for xmas. Anyway thanks for doing this thing you’re a dude. Hmm would be cool to hear an aussie ep…? I’m sure it’s not easy and I really appreciate you sticking to the face to face thing though.
    Cheers!
    Ps are you still doing the sticker thing? 🙂

    1. I’m always on the look out for traveling Aussies. I’d be happy to send some stickers. Just message your address, please print it as should be on the envelope. [email protected]. You will join a very exclusive club of Australians sporting Enormo stickers. Very exclusive, indeed.

      1. I’m an Aussie with an enormo sticker! Exclusive club?! 😉
        Kelly – I’ll keep an eye out for your sticker on car/helmet at the Araps! 

  18. A big “G’Day” Chris from Australia, yes you have made it to the land down under 🙂

    Even though I’m only ~15 episodes in I am loving your podcast. Episodes 11 and 12 have been my favorite so far! I’m relatively new to climbing (<2yrs) and (unsurprisingly) its taken over my life. My local climbing scene is pretty small, maybe 40 or so regular climbers, and most of our routes are still been developed/discovered!, so its super interesting to hear more about the climbing and climbing lifestyle in an area with infinitely more history. Certainly an inspiration to get further afield, and far more interesting then listening to music while doing lab work.

    Keep crushing it!

    1. Damn right! I talked to her in person about doing an interview sometime. She said “sure”, probably thinking she would never see me again. I’ll work on holding her to her words.

  19. Chris, I absolutely hated solo road trips to the crag before I was told about the Enormocast. This podcast actually gets me stoked for the drive…which is an incredible feat on your part. I’m about 40 episodes deep and I am dreading the day when I’ll actually have to wait for a new episode to come out. This podcast is gold. Lots of love from your homeland, where people bleed cheese. Speaking of which, if you ever run out of topics, you should do Wisconsin tribute episode about the DLFA. That would make us Wisco climbers proud.

    CK

  20. I love the show and I love your theme song! I was scouring through the interwebs trying to find it. I just realized it’s not a “proper” song that’s available for purchase when I was reading through the comments here.

          1. YAAAAASSSS!! Finally decided to find the full recordings. Easier than anticipated. Grassy ass!

            Duly noted on our old friend Britney.

  21. Hi Chris, been nailing your podcasts over here in the UK for the last month, great entertainment whittling away the hours spent whittling away at work.. had to down tools for your James Lucas interview, hiliarous and serious in one, one funny dude.. keep up the good work.. you should definitely try and get some more Brits on, I think they’d go down well with your audience. Whether you’d get anyone quite as you would say.. as badass.. as Hazel in is another thing..

  22. Really been enjoying your podcasts Mr. Kalous! Love the recent variation in the episodes. Looking forward to a possible Sasha DiGiulian interview..?

  23. Currently 3 months into a climbing road trip with out an end. Your podcast is my go to on stretches of highway all over the world. Can’t wait to hear more, keep up the good work!
    Thank you
    Lw

  24. Greetings from Germany,

    My friends and I have just discovered your podcast and we all agree that finally, a gaping void in our lives has been filled.

    Our closest crags are at least an hour away and your podcast helps us get syched and keeps us entertained during our trips.

    Keep up the good work!

    S

    1. Assuming you speak for all of Germany, on behalf of the United States, I say unto you and your fine countrymen:

      Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen
      Thank you for walks down Lovers lane
      I can see hearts carved on a tree
      Letters entertwined for all time
      Yours and mine, that was fine

      Danke schoen.

      mit freundlichen Grüßen,

      The Enormocast

  25. Hey Chris,

    I’m enjoying your podcast a lot, and hope you keep it up. It’s perfect for short hikes, and even better when stuck in airports. I especially enjoyed the Randy Leavitt, Cedar Wright, Jeff Jackson, and Andrew Bisharat interviews. I’d like to hear more about newly developing crags, and the whole process that goes into their development. As an example, we’ve had a couple pretty recently in San Diego (El Cajon, Eagle Peak) which developed far after their initial discovery (and I believe Randy was involved). Though not world class in difficulty, the beautiful rock and landscape have added considerably to the offerings in SD for the mainstream climber.

    1. I kind of tried to do new routing and all that with Jeff Jackson, but he went off in a different direction (a very cool direction in my opinion.)

      So that sort of show is still on the list.

      Thanks for checking it out. Keep listening-tell your friends!

    1. Thanks, Dayne. Podcasts get me through most days at work, too. I paint houses, so I’m often on job sites with guys that, shall we say, are less than erudite, so podcasts provide “conversation” when the banter gets old.

  26. Hi Chris

    Started listening to the Enormocast a few days ago, only up to Episode 5 but so far really enjoying it. I’m a non-climber, yet I’m fascinated by it, and hope someday I’ll take those first few steps to getting myself involved.

    Thanks for these, Thoroughly enjoyable.

    Kind Regards, Will B

    1. Will, come to the dark side! The Enormocast has quite a few fans that are “non-climbers”, actually. The way we approach it seems pretty esoteric, but I’m glad it has at least a slightly universal appeal. Come to think of it, I listen to a couple main stream sports podcast- football, baseball, and the like- but I really have little interest in playing or watching those sports. But the stories and drama within them are undeniable.

      Anyway, thanks for listening. Let me know at [email protected] if I can clarify anything for you.

  27. Chris,

    I really enjoy the podcast. Working my way through whilst recovering from an injury.

    Some guests I’d love to hear from: Mark Twight, Steve Hong, Merrill Bitter, Shingo Ohkawa, Andrew Burr, Steve House, Vince Anderson, Kyle Dempster. (Can you tell I used to live in SLC?)

    Thanks!

    1. Burr already agreed actually. I may have a line on Dempster, House, because Hayden is a bro. I don’t know if Hong would do it? I see him in Rifle all the time. Suppose I should just hit him up and see.

      Anyway, the suggestions are golden but who the hell is Shingo Ohkawa?

      1. That all sounds great. Shingo is a developer, IME shop employee, and all around nice guy. Kind of a long shot, but I thought I’d throw it out there. Thanks!

  28. Goddammit, just finished listening to the last of the ‘casts. Burned through all of them over the last 2 days in work. I need more to keep me going! Otherwise I might have to quit work on friday, move into my van and go climbing (well, aid climbing)….. Hell, I was going to do that anyway, but now I get to blame you if it all goes to hell! 🙂

    Good work Mr Kalous, looking forward to the next one.

    Paul

      1. Dead serious and very psyched. Finishing work and moving into the van today. Thankfully discovered the Off Belay podcasts yesterday, so that should keep me going for a bit! Cheers

  29. Just wanted to say hi and I dig the show! I just found it and flew through the first 18 in about two weeks. Keep up the good work. I want more Kelly Cordes!

  30. PHEW

    just got blown away by the Craig Demartino episode, made the mistake of listening to it on my way to work, very surreal listening to heavy stuff like that with people going about their busy “important” lives right in front of me. (though you did warn us in the beginning of the cast)

    I could feel myself tumbling down those 100 ft in slow motion (I’ve had the dream often enough). and UUUH hearing about preparing for the amputration, goosebumps all over.
    Any news on how to see the documentary?

    In case you are wondering I am writing from Denmark in Europe, flattest country on earth (maybe not), so even hearing the phrase “my local crag” makes me envious. here its all plastic…
    Though I am purely a sportclimber I enjoy your (and your guests) rants about alpine and trad stuff, though I am not allways entirely sure I understand exactly what you are talking about 🙂

    big fan of the podcast in general.
    a small technical advice: being able to leave comments attached to an episode would be nice. and maybe also having post in reverse chronological order (but thats details, nice website)

    keep up the good work, Chris

    Regards Ulrik

    1. Denmark! One more step to world domination!

      Thanks for the compliments. Glad the enormocast is keeping you entertained and hopefully thinking about safety.

      Maybe Denmark is flat, but you have all of Europe at your back door! Could be worse, you could live in Florida!

      Thanks for listening, get out to some real rock as soon as possible.
      CK

    2. Oh, and if you click on the post from the home page, and comment from there, your comments will attach to the post specific to that episode.

      I probably can change the order. I’ll check it out.

  31. Potential show topic for you… how about some love for us East Coasters? Maybe record a Skype interview with Sir Badass himself Freddie Wilkinson. Let him make his case for why northeast climbing is the shiznit.

      1. Of course you do. You’re that “sorta famous” guy who knows all the famous guys! Freddie’s recent article in the Times about NOT climbing Everest might be interesting podcast fodder as well.

        1. I emailed him. Not sure if he’s out doing some crazy shit or not. We’ll see what I get back. The time I met him, he was in a rather compromised position that he may not want to have me dredge up…hee hee…but he probably doesn’t remember it anyway.

  32. Hey Chris,
    Keep up the good work. Your podcast is rad. Great guests and subject matter.
    Definitely the highlight of my workday.
    Cheers
    DCB

  33. Just saying hi since you decided to toss your honor out the window and beg for comments. Keep up the great stuff! I’d love an episode on “How to be a Professional Climbing Bum.” So far what I’ve gathered is go to college, get a degree (doesn’t matter what), and then move out to some climbing location, usually against the will of your parents, and live out of a van or something. The less you use your college education, the better.

    Also, maybe I’m alone on this, but I hate that intro song you have going. Unless there is some undying love for it from other people, I’d love to hear something new.

    1. Ah, man, I wrote that! (and sang, and played guitar). Yeah, its not an ideal theme, but I am trying not to rip off music for this thing like I used to. Although, I have been “sampling”. All the other intros and outros have been created with my guitar, bass, and Kaosillator and some samples. Really, though, I have been thinking about reworking the intro.

      As to your topic. Perfect. I will get to it.

      Thanks for listening and tell your friends.

      CK

      1. Yikes… Don’t I look like an insensitive prick now. I do apologize, since I didn’t know it was of your creation, and to be that rude to an artist is just plain mean. I should have specified why I don’t like it. I feel like the very upbeat nature of the song doesn’t fit the feel of the podcast. Not that the Enormocast is some debbie downer, let’s all cry in our beds alone, kind of podcast, but it’s not exactly a summery party, which is sort of the feel the song gives. Climbing has it’s ups and downs, and what I like about you and your podcast(s) is that you tell all sides of it! Maybe something a bit more neutral in terms of musical emotion would fit better. Keep making music, and props on trying to keep the material original. (If I hear another “pop” song that is just sampling 90% of an old song with a heavier beat and crappy singer overtop, I think I’m going to vomit.)

        Thanks for the response, and keep rockin’ in all senses of the word!

        Stefano

        1. Shit, now i feel like a cry baby. In all seriousness, I was just finishing the next podcast and was thinking about how the song doesn’t really fit and I need something new BEFORE I read your post. I just used the song because it was mine, recorded a few years ago with my band, and I had it in the bag so to speak and it worked reasonably well. When I have a little time, I will probably rework the whole thing, with some new movie quotes and such with some electronic music behind it.

          Feel free to bag on that, too, when it comes out!

          The whole podcast is a work in progress and I take everyone’s input seriously (well, almost everyone- someone said we shouldn’t be drinking openly on air!!! Can you believe that? Like we’re 60 Minutes or something.)

          1. Think Stefano’s reading a little bit too much into the song issue. Still, it will be cool to see what you come up with.

            Another future topic discussion (one that kind of branches out from the “Secret Crag” discussion is an episode about access, especially long term access. There’s a whole lot of meat to chew on that one.

            Lots of fun philisophical alleys to drift down too; who do the climbs belong to (present vs. future climbers), what’s the best way to deal with those pesky-pesky crowds. The Red River Gorge has seen seen one of it’s best crags closed, more or less because of “over-use” which puts more pressure and use on other popular crags and so on.

            Some links / forums to chew on, and I think Andrew Bisharat talked a little bit about the roadside crag situation in an article for Rock and Ice.

            Some links:

            http://www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=14449&hilit=roadside&start=450

            http://www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14643

            http://www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=14451&hilit=roadside

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *