Alpine Climbing

March 10, 2014April 12, 2015

Episode 53: Josh Wharton- Too good to flail.

JW2 — JW just before the shit started to slowly drip onto the fan on the Ogre. Photo: Hayden Kennedy

On Episode 53 of the Enormocast, Josh Wharton and I grow drowsy in an uncomfortably warm conference room at the George Something-or-other library in Boulder. Josh shares the highs and lows of his upbringing, talks about his scariest moment in a life of scary moments, and admits that he cried through his first climbing expedition. JW is hot off his latest send: a new baby girl, and though he thinks he’s clipped the chains on that one, for a guy who seems to always have a plan, between you an me, I think Josh is in for a surprise or two from life with his new baby-best-friend. Just sayin’.

Josh swimming with the old gals.

Josh Climbing in RMNP (and a good testament to why I don’t alpine climb).

El Gigante by Andy Burr.

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January 2, 2014April 12, 2015

Episode 49: On Stage with Honnold and Kennedy².

On Episode 49 of the Enormocast, we rebroadcast audio from the 5point Aspen event from Feb 2013. During that event, I hosted Alex Honnold and Michael and Hayden Kennedy in front of a capacity crowd at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. Honnold is conspicuously low key, Hayden is a smartass, and Michael drops wisdom like a Shaolin master.

5point Aspen 2014 schedule

The Summit animated film

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October 10, 2013April 12, 2015

Episode 44: Joshua Brandon alive and well in the mountains.

Veterans Dan Wiwczar, Derek Quintanilla, and Joshua Brandon on the summit of Mt. Olympus in Washington State. Click to see trip report.

On Episode 44 of the Enormocast, a chance meeting leads to an enlightening interview with Iraq war vet Joshua Brandon. Josh explains how struggles with PTSD led him to finding solace in the mountains and climbing (turns out that mountaineering has many of the thrills of combat but without the guys shooting at you). He explains his mission with the Sierra Club to help his brothers and sisters in the military find an outlet in the mountains, and what its like to try to get the Department of Defense to hug a few trees.