Tag: Alpine Climbing

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Episode 131: Hansjörg Auer – Finding the Moment.

Photos: Damiano Levati, Elias Holzknecht, Heiko Wilhelm

On Episode 131 of the Enormocast, I sit down with Austrian climber, Hansjörg Auer. Hans somewhat reluctantly blasted onto the European climbing scene 10 years ago with an audacious free solo ascent of il Pesce (The Fish) on the Marmolada in the Dolomites of Northern Italy.  Before and since that day, Hans has continued to throw down hard, traditional ascents world wide. He has endeavored to be that rare all-arounder: big routes, trad, sport, and even wild faces on Himalayan peaks- Hans pushes his limits in all of those disciplines. But first and foremost, Hansjörg is steeped in ground-up tradition and hoping to inspire the younger generation towards that attitude of adventure and respect.

A Young Hansjörg Auer reflects on his free solo of il Pesce (12c).

Hansjörg in Alaska and reflecting on the death of his friend. 

Auer’s new route in the Black posted at his website.

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Episode 129: Steve Swenson – Almost an Astronaut.

On Episode 129 of the Enormocast, I sit down with consummate alpinist, Steve Swensen. Steve’s career in the big mountains has spanned decades. As a kid, Steve dreamed of flying to the stars as an Apollo astronaut, but he chose to climb as close to space as possible instead. While he has climbed worldwide, his most memorable and mesmerizing locale is the Karakorum on the borders of Pakistan, China, and India. In his new book Karakorum: Climbing through the Kashmir Conflict, Steve recounts his years exploring the mountains of this formerly closed region and falling in love with its people but also watching the waves of conflict ebb and flow in the surrounding lands. Steve spent 40 years balancing on the three pillars of his radical life: climbing, career, and family, and somehow he is as stoked as ever to be in the mountains and pushing his mind and body to the highest reaches of the Earth.

Karakorum: Climbing through the Kashmir Conflict

 

 

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Episode 127: Erik Weihenmayer – Learning by Letting Go.

On Episode 27 of the Enormocast, I sit down with blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer. Erik found climbing just in time to save him from a miserable existence in the dark safe place where taking chances and adventure are out of the question. Instead, Erik learned to push against his boundaries and seek fearful situations to help him grow. Giving in to his blindness instead of fighting it was the ironic catalyst to a life of adventure that has taken Erik to the top of Denali, Everest, and countless other ice, rock, and snow climbs. Not satisfied with just climbing, Erik also learned to kayak and descended the entire Grand Canyon. Erik has learned to let go of the forces he can’t control and achieve a certain flow in the river of life. And did I mention that he can’t see a damn thing? And climbs 5.11 and kayaks class 5? WTF?

No Barriers organization

Erik’s Website

 

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