bigwall

May 14, 2025May 14, 2025

Enormocast 305: Caro North – Magnetic

On Episode 305 of the Enormocast, alpinist and guide Caro North joins me in my lovely hotel room in Banff, AB during the Banff Mountain Film Festival for a heartfelt talk about her journey as an international female climber. Born in Switzerland, but raised in Germany, Caro actually found herself on top of Aconcagua in Argentina at the age of 16. She was hooked on the climbing life from that moment forward. Soon she was deep in the alpine clubs in Germany and learning amongst a group of her female peers. So once Caro set out on her own, it seemed natural to try and climb with women in the mountains. Then she found that being a polyglot and multinational opened her partner pool to the world and a frantic decade of expeditions ensued. Some burn-out was the cost, though, and Caro took assessment of her exhaustion at the ripe age of 26. This talk finds her a part time resident of El Chalten, a full blown UIAA Swiss guide, and on a (very) slightly more restful path as she still pursues her goals in the mountains.

Caro on the Gram

Passes for Banff 2025

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August 12, 2024September 16, 2024

Enormocast 290: Hayden Jamieson -Through the Valley of Darkness

Photos: TL, B Ian Dzlienski, TR Hayden Jamieson Collection

On Episode 290 of the Enormocast, I sit down in a cool, dark hotel room on a bright and HOT day in Lander, WY with bigwall climber, Hayden Jamieson. Hayden and I both slumped into our chairs after escaping the 100 degree day outside and tried to gather ourselves for the interview, and that’s when Hayden began the tale that you hear on the show: Pakistan, protruding bones, blood, pain, anguish and heroism from his partners. Underneath this harrowing tale are obvious questions to contemplate: why climb? why go back? how do we honor those who do not come back from the mountains? And to cap it off, we end with Hayden’s comeback in Cochamó. Check your knot for this one, and try not to drive off the road.

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December 12, 2023September 16, 2024

Enormocast Tweener: A Candid Ascent of Trango Tower with Jordan Cannon, Jesse Huey, and Matt Segal [Part 2]

When we left the boys in the last Episode, they had just summited the Trango Tower via the 2nd ascent of Cowboy Direct. In this installment, the summit emotions and revelations come fast and furious as well as the realization that hits every alpinist on the summit: “Oh, shit, we still gotta get off this MF!”. Spoiler: the guys get down safely but the grind doesn’t stop at basecamp. Finally, the spa in Islamabad was the perfect ending to an outrageous trip for Jordan, Jesse, and Matt.