On Episode 198 of the Enormocast, I sit down in Ouray, Colorado on a too bright Sunday morning with British alpinist, Tom Livingstone. Tom was born in the climbing desert of southern England, but now bases out of the climbing Mecca of North Wales. A traditional rock climber at first, Tom has made a name for himself climbing adventurous peaks in the Karakorum including completing the long sought after first ascent of the North side of Latok 1. Tom’s hyper-motivated and fun-loving attitude belies the fact that he is also tough as nails and willing to pitch himself at audacious unclimbed faces with style. And, of course, this show is a true lesson in the Queen’s English.
MFT on Nanga Parbat by Barry Blanchard, MFT by Nikki Smith, MFT on gravel by Dan Krauss
On Episode 172 of the Enormocast, we continue to part 2 of a conversation with Alpinist Mark Twight. The Royal We highly recommends that one has a listen to Part 1 first, but this second half does stand on its own especially if you’re already familiar with Mark’s exploits in Chamonix and on Nanga Parbat. On this installment, Mark switches to tales from Alaska, and then we go deep into what makes Mark tick, his thoughts on his legacy, and what its like to lose so many friends to the savage arena on the mountains.
L: MFT signing REFUGE (Trevor Thompson). M: MFT on Mt Hunter (Scott Backes). R: Kiss or Kill Cover (Brooks Freehill).
On Episode 171, I sit down in the Dissect Podcast studio with former alpinist, Mark Twight, for part 1 of our talk from February 2019. Though Mark gave up extreme alpinism around 2000, his attitude, outlook, and philosophy are still that of a climber. In this EPIC late night and whiskey-fueled interview, Mark recounts a career in the mountains that happened two decades ago, but is still reverberating in his own psyche and with young alpinists today. Like a drug addict or a rock star, Twight battled with the prospect of coming down from those heights to the trivia and monotony of the valley. Nearly 20 years out from his last great climb and after many other incredible accomplishments, Mark only recently has found some peace without climbing.
