Enormocast 284: Emma Twyford – Getting on With It

Right Photo by Ray Wood
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On Episode 284 of the Enormocast, we connect across the pond to North Wales in the U.K. and into the living room of Emma Twyford. Emma is a pioneering woman in that rarified air of hard, desperate trad that only the old country can serve up. She is the first British woman to climb 9a with her ascent of Big Bang (3rd ascent overall), has established 8b+ with Deux Mauvais Melons – the hardest FA ever by a British woman, and was the second woman to climb E9 with an ascent of Rare Lichen. We talk about the mentorship from her dad, moving through the hot bed of Sheffield but ending up in North Wales, and we even try to figure out the E grades to almost no avail. Emma also shares her struggles with fear and motivation after a close friend nearly loses her life in a car accident. Emma has made it to her late 30s despite some close calls and finds time to reflect on her current motivations including the daunting idea of starting a family.

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Big Bang Doc

Episode 259: Lindsey Hamm – Pulling the Ripcord

Photos Lane Mathis, Sam Stuckey
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On Episode 259, I sit down in Ouray, Colorado with one of the most ebullient guests I’ve ever had on the Enormocast, Lindsey Hamm. Yes, I said “ebullient”. Lindsey is a climber and guide originally from a hard-partying and wild upbringing in East Texas. A brief but formative sojourn in the music biz chased Lindsey out of Texas and eventually to Durango, Colorado. Now Lindsey has traded that very non-climby life for one in the mountains with clients and friends alike. Late to climbing, Lindsey nevertheless “pulled the ripcord” and dove straight into trad-climbing, big routes, and guiding from the get go. Lindsey is on track to become one of only about 20 woman to get her AMGA/IFMGA certification to guide at all levels on all terrain anywhere in the world.

Lindsey on the gram

Contact: wildgingermtnguides@gmail.com

Enormocast 254: Amity Warme – Putting the Hammer Down

Photos: Felipe Tapia Nordenflycht, Scott Eubank, Tempei Takeuchi
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On Episode 254 of the Enormocast, I connect with former gymnast, now climber and nutritionist, Amity Warme. Though Amity grew up just down the road from the climbing mecca of Boulder, Colorado and under the shadow of the Diamond and Rocky Mountain National Park, she was too preoccupied as a child and teen gymnast to notice rock climbing. Then an injury ended her run in a leotard and sent her seeking a new place to pour her considerable energy. Enter climbing. Amity took to it immediately, but it was a dark three years mucking around in New Jersey with her husband that broke them loose to a life on the road and climbing. Soon, Amity was crushing hard 5.13 and wondering about big objectives in Yosemite and beyond. Since the 2020 pandemic shut in opened up, Amity has been on a tear with ground up ascents of Golden Gate, Corazon, and a one-day-self-supported Free Rider ascent*, making her only the 5th woman to climb El Cap in a day. Meanwhile, she eats 5.13 trad for breakfast wherever she goes.

*Brent Barghahn and Amity’s Self-Supported style.