Enormocast 328: Matt Cornell – The Right Reasons

Subscribe

On Episode 328 of the Enormocast, we sit down with alpinist and Michigander, Matt Cornell. That’s right, one of the world’s best alpinists grew up in the mountain-less upper Midwest dreaming of vertical playgrounds beyond his home State’s borders. Despite the pressures of modern suburban expectations, Matt moved into his hatchback and become a climbing bum post high school. But it was a suggestion of a mentor that convinced Matt to move to Bozeman and become an ice climber. After a season or two of bumbling his way into the hard-nose and hard-knock scene in Hyalite Canyon, Matt’s fuse was lit and the greater ranges beckoned. An epic or two later, Matt’s burgeoning skills finally started to knab him first ascents and coalesced a crew of like minded climbers around Cornell. Epically, but not finally, Cornell, Jackson Marvell, and Alan Rousseau did what some would say is the finest alpine style ascent of all time on the North Face of Jannu in 2023.

Enormocast 263: Steve House – The Art of Alpinism

Photos clockwise: House, M. Thurk, M. Thurk, House
Subscribe

On Episode 263 of the Enormocast, I sit down for a long overdue conversation with one of the greatest alpinists of all time, Steve House. Steve house spent 20 years riding the cutting edge of alpinism. His ascents of K7, The Rupal Face, and the Slovak Direct, among many more, represented a sea change in the world of highly technical big mountain climbing. But all that time strung out to the max took its toll, and finally an accident on Mount Temple in the Canadian Rockies signaled the beginning of the end for Steve’s climbing aspirations. Steve cowrote the lauded book Training for the New Alpinism and now heads Uphill Athlete and coaches aspiring mountaineers the world over. He is also a dad and husband. After all these years on the edge, Steve put the work in daily to keep life simple, free, and filled with love.