Enormocast 315: Kate Kelleghan – Turbocharged Life

Photos: Abbey Bergh, Kate Kelleghan, Julien Scherliss, James Lucas

On Episode 315 of the Enormocast, I sit down with Boulder-born Yosemite-trained speed climbing maestra, Kate Kelleghan. Kate came to climbing at 20 despite, or maye TO spite, her climbing dad. A youth of dark eye make-up, music, art, and smoke-sessions behind the school finally gave way to a life of climbing adventure when dad took Kate up the 3rd Flatiron as a teen. Then, as was her way, she leapt into the deep end and became a CLIMBER, eventually moving through the gym to finding trad climbing on the cliffs above Boulder like Castle Rock and Eldo. Then she fell into the quirky world of the Naked Edge speed games eventually creating, setting, then breaking her own women’s speed record. Eventually, Yosemite pulled her further west where bigwall speed climbing was her future. This path culminated (for now) when Kate and Laura Pineau became the only women (so far) to ever complete the Yosemite Triple: Half Dome, El Capitan, and Watkins in a day.

Enormocast 215: Lauren Delaunay Miller – The Five Year Plan…

On Episode 215 of the Enormocast, I connect with climber, writer, former YoSAR member, Lauren Delaunay Miller. Lauren found climbing in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, and quickly made a plan to climb El Cap in 5 years despite not having any idea what rock climbing actually entailed. She pursued her goal not quite relentlessly, but nevertheless ended up in Yosemite a few years later. She did, indeed, climb the Nose in just under 5 years and then quickly pulled off a NIAD and a one day ascent of the Triple Direct with Quinn Brett and Josie McKee. In that same season, climbing lost some of its glow with a near fatal accident of Lauren’s mentor and a series of other tragedies in her tight-knit scene. Helplessness in the face of these accidents made Lauren resolve to learn more and finally qualify to join the feted YoSAR. Her latest challenge is completing a 78,000 word manuscript on some of the somewhat forgotten female legends of climbing.

Lauren on the Gram

Lauren’s book website

Lauren at the Climbingzine