Written in Stone: Climbing History
Written in Stone tells the (mostly) true stories of the most groundbreaking ascents in rock climbing history, one climb at a time. Hosted by Kris Hampton, you’ll hear the narrated, sound designed stories about what led to new levels, shifted the culture, and changed the game. You'll also get conversations with the climbers who were there and those who were inspired by what went down way back then. Season One: The 1990s and the explosion of sport climbing. Season Two: The 1980’s and the birth of sport climbing as we know it. Season Three: The History of Modern Bouldering. Like Todd Skinner always said, ”never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
Episodes
Bart Van Raaij is the owner of Bleau.info, the author of the popular 5+6 and 7+8 guides, and is obsessed with Fontainebleau. Since the 1980s he's visited Fontainebleau more than 400 times, despite living 6 hours away. In this episode, we hear the stories of his first time doing legendary boulders like Carnage, Berezina, Amok, and more. We discuss why he would choose to write a guide to a seemingly endless area so far from home, and...
Jacky Godoffe joins me to chat about legends of Fontainebleau: Jerome Jean-Charles, Robert Paragot, Pierre Allain, Fred Nicole, and more. We hear the stories of his boulders Big Boss, Fatman, and C'Était Demain, as well as stories about Carnage, La Pierre Philosophale, La Merveille and more.
ASSESS + IMPROVE YOUR MOVEMENT ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/ytmove
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/s...
A few thoughts that combine all of the things I spend time thinking about while I get together the Bleau interviews.
The future of climbing difficulty isn't only about the size of holds or the distance between them. In fact, that's rarely what changes things. It's more about the climbers and their skills.
ASSESS AND IMPROVE YOUR TECHNIQUE➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/ytmove OVER 150 BONUS POWER COMPANY PODCAST EPISODES ...
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-yt
FREE BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/secretstoners-yt
Bouldering began as a way to train for the mountains, but by the mid 1940s in Fontainebleau, it had started to form it's own identity. A Bleausard named Fred Bernick had an idea that would continue the tradition of preparing for those mountain routes: Circuits. He laid out the first t...
Perhaps the most powerful force in the early years of Fontainebleau bouldering history was the consistent changing of the guard. Every few years a new group would supplant the old, bringing new ideas, updated ethics, and stronger fingers. But when a brash group of climbers, formed from the best of several groups, the difficulty standards of the previous leaders, Pierre Allain's Convicts of Cuvier, were left in...
Shortly after WWII, a new group formed in Fontainebleau. They called themselves the Cuvier Academic Club, but were quickly known as The Convicts of Cuvier. Led by Pierre Allain, René Ferlet, Guy Poullet and Jacques Poincenot, this group would raise standards in the forest with the first ascent of La Marie Rose, the first V3 (6A) in the world.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-y...
After World War 1, bouldering began to shapeshift into something that very closely resembles the modern day game. At the forefront of that movement was Pierre Allain, a climber who was openly competitive and aimed to be the best. Also a talented and accomplished alpinist, Allain invented much of the gear we take for granted today, including the first shoes specifically for climbing -- and they were shaped by bouldering in Fontaineb...
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-yt
FREE BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/secretstoners-yt
By 1908, people had been practicing on boulders for over 25 years, but it lacked something essential to bouldering: community. In Fontainebleau, groups of climbers with a shared passion would unite around the sandstone blocs and forever shape the game of bouldering.
Was Oscar Eckenstein the first boulderer? What does that even mean? This season, we are asking and trying to answer some big questions. In this episode, I talk with our research assistant, Efix Roy, about the big question raised by the first episode of the season.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-yt
FREE BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/secretstoners-yt
People have likely climbed on boulders for all of human history, but in the late 1800's, one man began advocating for climbing on boulders as a way to become a better climber. His name was Oscar Eckenstein, and he fundamentally changed the way we climb. Was he the first boulderer?
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-pod
FREE BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclim...
What is bouldering, really? What defines a "boulderer"? And how has that changed since the beginnings of the game? Are there rules, and if so, where did those "rules" start?
Coming Soon: Season 3 of Written in Stone | The History of Modern Bouldering.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone-pod
FREE BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/secretstoners-pod
Michael Kennedy is a legend of climbing media. As the editor of Climbing Magazine from 1974 to 1998, he helped to bring climbing culture to tens of thousands of climbers who otherwise didn't have access to it. He also took the photo that I believe best defines climbing in the 1980s.
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
GET THE BOOK ➡️ https://link.powercompanyclimbing.com/wis-YT
In a recent Magnus Midtbo video, Janja Garnbret mentioned that she could do well against the men in a sport climbing competition. Lynn Hill may have helped prove Janja's point - all the way back in 1990.
SUPPORT THE SHOW + BONUS EPISODES ➡️ https://patreon.com/secretstonersclub
After a few weeks of thinking about it, I've put my finger on what I learned about climbing by looking back at the 1980s, and I'm ready to reveal where we go next season.
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes.
Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more!
----------------------------------
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
Today, in the final interview of the season, we are talking to young legend in the making, Jordan Cannon, who is fresh off of an incredible season of big wall climbing. Most important for this conversation is his recent ascent of The Free Salathé, including the infamous Pitch 19, one of only a handful to do the route this way.
Jordan’s emphasis on aiming for the best style ...
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
Mark Hudon is a bonafide climbing legend. One of the best free climbers of the 70s and early 80s, he and partner Max Jones looked past convention and moved hard free climbing to the big walls of Yosemite. His article Long, Hard and Free inspired a whole generation of climbers, including Todd Skinner and Paul Piana, and laid the groundwork for the game that is Yosemite big wall fr...
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
Steve Bechtel is a Wyoming climbing legend who moved to Lander when the limestone at Wild Iris was discovered and helped to develop it alongside Todd Skinner and Paul Piana.
In this episode we discuss the sides of Skinner and Piana that often get lost when listing accomplishments - their roles as friends and community builders. Their humanity.
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
After causing a ruckus in Yosemite Valley and Index, Todd Skinner didn’t slink away. He looked up. Way up. At El Capitan.
He and Paul Piana had been dramatically influenced by an article written by Mark Hudon called Long, Hard and Free, and the dusty disappointment of the Valley Demi-Gods wasn’t going to hold them back.
Using tactics borrowed from the future, Sk...
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
By the middle of the 1980s, the shift to sport climbing was in full swing. Two Wyoming cowboys, Paul Piana and Todd Skinner, recognized that the strength they’d gained from sport climbing would give them an advantage on projects left behind by the previous generation. However, that previous generation wasn’t so quick to embrace the changes. Particularly in Yosemite Va...
Check out our new book, Written In Stone: The 1990s!
Rob LeBreton wears a lot of hats. First, he’s a long time friend of the show, but he’s also a dad, husband, gym owner, former president of Sport Climbing Australia, and absolute climbing legend - the first Australian to establish climbs of 31 and 32 (13d and 14a) in Australia.
After the Snowbird episode came out, Rob sent me a video of the finals that he had rec...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.