Written in Stone: Climbing History

In 2001, Chelsea Griffie topped out on Lurking Fear on the far left side of El Capitan and became the first black woman to climb the world famous formation. But she didn’t realize that until years later. She was just looking for things to challenge her. In this episode, Kris and Chelsea discuss the path of her climbing that led to El Cap, what being the first feels like, and the importance of representation in the outdoors.  Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

31 Jan 202433min

Bobbi Bensman was one of the most dominant competition climbers of the 1990s, winning the Phoenix Bouldering Contest 13 years in a row and 20 National Championships. She’s still going strong, adding every year to a 5.13 ticklist that’s now over 250 routes long. In this episode, Kris and Bobbi discuss her years as a competition climber, her greatest rivalry, when she realized that Lynn Hill, who she’s known since 16, was on another level, and how their friendship has grown over the years. Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

29 Jan 202436min

Lynn Hill was looking for a different kind of progression. By the mid-1990’s climbing grades had skyrocketed, and Lynn was climbing harder and harder. But the difficulty wasn’t what drove her. She wanted adventure. Partnership. To push into the unknown. Something BIG. And there was one prize that had been talked about for decades with the air of a fairy tale: Freeing The Nose of El Capitan.  Many people had tried, and most of the easier climbing had been done. Variations had been figured out. But still, two of the pitches seemed futuristic. The scale was daunting. And the route would demand a skill set that nobody on the planet could match.  Nobody that is, except for Lynn Hill.  Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

22 Jan 202439min

Starting in the 80s, and extending well into the 90s, it seemed to be the French vs. The British for sport climbing supremacy. At the middle of this war of words and routes were Ben Moon and Jibe Tribout, and the greatest battles would play out at Buoux and Raven Tor, two of the most legendary crags of the era. Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

15 Jan 202430min

Alan Watts might have bolted the best routes of the 1980s and '90s. Chain Reaction, To Bolt or Not To Be, Just Do It. He didn’t have a front row seat to the action - he was on the stage alongside Tribout and every other superstar who came to Smith Rock to try his routes. In this episode, Alan and Kris discuss Jibé Tribout and whether he was the villain he seemed to be, as well as the true story of America’s first 14c, Just Do It. Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

10 Jan 202451min

In November of 2018, at Smith Rock, Oregon, Adam Ondra made one of the most impressive onsights in the history of climbing. The first 14c in the US, Just Do It. 1990’s era technical testpieces don’t make for easy redpoints, more or less onsights, but Adam has made a point of trying to do just that as often as possible. And there’s no climber in the world who is better at it.  In this episode, Kris and Adam discuss the importance of history, how Just Do It checks all of the boxes for a classic, the value of competition, and the impeccable vision of Alan Watts in bringing Smith Rock into the new age. Check out more here! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

8 Jan 202442min

Brash and bold, Jibé Tribout had a futuristic vision, and he was willing to Just Do It. Even if that meant flying around the world to try a route he’d been asked to stay off of.  He wasn’t the most talented of the French superstar climbers. That title belonged to Patrick Edlinger or one of the Le Menestrel brothers. But he worked the hardest. He put in the hours and the effort, and he got the results. He didn’t take no for an answer, even if he maybe should have. That attitude made him sometimes a target, often a villain, but always a dedicated, hardcore climber who loved it all.  So when he went to Oregon and sent Just Do It to create the second 14c in the world, the locals didn’t hate on it. They threw him a party. Check out more here! Join the Patreon for FREE! ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

1 Jan 202430min

Merry Christmas! As a gift for listening and sharing the show, we’ve not only put together a massive list of climbing films from the 1990’s that you can watch right now for free, but we also decided to chat with Mike Call - one of the key figures in 1990’s hold shaping, innovation, and filmmaking.  We hear about the shaping of The Boss and the early days of Pusher, what it was like filming and editing back then, and MANY of the best stories about filming with Boone Speed, Chris Sharma and more superstars from that era, including the landmark first ascent that Mike accidentally recorded over. Learn more at our website. 90's Climbing films that are free to stream ---------------------------------- Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.  Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

25 Des 20231h 28min