EP 161: Sam Stroh — Botching It and Sending Anyway, and Biggest Lessons from Hard Boulders to Free Climbs on El Cap

Sam Stroh is caffeinated, psyched, and ready to send everything from double-digit highballs to free routes on El Cap. We talked about his early climbing and onsighting Moonlight Buttress (5.12+), our coffee and chocolate addictions, finding the perfect climbing partner, the biggest lessons from each discipline of climbing, suffering on the side of El Cap, botching it with tactics, and harrowing sends.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/sam-stroh

Nuggets:

0:05:17 – Coffee and morning rituals

0:10:25 – Sam’s stretching and evening routines, and the self-care bell curve

0:13:42 – Sam shares his intentions for the conversation and topics he wants to cover

0:19:27 – Onsighting the Moonlight Buttress 5.12+ in Zion at age 20 with bad tactics

0:28:36 – Meeting his climbing partner Adrian, and trying Desert Gold and Jet Stream in Red Rocks

0:32:31 – Switching between disciplines, and Sam’s thoughts on how he and Adrian are so perfectly aligned

0:35:59 – Sam’s background in sports

0:37:54 – The benefits of bouldering for big wall climbing

0:40:44 – The method to the madness with switching disciplines, and cultivating long-term relationships

0:43:09 – What inspires Sam the most long-term, and having great stories

0:48:39 – Wet moss on El Niño, and trying Wet Lycra Nightmare with Jordan Cannon

0:55:00 – Injuring his hand on the Salathe

0:59:15 – Working on Wet Lycra Nightmare, and Sam and I connect over our love-hate relationship with Smith Rock

1:06:41 – The mindfulness and patience of bouldering

1:12:06 – The quintessential sport climbing experience

1:16:28 – Sam’s biggest lesson from big wall climbing: get a waterproof portaledge fly

1:24:44 – Thoughts on big wall ethics and style

1:34:12 – Sam’s ape index, and the height-dependent nature of El Cap

1:37:34 – The Freerider story

1:45:28 – Favorite big wall and bouldering snacks

1:46:58 – Sam’s knee injury

1:51:01 – Upcoming trip to Spain, Greece, and France

1:52:21 – Thoughts on the lack of information on endurance training for climbing, and rehabbing his shoulder

1:58:30 – Lessons from switching between bouldering or training and sport climbing

2:02:11 – No more treadwalls in gyms

2:03:44 – Watching the river vs. diving in