Steve Bechtel on Skinner, Piana, Friendship, and Community

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. 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! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

8 Sep 23min

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 possible without letting that get in the way of having an incredible experience is refreshing. It’s not about rules. It’s just for the love of the game. In this episode we get nerdy about some of the individual pitches, including Pitch 19, the roof and the headwall, and try to parse out some of the confusing history. We also discuss Jordan’s ascent, the style he aimed for, and the compromises he had to make. And finally, why Jordan isn’t yet finished with The Free Salathé.     Jordan on Instagram Watch Free As Can Be   PREORDER THE BOOK AND GET BONUS EPISODES!   BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

18 Aug 1h 7min

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 free climbing. In this episode we discuss the idea that eventually led to the Free Salathe, how Mark felt about it finally getting done, and how his philosophy about climbing has changed over time.  Find Mark online Read Long, Hard and Free Watch Free As Can Be   PREORDER THE BOOK AND GET BONUS EPISODES!   BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

13 Aug 1h 2min

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, Skinner and Piana got to work on their big objective, free climbing the Salathé Wall. Many great climbers had made free attempts. Each contributed to the mystique. Several claimed it would never go free. The two cowboys from Wyoming didn’t believe that - they had been collecting skills that made them uniquely suited for this route. The flaring cracks of Vedauwoo. The runouts of The Needles. The pin scars of City Park and The Renegade. The dynamic climbing of Hueco Tanks. It would be, all at once, a notice of change and a love letter to the past. They weren’t going to take no for an answer, even if it killed them. It nearly did. BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/store/p/big-walls Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

4 Aug 1h 7min

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 Valley, resistance was massive – they wanted their walls preserved in a time that was already in the past. It would take a new age maverick to push through the noise, but that maverick would need a calming and realistic voice beside him.  BIG WALLS, SIGNED BY PAUL PIANA! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

28 Juli 42min

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 recorded onto VHS back in 1988, which resulted in several things. First, I got excited to see the famous Edlinger moment at the top of the wall. Second, I posted it on YouTube and have been blown away by how many people are excited to see it - the link is in the shownotes - and third, it made me realize how much someone across the world can be impacted by a story and the media created around that story. So I asked Rob to come on the show so I could better understand where Australian climbing was in '88 and what seeing this television broadcast meant to him. Watch the Snowbird Finals Video at https://youtu.be/Gl0spp0S34Q   Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

21 Juli 41min

Alan Watts is widely recognized as the father of American sport climbing and a leading developer at Smith Rock. However, most don’t know about his impact on the indoor climbing industry in the US or the fact that in 1988 he set for the very first international climbing competition in the country - Snowbird. In this episode we discuss his role as route setter and judge, and how that meant he had an up close and personal view of the drama that unfolded during semi-finals. We also speculate as to what might have happened had the original rules held rather than the World Cup rules. What if Didier hadn’t been disqualified? What if Destivelle had remained out or if that huge move in the middle of the finals route had been a little smaller? Watch the finals of Snowbird 1988! Check out our website for related episodes, resources and more! Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE and get bonus episodes. ---------------------------------- Season Two is generously supported by Rab.  This episode is supported by Tension Climbing and The Tension Board 2. Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

14 Juli 1h 3min