EP 146: Todd Perkins — The Mind-Opening Effects of Cannabis, Why Gratitude is the Key to Climbing Longevity, and Near-Death Experiences

Todd Perkins is one of those local legends who you’ve probably never heard of. That is unless you’ve climbed on some of his routes around St George, Utah. We talked about growing up in the Mormon church, the mind-opening effects of cannabis, climbing his first 5.14 in the 90s and maintaining that level for 25 years, near-death experiences, the intelligence of the cosmos, aliens, and much more.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/todd-perkins

Nuggets:

0:05:22 – Todd’s pancake beta

0:08:29 – Growing up in the Mormon church

0:10:40 – Cannabis

0:17:50 – Solar-powered weed smoking

0:19:41 – “Get down from there!” and how Todd got introduced to climbing

0:23:08 – Getting into route development in the 90s, and learning from Jorge Visser and Randy Leavitt

0:28:34 – Developing routes at the Cathedral,

0:31:26 – Climbing Planet Earth at the VRG, and progressing from 12a to 14a (7a+ to 8b+) in two years

0:33:18 – Chris Sharma’s psych for climbing as a 15-year-old kid

0:35:07 – Longevity, gratitude, and being present

0:39:08 – Setbacks, trying Golden for a Moment 14b (8c), and using a portable fan 20 years ago

0:45:51 – Coming back from hip surgery and other setbacks

0:48:28 – More about being present

0:56:00 – What motivates Todd in his climbing these days

0:57:52 – Having an out-of-body experience on Planet Earth, and other most meaningful ascents

0:59:24 – My (Steven’s) two hardest routes and how different those experiences were, and Todd’s thoughts on mental tenacity

1:05:24 – Adventure in sport climbing and route development, and Todd’s near-death experience

1:11:01 – Spirituality, the intelligence of the cosmos, and the goods and bads of religion

1:16:15 – Steven shares some thoughts on the damaging parts of growing up in a religion

1:19:37 – What Todd learned from studying Buddhism

1:21:00 – Aliens

1:33:14 – Nuclear testing in the 50s and 60s

1:36:48 – Why Todd never left St George

1:39:07 – Plans to try Flight of the Conchords 14c (8c+) this winter

1:42:27 – Trusting your intuition, getting lots of sleep, and not pushing too hard

1:47:07 – Wrap up, and we should all spend more time thinking about something other than climbing