The Ground Up Podcast

Today’s guest is none other than mental‑training expert and longtime first‑ascensionist Arno Ilgner. While most climbers know Arno for The Rock Warrior’s Way—his influential book and program on focus,...

21 Apr 1h 34min

Wilson Cutbirth is an expedition climber at heart—driven by ground-up style, remote objectives, and first ascents on some of the wildest big walls out there. With a deep background in rigging and rope...

7 Apr 1h 37min

In this episode, we sit down with West Virginia climber and prolific developer Andrew Leich to trace a climbing journey shaped by obsession, grit, and an almost unthinkable comeback. From his early da...

24 Mars 1h 54min

For decades, Ghost Town stood as one of North Carolina’s most legendary—and inaccessible—cliffs. First climbed in the 1970s and closed for nearly 20 years, its towering crack systems and dramatic posi...

3 Mars 1h

In this episode, we sit down with Kathy Karlo to trace an unconventional climbing trajectory—one that started on ice in Ouray and the steep quartzite horizontals of the Gunks, but has led to a life fi...

24 Feb 1h 25min

In this episode, we sit down with Tal Wanish to talk about what it really means to build a climbing area from the ground up. Tal walks us through his evolution from a college climbing class at Clemson...

10 Feb 1h 41min

We’re back! After a short hiatus, we're kicking things off with a State of the Union for The Ground Up Podcast. In this episode, we catch up on what’s been happening behind the scenes—from moves and l...

9 Feb 8min

Fresh off a record-breaking run at 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell, Nadya and Sean sit down with Ari and Rob to share how they approached the legendary 24-hour climbing marathon. From Sean’s disastrous fir...

23 Sep 20251h 26min