Brent Barghahn has rope soloed ‘The Nose’ in a day, freed multiple routes on El Cap, and is a former engineer at Black Diamond. We talked about how Brent combined van life and “house hacking” to effectively retire at 28-years-old, about motocross and extreme unicycling, cutting his teeth on hard trad routes in LCC, and his setup for redpoint rope soloing.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/brent-barghahn
Nuggets:
0:05:41 – Living in the BD parking lot, using van life as a way to save money, and a snapshot of Brent’s life 2.5 years ago
0:09:40 – My (Steven’s) stint living in a van in my employer’s parking lot
0:10:59 – Brent’s urban van life tips, stealth camping, and choosing van life as a financial tool
0:16:27 – Two different van life ethos
0:17:16 – What Brent’s life looks like now, house hacking, and how Brent “retired” at 28-years-old
0:35:21 – Extreme Unicycling, welding, and his charge account at the local hardware store
0:43:37 – Motocross, and similarities between action sports and trad climbing
0:46:01 – How dangerous climbing stacks up to motocross, and rope soloing The Nose in a day
0:49:04 – Getting hurt every year, quitting motocross, and discovering climbing
0:51:58 – How Brent improved so quickly in climbing, and why he loves technical granite climbing
0:57:38 – Patron question from Christoph: How do you train for hard trad climbing specifically?
0:58:50 – Patron question from Christoph: How does his preparation for hard trad redpoints differ from sport?
1:00:11 – Finishing climbs after a failed flash/onsight attempt
1:01:08 – Brent’s formative years trad climbing in LCC
1:05:48 – Why Brent chooses rope solo free climbing for some of his ascents, and his first rope solo NIAD (Nose in a day)
1:13:27 – Brent’s rope solo free climbing setup, and freeing ‘Father Time’ on Middle Cathedral via rope solo
1:23:31 – Brent’s take on big wall free climbing ethics, groud up ascents, his stance to stance philosophy, and the “Affect Minimal Parties” ethos
1:33:39 – Brent’s biggest aspirations in the Valley
1:34:46 – Brent’s go-to shoes for technical granite, and how he is training for ‘Magic Line’
1:42:24 – Choosing Flagstaff as a home base
1:45:15 – How Brent decides when to go on trips vs. stay local, and finding meaningful “work” now that he is “retired”
1:49:21 – Brent’s blog and other sedentary rest day activities
1:54:22 – What’s next
EP 148: Alan Watts (Repost) — A Life at Smith Rock, Eating Every Other Day, and Meeting Adam Ondra
BONUS: Alita Contreras — Guerreras Film!
Announcing Merch!
EP 147: Alayna Joy — Coming out to 400k Subscribers, Queerness in Climbing, and Compulsory Heterosexuality
EP 146: Todd Perkins — The Mind-Opening Effects of Cannabis, Why Gratitude is the Key to Climbing Longevity, and Near-Death Experiences
Follow-Up: Amity Warme — Sending ‘The Honeymoon Is Over’ in a Hailstorm, and Lessons From Another Season in Yosemite (Teaser)
EP 145: Katie Lamb — Breaking Into V14, Embracing Micro Beta, and How Climbers Can Be Leaders in the Climate Movement
EP 144: Marisa Michael — Why Losing Weight Won’t Make You Climb Harder, How to Navigate Food, and Intuitive Eating
EP 143: Matt Heyliger — Tissue Capacity vs. Biomechanics, Why Mobility Comes Before Strength, and the Eyeball Story
EP 142: Aidan Roberts — Training for Alphane V17, the Power of Replicas, and Embracing Your Style
EP 141: Robbie Phillips — Exploring Scottish Sea Cliffs, Keeping Things Fun, and Capturing Memories Through Filmmaking
EP 140: Tommy Caldwell — Undone Lines on El Cap, Father-Son Relationships, and Exploring the Limits of Human Endurance
EP 139: Lynn Hill — Breaking Barriers in Climbing, How to Find Self-Belief, and Challenging Social Norms
EP 138: Q&A 6 (feat. Taylor Fragomeni) — Ways to Improve Your Climbing if Access is Limited, and More Patron Questions
Follow-Up: Ned Feehally — More Beastmaking Questions, and Longer Hangs for Long-Term Strength Gains (Teaser)
EP 137: Drew Ruana & Cameron Hörst — Lessons from Recent Sends, Training for Bouldering vs. Sport Climbing, and Leveling Up to V18 and 5.15c
EP 136: Dan Varian — High Angle Crimps, Silver Bullets in Finger Strength, and How to Activate Lazy Fingers
EP 135: Alice Hafer — How to Train Your Mind Muscle, Tips for Staying Motivated, and Box Jumps for Power
EP 134: Sam Van Boxtel — Creating Value on Social Media, Having a Strong “Why”, and the Road to 100k Followers
Follow-Up: Jonathan Siegrist — How to Climb Hard Sport Routes and Improve for Decades (Teaser)
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