Pete Whittaker is widely regarded as one of the best crack climbers of all time. We talked about his current trip to Moab trying Stranger Than Fiction, how he trained for the FA of Crown Royale 9a, the skills needed to climb cutting-edge cracks, why he is still working on improving at ring locks, the futuristic Crucifix Project, his most fun/rewarding/miserable/traumatic trips with Tom Randall, and much more!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/pete-whittaker
Nuggets:
0:00:00 – Intro/Ads
0:05:34 – Pete’s breakfast and voice
0:06:29 – Pete and Tom’s current mission in Moab, and what makes that area so unique
0:10:02 – Goals on trips, and working on ring locks as a weakness
0:12:22 – How Pete and Tom ring lock differently
0:14:57 – Pete’s book on crack climbing techniques
0:15:56 – Trying Mason Earl’s route Stranger Than Fiction
0:20:14 – Breakdown and progress on Stranger Than Fiction
0:21:58 – Pete’s first visit to the Profile Wall in Norway to try Recovery Drink, and working his way through the established free routes
0:27:54 – The style of climbing on the Profile Wall, and the skills needed to climb hard there
0:30:08 – Placing 17 pieces of gear on the 100m Crown Royale 9a
0:32:35 – Breakdown of Crown Royale 9a, and running it out on the send
0:38:13 – Pete’s process on Crown, and projecting the top half as its own pitch
0:40:42 – How Pete and Tom decide which projects to try together vs. individually
0:43:19 – The most FUN trip with Tom (Century Crack trip)
0:45:20 – The most MISERABLE trip with Tom (Bridge Boys)
0:46:21 – The most TRAUMATIZING trip with Tom (Yosemite)
0:49:09 – The most REWARDING trips with Tom (exploring the White Rim)
0:50:27 – The Crucifix project
0:53:26 – How Pete trained for Crown Royale 9a
0:57:06 – Embracing the suck, why Pete is good at resting in stressful positions, and training stamina as a kid
1:00:17 – Pete’s early climbing, venturing into more dangerous routes as a teenager, and doing the first ascent of an E9 at age 17 with his mom on belay
1:06:12 – Why Pete loves offwidthing, and other styles of climbing that involve lots of suffering
1:10:42 – How geeky is Pete about training?
1:13:10 – Adding structure, and training with Lattice for Crown Royale
1:14:51 – Shoulder conditioning for Crown, and what exercises he plans to continue doing
1:17:51 – Keeping tabs on the world’s hardest trad routes, and Pete’s thoughts on trying Tribe
1:20:09 – How Pete picks objectives and goals, and riding the waves
1:23:07 – Pete’s recent trip to Yosemite with Mari
1:25:37 – Using Darth Grader to suggest the grade of 9a for Crown Royale
1:34:33 – How Pete’s experience with Crown Royale compared to Recovery Drink
1:37:33 – Unclimbed lines on the Profile Wall, and where the name “Crown Royale” came from
1:39:26 – Check out the Patron-only EXTRA with the Wide Boyz!
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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