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 119: Carrie Cooper — Thinking of Ourselves as Athletes, Research in Climbing, and Mobility and Warming Up
EP 118: Chad Andrews Interviews Steven Dimmitt — Repost from the Clipping Chains Podcast
Follow-Up. Joe Kinder — Sending 'Mamajamma', and What I Learned from 5 Weeks of Projecting with Joe (Teaser)
EP 117: Yves Gravelle — Lessons From Grip Sports, Basing Your Training on the Demands of Your Goal, and Top 3 Finger Training Methods
EP 116: Paul Robinson — Coming Back From Injuries, Opening Up About Autism, and Working Boulders Top Down
Steven's Blog: Mar '22
Reflections: Mina
Announcing "Reflections" and "Steven's Blog"
Follow-Up: Steve Maisch — Hueco 2022 Debrief (Teaser)
EP 115: Jordan Cannon — The Triple Crown in Yosemite, Big Wall Pooping Stories, and How to Build the Skills to Climb El Capitan
EP 114: Q&A 5 — My Current Finger Training Routine, How to Deal With Bad Body Image, and Golden Nuggets for Newer Climbers
EP 113: Ned Feehally — Beastmaking, Long-Term Finger Training, and Climbing With Ankle Weights
Follow-Up: Steve McClure — Sending ‘Lexicon’ E11, Projecting Tips, and How to Enjoy a Long Life of Climbing (Teaser)
EP 112: Favia Dubyk — Specializing in Lowball Roof Bouldering, Surviving Cancer, and Learning How to Dyno
EP 111: Jerry Moffatt — Being a “Crag Rat”, Developing Your Mental Game, and What the Top Climbers Have in Common
EP 110: “The Verm” Returns — Life Lessons at Age 62, Fun Facts About Birds, and Injury Stories
Follow-Up: Josh Wharton — Attempting to Flash 'Freerider' on El Cap (Teaser)
EP 109: Martin Keller — How to Train on Rock, Your Subconscious Brain, and Lessons from 150+ Days on a Boulder
EP 108: John Sherman — Hueco Tanks in the 80s, Highballing Before Crash Pads, and Adding Layers to the Bouldering Experience
EP 107: Tim Emmett — How to Climb Harder After 40, The Magic Formula for Climbing 9a, and Life Philosophies
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