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!
Follow-Up: Tom Randall — How to Program Your Training Like a Pro (Teaser)
EP 106: Hans Florine — Speed Climbing on ‘The Nose’, Big Wall Tips, and the Evolution of Speed Climbing Competitions
EP 105: Brent Barghahn — How to Retire Before Age 30, Extreme Unicycling, and How to Free Climb Big Walls By Yourself
EP 104: Amity Warme — Crushing in Yosemite, Growing up in Gymnastics, and Eating More to Do More
Follow-Up: Tyler Nelson — How to Train Based on Your Finger Anatomy (Teaser)
EP 103: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk — Chasing Flow State, The Role of Cleverness in Climbing, and Becoming a Mom
EP 102: Matty Hong — The History of ‘Flex Luthor’, Climbing Waterfalls in Japan, and the Camera as a Gift
EP 101: Nina Caprez — Being a Swiss Machine, Leaning into Womanness, and a Beautiful Story of Failing on ‘The Nose’
Follow-Up: Steve Maisch — My Training Plan for Hueco Round 2 (Teaser)
EP 100: Ben Moon — How Ben Moon Uses the MoonBoard, and the Evolution of Sport Climbing
Follow-Up: Paige Claassen — Dreamcatching, and Learning to Celebrate (Teaser)
EP 99: Q&A 4 — Goals for 2022, Dating on the Road, and What I’ve Learned from Nearly 100 Episodes
Follow-Up: Tyson Schoene — Building Champions, and Keeping Things Simple (Teaser)
EP 98: Kyra Condie — The Olympic Experience, Training With a Fused Spine, and Thriving in Organized Chaos
EP 97: Austin Hoyt — Favorite Zones in the Northeast, Rediscovering Old Projects, and Being a GUNKaholic
EP 96: Joe Kinder — The Love of Projecting, Leaving a Legacy, and the Other Side of Cancellation
EP 95: Tyler Algeo — Starting a Climbing Gym in Africa, Climb Malawi, and Raising Black Sons as a White Dad
Follow-Up: Steve Bechtel — When to Stick With It, and Climbing His First 5.14 at Age 47 (Teaser)
EP 94: Nathaniel Coleman — Preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Climbing in a Sauna, and Kendama Training
EP 93: Tom Herbert (Part 2) —How to Relax to Improve your Passat Reserves, and Tom’s Life Story
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