Leo Houlding is one of the greatest adventure climbers of all time. He’s put up new free routes worldwide from the Amazon Rainforest to the remote regions of Antarctica. We talked about his upcoming trip to Baffin Island, his childhood in the UK, using the fix-and-follow system to climb 2000’ big walls with his kids, epic stories from his El Cap days, what he learned from his worst injury, and much more!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/leo-houlding
Nuggets:
0:02:54 – Prepping for his trip to Baffin Island
0:07:16 – Enjoying the logistics, and planning the food for a month-long expedition for three people
0:13:50 – Leo’s beta knowledge for expeditions, and going beyond roads
0:16:01 – Leo’s “little issue”, and base jumping off the top of Mount Asgard
0:23:56 – The challenge of attempting to free climb Asgard again
0:27:29 – Leo’s Instagram cover photo
0:29:16 – Writing his book, his mom and dad, and his adventurous spirit as a kid
0:33:39 – Leo’s first big adventure climb, Old Man of Hoy
0:37:24 – How his life has turned out compared to how he imagined it as a kid
0:38:24 – Being born at the right time
0:42:45 – Generations in Yosemite
0:45:18 – “Climb that goddamn mountain.”
0:49:49 – Adventuring with his kids
0:53:59 – Using the fix-and-follow system with the kids to climb big walls
1:00:56 – Climbing in the Wind River Range with Llamas and the kids
1:05:11 – Tips for keeping the morale high for kids
1:13:13 – Compromises with kids, and plans to take them out of school for an around-the-world mission
1:16:41 – “The days are long but the years are short.”
1:17:10 – My travels with my family around South America as a 5-year-old, and seeing the developing world as a kid
1:20:34 – A final tip for parents who want to adventure with kids
1:22:41 – Rest in peace Ammon McNeely ❤
1:23:34 – The Alfa Romeo badge story
1:35:41 – Question from Sam Stroh: What are Leo’s thoughts on going ground up on The Prophet?
1:42:51 – Getting caught in one of the worst storms in Yosemite history, and doing the first free ascent of The Prophet
1:48:41 – Closer to the Edge
1:49:29 – The end of his Yosemite chapter
1:52:03 – Leo’s accident on Cerro Torre
1:56:41 – Leo’s expeditions to Antarctica
2:02:11 – Kite skiing
2:07:11 – Rock climbing at the end of the world
2:08:42 – “I wanted the most hardcore trip ever, and I got it.”
2:09:52 – His trip to the Amazon rainforest, and making The House of the Gods film
2:13:58 – Dropping loads out of an airplane into the rainforest
2:18:21 – Free climbing a new route on Mount Roraima
2:20:31 – More about Leo’s book Closer to the Edge, and the film 2.4 about adventuring with kids
2:23:35 – Why we should travel to the developing world
2:24:41 – Wrap up
EP 223: Aidan Roberts — Navigating Pro Climbing, Establishing His Two Hardest Boulders, and Glimpsing Mastery
EP 222: Paul Houghoughi — How to Bulletproof Your Knees, Strengthen Your Shoulders, and Maintain a Happy Neck
EXTRA: Keenan Takahashi — Mustache Q&A, Highballing Near Misses, and Japanese Climbing Culture
EP 221: Keenan Takahashi — ‘The Gold Standard’, Learning From Limit Moves, and the Origin Story of ANTIGRAV
EP 220: Alannah Yip (Olympian) — Alopecia, Finding Power Beyond Hair Loss, and Her Fight Against Disordered Eating
EP 219: Fitz Cahall (The Dirtbag Diaries, Climbing Gold) — A Lifetime of Storytelling, Taking Authorship of Your Time, and Being Pro But Not Fancy
EP 218: Mat Wright — Sending One of the World's Hardest Trad Climbs, 'Rhapsody' E11
EP 217: A Masterclass in Relieving Stress, Sleeping Better, & Improving Focus Using Self-Hypnosis — Dr. David Spiegel (Stanford Psychiatrist)
EXTRA: Maddy Cope — A Masterclass in Endurance Training
EP 216: Maddy Cope — Erase Your Bucket List, Embrace Discomfort, and Discover the Joy of Missing Out
EP 215: Nathan Williams — Lessons From 100+ Days on a V17, the Simplest Way to Get Strong Fingers, and Static Shenanigans
EP 214: How to Find Contentment in Your Climbing, Banish Shame, and Send Harder Than Ever — Neely Quinn (TrainingBeta, Life Coach)
EP 213: Simon Lorenzi — Three V17s, the Fascinating Story Behind ‘Soudain Seul’, and Dream V18 Projects
EP 212: Filmmaker Carlos Mason on Creating SENDING — A Look Behind the Scenes at One of My Favorite Climbing Films
EP 211: Davis Ngo (dr.climb) — Blowing Up on Instagram, Why Pro Climbers Deserve to Get Paid, and Overcoming Fear After Injury
EP 210: Stefano Ghisolfi — Chasing the Impossible, Using Humor to Send, and Two Drills for Legendary Endurance
EP 209: Graham Zimmerman — Going to the Mountains to Learn, the 100-Year Plan, and Imperfect Advocacy
EP 208: Jesse Grupper — Optimistic Training, Last Place to Olympian, and Leveling Up His Bouldering
SEND ALERT: Will Bosi — ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ V17, and What He Plans to Try Next!
EP 207: Paul Houghoughi (The Climbing Physio) — How to Rehab Finger Injuries, Build Bulletproof Wrists & Elbows, and Never Get Injured Again
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