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 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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