Local Spotlight: ClimbTalk Radio

I remember, my first trip to Bishop, my second year of climbing, after rubber-necking at the ?Milks and scrambling through the volcanic tablelands like a tornado dervish the first couple days, walking into Vons to pick up some groceries for another night in the campsite, lovingly named ?The Pit? (really, that?s even what the Forest Service sign says, ?The Pit?). Some ramen, a can of local salsa, oatmeal?let?s head to the veggie aisle. Turning the corner I nabbed an onion, squeezed it thoughtfully, and then reached for a tomato. But someone was already holding a tomato, right in front of me, me still a gumby, what surfers call a ?kook.? And that fella was Peter Croft, plucking a tomato out of the bin and tossing it into his basket. Peter Croft. Like, the legendary Peter Croft, my first climbing hero and still the ambassador to my soul of all things meaningful, radical, and limitless in the vertical world. Like a total kook, I stammered something under my breath like ?Oh-my-god-it?s-Peter-Croft,? dropped the onion, and ran to the beer aisle where my other kook bouldering buddies were kind of wafting aimlessly about.

?Dudes,? I huffed, ?guess who I just saw in the vegetable aisle??

?Who??

?Peter Croft!? I kind of violently whispered, arms rocketing into a V above my head. ?Peter Croft!?

?Who??

What a gumby kook I was. But maybe not totally. There?s something about climbing, some refreshing paradigm lost in many other sports or lifestyles or outdoor pursuits. For us, the climbers in constant circumnavigation through our little community, gumby kook and rock crusher alike, we are allowed a certain carte blanche into the elite of our lifestyle/sport. The kook?s playground is the professional?s office. The elite plug gear next to the gumby. The kooks share campfires with the elite, share their day?s clippings and failings. The point being, climbing is basically caste-less, untiered, and absolutely chock full of amazing characters doing the most amazing things in really amazing places. Not exactly a revelation, eh?

Which brings me to the point of all this reverie and rehashing of my former kookdom and gumbihood. Climbers like to hear about other climber?s stories. These tales enliven us, throw a guiding rope into the darkness of possibility and potential, make us laugh, groan, or simply sit gripped and sweating and cringing. Stories, for climbers, are the great mountains of our lives, an endless peak to peak we weave together and meld with others throughout our lives, spinning further yarn into our growing community. Making it stronger. Bringing out the light. Locking elbows around our own strange mythology and idiosyncrasy.

A bit over three years ago a radio program kinda stumbled onto the air, not quite articulating these thoughts but vibrating with their inner hum. This show nabbed some of the legends of the climbing world, gave them a place to talk, live in a studio, no editor (but still no swearing, please?FCC and all that). Local climbers and international climbers and climbing trainers and climbing gym owners and climbing company employees and all kinds of climbing folk came through the doors. And they still do, three years later, every other Friday at 9 pm on Boulder?s very own KCVU Radio 1190. Above those doors it says ?ClimbTalk.?

ClimbTalk, the vision of Front Range media stalwart and long-time Boulder area first ascensionist Mike Brooks, remains the only live climbing talk show in the nation. Maybe the world? I dunno. I do know that ClimbTalk continues to house, as some strange hostel connecting the longest and most caddywompus trail connecting all the world?s many climbing destinations, the best live stories, discussion, and general rock climbing chit chat to be found on the airwaves. Last year Jim Bridwell talked of near religious experiences on Yosemite?s walls, Royal Robbins broke his new series of memoirs, Dave Graham, Jon Cardwell and Jamie Emerson introduced the world to Lincoln Lake bouldering, Jonathan Siegrist wrapped up his stellar year, Jason Kehl, Abbey Smith and Pete Takeda bookended their Zanskar Odyssey to India with two visits to the studio, Peter Mortimer of Sender Films discussed his thoughts on filming some of the world?s greatest athletes traversing, what would seem to some, the most dangerous and heart-fluttering territory possible. John Sherman was John Sherman, twice. ClimbTalk pegs the needle for the average guys and gals, too, the kooks and gumbies and weekend warriors and ancillary folk circling the waters of the climbing world.

This Friday, April 26, ClimbTalk is proud to announce a visit with prAna ambassador Chris Sierzant. Chris is not a kook. He?s a funky dude, though, no doubt about it. In his own words, via an email to ClimbTalk, ?I don?t have bad luck, I don?t have good luck?I have strange luck.? Indeed. He?s been climbing for years, studying martial arts since his single digits, and now lives in an eco-friendly tree house. He?s also incredibly involved with the southeastern climbing community as both a teacher and an access warrior.

Joining Chris is the Boulder Rock Club?s newest route setter Trevor Markel. I just spent a week with Trevor on my eighth visit to Bishop, and the dude is stoked. Like, if it?s a word ? psychstoked! But he?s a total gumby around the campfire playing the ?name game.? Finally, we?ll have Will Levandowski in the studio, a Boulder local trying to set a Guinness World Record for most vertical feet ascended in 24 hours. The odometer?s set at 25,000 feet. On a boulder on Flagstaff Mountain just above Boulder. Quixotic? Perhaps, but he?s also raising proceeds and awareness for Operation Smile, a charity organization healing children suffering from severe cleft conditions the world over.

If you?ve never checked out ClimbTalk, this Friday is the perfect time to start. In the Boulder, Colorado area, tune into Radio 1190 AM and flip the toggle on at 9 pm. Anywhere else, stream us live at www.radio1190.org. For updates on future shows check out our little infant of a Facebook page.

Listen, ClimbTalk is about one thing, for all of us in this wonderful little community. Our tribe; kooks and gumbies and pros and weekend warriors alike. Our tribe?

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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Tags: 2011, Chris Sierzant, Climb Talk, climber, climbers, ClimbTalk, dave graham, Front Range media, guests, Jamie Emerson, Jim Bridwell, John Sherman, Jon Cardwell, Jonathan Siegrist, KCVU, Mike Brooks, on air, Peter Mortimer, radio, Royal Robbins, show, stories, Trevor Markel, Will Levandowski

This entry was posted on Friday, April 29th, 2011 at 3:00 am and is filed under Culture, Rock Climbing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.prana.com/blog/2011/04/29/local-spotlight-climbtalk-radio/

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