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 54: Matt Segal — ‘Miami Vice’, Coffee with Benefits, and a Brief Stint with Paragliding
Follow-Up: Mike Doyle — How to Maintain Finger Strength While Sport Climbing (Teaser)
EP 53: Jon Glassberg (Part 2) — MoonBoarding, an Example Training Day, and Foreign Haircuts
EP 52: Jon Glassberg (Part 1) — Filming Emily Harrington on ‘Golden Gate’, and Pursuing V15
Follow-Up: Steve Bechtel — Goal Setting and the "Three Good Tries" Rule (Teaser)
EP 51: Chris and Heather Weidner — Kneebar Wizardry, Projecting Tips, and Supporting Each Other’s Goals
EP 50: Jon Cardwell — Projecting 5.15, Pre-Training Modes, and Bouldering for Sport Climbing
Follow-Up: Lizzy VanPatten — 'Make Me Sanguine' (Teaser)
Darek Krol Memorial Clip
EP 49: Remembering Darek Krol
Merry Christmas!
EP 48: Alex Johnson (Part 2) — Isometric Training, Getting Strong, and the Lock-Off Challenge
Follow-Up: Jasna Hodžić — Projecting 101 (...More like 401) (Teaser)
EP 47: Alex Johnson (Part 1) — An Olympic Dream, the Art of Failure, and Thriving in Your Own Skin
T-Shirt Giveaway!
EP 46: Chris Kalous — Untold Stories, the Mythical Grade of A6+, and the Gift of Podcasting
Follow-Up: Brittany Goris — The Wild World of Offwidths (Teaser)
EP 45: Dru Mack (feat. Nat Gustafson) — How to Stay Strong While Projecting, and Battling ‘The Crew’
EP 44: Steven Dimmitt (feat. Ethan Pringle) — The Guy Behind The Nugget Climbing Podcast
Follow-Up: Jonathan Siegrist — ‘Nu World’ and the ‘Event Horizon’ Project (Teaser)
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