Up North Rocks

Hi Folks! I am very excited to be back! Thanks for joining. On this episode, I set out some of my thoughts and vision for this season of Up North Rocks - no radical changes in the works, but I do want to focus a little more on some of the nuanced conversations that go along with climbing. I am also including a rebroadcast of an interview I did with CBC Thunder Bay about the podcast last fall - a little over a year later, it feels like a good time to share this interview with you all, partly as a reminder to myself about why I started this thing in the first place. So, with that, thanks for joining, enjoy this little teaser, and get stoked for more exciting things to come!

Hi folks! Apologies for the long gap in episodes – its been a wild few months over here. Today’s episode is one that has been on the horizon for a while now – an interview with the guy who keeps the thunder bay climbing scene going, Aric Fishman. I have had a ton of requests from folks wanting to hear from Aric, and his name has come up in almost every single episode of the podcast so far, which says a lot about how much he does for climbing in Thunder Bay. Aric is the owner and head guide of Outdoor Skills and Thrills, Thunder Bay’s only rock and ice guiding service, and is also the author Thunder Bay Climbing: A Guide to Northwestern Ontario’s Best Kept Secret – which as of this spring is in its second edition! If you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy of the book yet, definitely hit up Aric to pick one up – you will not be disappointed. Featuring high quality topos and drone footage and over 300 new routes, this book is a must have for anyone climbing in Northern Ontario. Stay tuned for details on the book launch party in coming up in the next couple of weeks. To get in touch with Aric, find him on Instagram @outdoor_skills or facebook.com/OutdoorSkillsAndThrills or check out his website at outdoorskillsandthrills.com. So with that, sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with guide and guidebook author, Aric Fishman.

On today’s episode, I had the pleasure to sit down with someone who is well known in the ice and mixed climbing scene in Northern Ontario, Dave Rone. Dave has been making trips to the region since the early 80’s, and in that time has made a huge contribution to the ice and mixed routes in Orient and Kama Bay – as they say, Eric Landmann wrote the book, but Dave Rone put up the routes to fill it. Dave has made many trips to the Rockies, including notable ascents of Cryophobia M8 WI5+, Replicant WI6, Suffer Machine M7 WI5, Sea of Vapours WI6 (with an improvised harness), Real Big Drip M8 WI6, and the very impressive Gimme Shelter WI7. Outside of the Rockies, Dave has climbed in Patagonia, Quebec, Norway and elsewhere in the US. Dave is also a rep for Petzl in the US.Dave was up here this winter for a week of climbing, and also gave a fantastic presentation at ice fest, so I was stoked to be able to connect with him on one of his rest days to record this conversation. We talked about climbing in NWO, gear, partnership, and grades (including the mythical grade of WI7). I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did.

Hi friends, Thanks for tuning in today! On this episode, I sit down with someone all of us ice climbers in Northern Ontario owe a big thank you to – Author of Superior Ice, Eric Landmann. Eric started making trips to the region in the late 80’s, and went on to become a central piece of the ice climbing scene around here – meticulously cataloging first ascents and pictures in the 90s and early 2000s and putting together the books that we now prize as THE resource for ice climbers in this neck of the woods. I was quite excited that Eric agreed to be on the show – and especially just in time to put this episode out ahead of the Nipigon Ice Fest! I hope some off you have the chance to listen too this episode on the way to Nipigon. Also – I have an exciting piece of news to share for those who like to climb on tools, and especially those who like to do so even when there is no ice – there is a drytool comp coming up in Southern Ontario this spring! The comp is scheduled for June 3rd at Of Rock and Chalk in Newmarket – check out @drytoolnight on Instagram to stay up to date on details about the comp as they are released. And with that, here's my conversation with Guidebook Author and Ice Climber, Eric Landmann.

Hi folks - welcome back and thanks for listening. I’m very excited to share today’s episode with you – my conversation with world class ice and mixed climber, Sarah Hueniken. Sarah is a graduate of the Outdoor Rec program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and has gone on to do amazing things in the climbing community. You’ll hear in the episode that she is very humble, but don’t let that fool you – Sarah has won medals at the Ouray Mixed Comp and Ice Climbing World Cup North American Championships, has completed multiple link ups of hard ice and mixed routes, and is the first North American woman to climb M11, M12, M13 and M14 – just for reference, the hardest mixed route in Northern Ontario is M10, and M14 is akin to somewhere in the 5.14 range. On top of that, Sarah is an advocate for safety and inclusion in the mountains, and is the executive director of Mountain Muskox, a community organization dedicated to supporting survivors of trauma in the mountains. I really enjoyed getting the chance to chat with Sarah, and was left feeling both inspired and humbled – I hope that you feel the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfO9MVLYlrE https://www.mountainmuskox.com/get-involved https://sarahhueniken.com/about/

Hi Folks! Thanks for tuning in today to my conversation with chiro and exercise science expert Dr. Tyler Nelson. First off, disclaimer – Tyler is not from Northern Ontario, and has never been here – he lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. But despite that, I think you are all going to enjoy hearing from him, because this episode is all about a sport that is near and dear to the hearts of many of us in the frozen north – Ice and Mixed climbing. You can find Tyler on instagram @c4hp or on his website at www.camp4humanperformance.com Also, check out these other rad articles by Tyler: https://www.trainingbeta.com/preparing-try-hard-part-1-isometric-testing-p-p-coaches/ https://gripped.com/indoor-climbing/facts-over-fiction-c4hp-brings-a-new-age-of-training/ https://www.climbing.com/skills/fingerboard-training-is-for-novice-climbers-part-1/ https://strengthclimbing.com/dr-tyler-nelsons-density-hangs-finger-training-for-rock-climbing/

First off – if you haven’t already listened to it, before you listen to this episode, backtrack to Episode #4 to hear Part 1 of my conversation with Brandon. In Part 2, you'll hear the rest of my conversation with Brandon. We talk about his escapades bolting routes at the Centennial Park Bluffs, meeting North American climbing legend Fred Beckey, and climbing on Yamnuska with Cedar Wright. Believe me, these are some good stories. Reminder - Nipigon Ice Fest is coming up at the start of March! Go to https://outdoorskillsandthrills.com/nipigonicefest Please don’t forget to like, subscribe and follow the podcast on Instagram and your favourite streaming platforms to keep this thing going! @UpNorthRocksPodcast

Hello friends! First – apologies for the long gap in episodes – it has been a wild fall but now that the holidays are here, I’ve got time to catch up on putting out the episodes I’ve recorded over the last couple of months – and don’t you worry, there are some good ones. Also, I’ve gotten some feedback that past episodes have been a little quieter than would be ideal – I’m going to crank the volume moving forward, hopefully that helps! I’m very appreciative of the feedback, keep it coming! On today’s episode, I had the great pleasure to sit down with Holly Flemming and Katie Zugic. In addition to being badass and dedicated climbers in their own right, Holly and Katie are the founders of the Superior Sending Sisters. The Sending Sisters are a group dedicated to supporting folks who identify as women in the climbing scene in Northern Ontario. In this episode we talk about how Katie and Holly got into climbing, representation, mentorship, offensive route names, barriers that women face in getting into climbing, and the important work that the Sending Sisters are doing to address these issues. If you are someone who identifies as a woman and you are interested in getting in touch with the Superior Sending Sisters, you can check them out on Facebook or Instagram, links are below: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710775489468030 @superiorsendingsisters @skierflem @katiezugic

On this episode, I have the opportunity to sit down with Brandon Pullan on his way through Thunder Bay. Likely many if not most of you will have heard of Brandon before – he’s an alumni of kinesiology at Lakehead, spent 5 action packed years living in Thunder Bay and doing heaps of climbing in the region, and has gone on to do a whole lot more. Brandon now lives in Canmore, and is the Editor in Chief of Gripped Magazine, as well the author of a number of fantastic books, on top of continuing to do a whole bunch of awesome climbing and developing across the country. As you’ll hear, Brandon has roped up and hung out with a ton of legendary climbers, including Sonnie Trotter, Tommy Caldwell, Will Gadd, Barry Blanchard, Jim Elzinga, Marc-Andre Leclerc, David Smart and Cedar Wright. He also mentions Sarah Heuniken, who it turns out is another graduate of Outdoor Rec at lakehead, and has gone to be one of the leading ice and mixed climbers in the country. After we finished recording this already lengthy interview and were chatting over some beers, more and more interesting things kept coming up and I had to turn the mic back on – to hear about the infamous story of bolting at the Centennial Park Bluffs, all the times Brandon met Fred Beckey, and the time that Cedar Wright rope-gunned him up Yamnuska, check back soon for a follow up episode, because those were all stories that are way too good not to share. So with that, enjoy my conversation with Gripped Editor, author, and prolific first ascentionist, Brandon Pullan. You can find Brandon on Instagram @brandonpullan and Gripped Magazine @grippedmagazine. You can also check out his book The Bold and Cold @theboldandcold.

On this episode, I sit down in Orient Bay with another Northern Ontario climbing legend, Steve Charlton. Steve has been climbing and developing in the region since he was a student at Lakehead University in the 90s, and these days is one of the main pillars of climbing in Orient Bay. Steve is also incredibly generous with both his time and his resources, donating hundreds of bolts and anchors to development in the region. In the episode, Steve talks about some folks he brought along with him on his trip to Orient Bay this summer who freed some stellar lines, including the very longstanding open project third pitch of Passage to Valhalla - you can check them out on instagram @songbyungkyu and @dustin.jj Also, if you want to know more about RURPs, the tiny piece of aid gear that Steve mentions, check out http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP52/tool-users-realized-ultimate-reality-piton

In this episode, I sit down with Shaun Parent. Shaun has been climbing (and more often developing) rock and ice climbs in Northern Ontario since the '80s. He is the OG in Northern Ontario climbing. In his time, Shaun has put up thousands of routes. Yes, that’s right, thousands. Odds are, basically any Thunder Bay climber has climbed on Shauns routes (and more than likely cursed him for his old school sandbaggery). I should also note that when I visited Shaun to do this interview, he sent me home with a big bag of bolts for use in development in the Thunder Bay area - those bolts have now been whacked into new moderates at The Outbreak Wall and Lost Falls. The interview is rather long, since there were so many things I wanted to ask Shaun about, from climbing with Conrad Anker in Kama Bay to putting up first ascents on massive alpine faces in Peru – but I highly recommend you hang on until the end – the gems just keep coming. If you want to get in touch with Shaun, you can find him on Instagram @superiorexploration, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/northofsuperior.climbingcompany or through his website https://www.superior-exploration.ca Also, check out some neat articles about Shaun at: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-man-who-brought-ice-climbing-to-northern-ontario/ https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2009/01/08/a_superior_location_toscale_the_heights.html https://www.ontarioclimbing.com/News/Superior-Exploration/ https://www.sootoday.com/bold/shaun-wants-to-show-you-his-favourite-ice-climbs-8-photos-1880387 https://www.lakesuperior.com/lifestyle/recreation/216parent/

In this episode, I lay out a little bit about my vision for the podcast. Also, as promised I'm including links to my favourite climbing podcasts: https://thenuggetclimbing.com/ https://www.hazel-findlay.com/podcast https://www.americanclimbingproject.com/ https://enormocast.com/ https://americanalpineclub.org/cutting-edge-podcast https://www.trainingbeta.com/trainingbeta-podcast/