The Climbing Majority

Shea McCrary is living proof that just about anyone can turn a dream of climbing faraway mountains into a life. Raised in the Midwest, she found climbing the way so many of us do, in a climbing gym. But unlike most, she became captivated by big objectives in a corner of the country with barely any multipitch to speak of. She taught herself from Freedom of the Hills, bought a double rack off Facebook Marketplace within her first couple of months, and learned the ropes from a local mentor, an old Army Ranger who told her she would climb the Nose one day. Before long she was making the 12-hour drive to Colorado and back to rope up with strangers on multipitch trad objectives. Then Sunny Stroeer asked her a simple question that changed everything: where do you see yourself in 10 to 15 years? Today, Shea has climbed high-altitude peaks, from Aconcagua to the Cordillera Blanca, and is now stepping into a new chapter as she prepares to purchase and take over AWExpeditions, an all-women mountaineering company running high-altitude expeditions, climbing courses, and backpacking trips around the world. Led by women, for women.

In our conversation, we dive into the partnerships that have shaped her over the years: the good, the bad, and the transformative. A Mountain Project partner from hell, the onsight of Levitation 29, a one-day ascent of La Esfinge in Peru that ended in the dark, and a day on Serenity & Sons with Steph Abegg. We talk about what makes a great partner, why “do you want to come down now?” can be the most deflating question on the wall, and what it really means to be a mentor in today’s climbing culture. We finish by discussing why all-women expeditions are more than a stylistic choice; more often than you’d think…they’re a safety one.
#femaleclimber #mountaineering #guides

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Nearly a decade ago, Kevin Dahlstrom walked away from a seven-figure corporate career in search of a happier, more fulfilling life. The decision had been brewing for years, until one day, at the very top of his career, sitting at a table with some of the most powerful people on Wall Street, it all became clear. He was unhappy. He had climbed the wrong mountain. Two weeks later he quit, and soon after he moved his family from Dallas to Boulder, Colorado, to rebuild his life around the thing that had always made him feel most alive: climbing. Soon after at 50, he sent ten 5.13s in a calendar year.

On his 55th birthday, Kevin posted this: “I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them.”

When I read Kevin’s list, a lot of it hit me hard. At a time when I’ve been struggling in my own ways, it was a wake-up call, a reminder of things I had somehow forgotten in the pursuit of my goals. So I picked fifteen of the choices that felt most important and relevant, and we talk through each of them in this episode. The funny thing is, none of them are particularly new. We’ve heard most of these for decades. But that doesn’t change how easy it is to forget them, get lost in routine, and wonder why we aren’t feeling our best.

As you listen, I encourage you to notice which of these reminders hits closest to home. Where have you traded your happiness for arbitrary goalposts? Where have you stopped taking care of yourself? What could you change TODAY that would make a difference?

If you’re willing, share the reminders that mattered most to you in the comments.

#selfimprovement

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Kevin's List of 55 Life Lessons

Kevin's Ideal End State Exercise
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In May 2026, Bryce and I climbed The Nose on El Capitan (5.9 C2, 3,000ft) big wall style over three days. On September 19th, we went back and stood on top again, this time in 15 hours, 48 minutes, and 22 seconds. This conversation is our trip report. To help me unpack our experience, I brought in my friend and Vertical Pursuits guide Erik Griffith. As someone who has climbed NIAD in ten and a half hours he brings a unique and experienced perspective. We talk about the gear we brought, the systems we trusted, and what went right and what went wrong.

We also get into what it took to show up mentally. Bryce, a dad of two young boys; me, running this podcast, Brox Rocks, and a full-time marketing job .... Walking away from all of that to give the wall everything we had was its own challenge. The biggest thing we took away is that you don't have to race to get up The Nose quickly. It comes down to smooth, consistent, focused movement with as few errors as possible.

You don't have to move fast to be fast on El Cap.

**Apologies ahead of time. Erik's internet connection was super unstable and we lost some of his audio feed and a large chunk of his video feed. This edit is my best attempt to piece together a cohesive conversation.

#yosemite #bigwall #rockclimbing #speedclimbing

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Book w/ Vertical Pursuit Guides

Steven Dimmitt is the host of The Nugget Climbing Podcast, labeled as "one of the best long-form interview podcasts in the outdoor space" by Outside Magazine, with over 300 episodes and conversations spanning some of the sport's most accomplished athletes, coaches, and thinkers. He's also a serious climber in his own right — double digit boulderer, onsighting 5.13a, training out of the Tension HQ in Colorado, and building a body of climbing experience that informs how he approaches every conversation on the show. Beyond the podcast, Steven now runs a coaching accelerator, translating years of pattern recognition from his interviews into practical guidance for climbers trying to get better.

When I first started podcasting I looked around me in the space for inspiration. Who was at the top doing exactly what I wanted to be doing? Steven Dimmitt and his podcast The Nugget was one of them. Now having had five years and over 100 episodes of my own podcasting experience I wanted to speak creator to creator about the journey of self growth, development, and lessons learned from producing over 300 podcast episodes with some of the world's most elite climbers. I feel like Steven continues to be one of the more thoughtful voices in climbing media and this conversation is a look inside how he thinks — about the sport, about the work, and about what it actually means to build something meaningful in a noisy digital world.
#bouldering #climbingtraining #climbingcreator

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The Nugget Climbing Podcast
https://thenuggetclimbing.com/

Explore The Nugget Training App & The Climb Accelerator
https://thenuggetclimbing.com/coaching/#climb-accelerator

Cover Image by William Woodward

Noah Kane is a creator first and a climber second. He first picked up a camera when he was only 10 years old. From those early days he already found a proclivity for creating content while crafting horror scenes, comedy skits, and digital effect experiments. While in film school, his adventurous spirit rejected dense urban life and caused a profound shift in life trajectory. Soon after he found climbing, and simultaneously, a new place for all his creative efforts. In our conversation we talk about his development as a creator and a climber. How he's progressed to hard 5.12 trad climbing and grown one of the most well known climbing Youtube Channels in the world. We talk about the craft of adventure storytelling and what it actually looks like to live a life of creating content in the vertical world. 

I've been an admirer of Noah Kane both as a creator and a climber for years now. As a creator and climber myself his talent behind a camera, ability to craft a story, and development as a adventure-first climber has been an inspiration. I've had Noah Kane on my list for years but it has only been until recently where I felt the show was ready for him. I was beyond stoked to have a chance to sit down with him in person during my recent "Washington Triple" trip.
#climbingcreator
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