The Nugget Climbing Podcast

George Lowe is a Colorado-based climber and alpinist who was awarded the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Access Fund. We talked about his early life, what keeps him returning to the mountains at age 82, how his physics career paralleled his climbing, getting too close to the edge on the North Twin, his “magnificent failure” on Latok I, life advice for climbers in their 30s, and more.
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Show Notes:
http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/george-lowe
Nuggets:
(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:02:10) – Liz
(00:09:02) – Retirement
(00:10:46) – Climbing at 82
(00:13:21) – Early outdoor adventures
(00:17:28) – Early climbing
(00:20:58) – Getting hooked
(00:22:27) – Cosmic Ray Physics
(00:25:30) – George’s career
(00:31:56) – Problem solving
(00:35:28) – Coworkers
(00:37:17) – The North Twin
(00:57:16) – Why he keeps climbing
(01:06:36) – Latok I
(01:19:02) – Friendships
(01:19:44) – Life advice
(01:25:13) – Wrap up

Dr. Mohammad Ashori is a board-certified family medicine physician, health coach, and rock climber. We talked about the importance of putting on muscle, how much rest we need between training sessions, nutrition and metabolic health, zone 2 cardio, key metrics and blood markers to track, different levels of data, why some data can be misleading or harmful, relative vs. absolute risk, and much more.

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Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mohammad-ashori

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:09) – Dr. Ashori’s background

(00:07:01) – Treatment to prevention

(00:12:17) – Dr. Ashori’s current practice

(00:14:37) – Introducing today’s topic

(00:16:13) – #1: Build More Muscle

(00:17:57) – Should you put on muscle on purpose?

(00:25:15) – Key lifts for climbers

(00:28:55) – #2: Treat Recovery as a Workout

(00:31:35) – Growing the tree

(00:34:06) – Pitchers in baseball

(00:38:57) – Proactive, Adaptive, & Reactive

(00:40:45) – Active recovery strategies

(00:43:23) – #3: Metabolic Health

(00:46:44) – Is sugar the culprit?

(00:51:59) – Lifestyle factors

(00:53:14) – My nutrition journey

(00:59:26) – Psoriasis & leaky gut

(01:01:39) – Agency over your health

(01:13:28) – Looking fit vs. being healthy

(01:17:05) – #4: Train Your Heart

(01:18:00) – VO2 Max & Zone 2 Cardio

(01:28:33) – #5: Tracking Changes

(01:29:50) – Blood pressure & waist circumferance

(01:31:56) – Cholesterol, glucose, HbA1c

(01:33:02) – Family history

(01:33:46) – My HbA1c story

(01:38:02) – Levels of data

(01:45:33) – Fasting insulin

(01:47:43) – Speculating why my A1c is high

(01:50:49) – Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs)

(01:55:20) – My hsCRP

(01:55:46) – My LDL & other lipids

(02:04:28) – Relative vs. absolute risk

(02:08:28) – How to work with Dr. Ashori

Justen Sjong (The Climbing Sensei) returns to the podcast to discuss the unique challenges of being tall or short in climbing. We talk about the disadvantages tall climbers face, how injury risk and training volume change with size, mindset shifts for both tall and short climbers, why climbing is inherently unfair, practical tips, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

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Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/justen-sjong-returns

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:48) – Gardening

(00:04:04) – The Red

(00:08:17) – Introducing our topic

(00:12:34) – Shaming

(00:18:17) – Challenges for tall climbers

(00:23:46) – Injuries & training volume

(00:28:39) – Momentum

(00:37:55) – Foot strength & stiff shoes

(00:51:26) – Finding your own beta

(00:57:58) – Maximizing your reach

(00:59:56) – Grades

(01:10:43) – Finding the best beta

(01:15:36) – Fairness

(01:18:07) – One-foot drill

(01:21:04) – Expressing challenges

(01:22:50) – Grizzly bear

(01:24:42) – Mindset shifts for short climbers

(01:31:02) – Seeking street credit

(01:37:33) – Unclassic climbs

(01:38:23) – More tips for short climbers

(01:42:26) – Chunking down moves

(01:48:35) – Should short & tall climbers train differently?

(01:51:04) – Body types

(01:55:52) – Who do you want to be?

(02:01:09) – Can’t vs. yet

(02:02:11) – Justen’s climbing update

(02:08:40) – Wrap up

Adam Ondra is back on the podcast to discuss his incredible winter bouldering season, including four V15 (8C) flashes. We talked about why the best sport climbers can keep up with the bouldering specialists, his winter training in Arco, boards vs. spray walls, go-to bouldering circuits, tactics for hard flash attempts, catching the moment, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/adam-ondra-returns

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:11) – Settling down in Arco

(00:08:47) – Why are the best sport climbers also the best boulderers?

(00:15:23) – Does sport climbing help bouldering?

(00:18:35) – How the 8C flash goal evolved

(00:24:05) – How little Adam warms up

(00:27:26) – Board and spray wall training

(00:33:37) – Adam’s off-the-wall training

(00:36:19) – Stronger than ever

(00:40:21) – Why Adam doesn’t train on a hangboard

(00:43:43) – Edge lifting vs. climbing

(00:48:40) – Interval bouldering

(00:53:04) – How Adam’s indoor bouldering sessions have changed

(00:55:04) – Interval bouldering continued

(00:57:08) – Short routes vs. long boulders

(01:01:21) – Boulder flashing tactics

(01:05:30) – Visualization

(01:08:48) – Choosing flash beta

(01:11:08) – Adam’s weaknesses & strengths

(01:16:34) – Catching the moment

(01:20:20) – Flashing Emotional Landscapes 8C

(01:25:11) – 8C+ flash goal?

(01:29:54) – B.I.G.

(01:36:22) – What’s next for Adam

(01:40:11) – The Smith Rock project

Aaron Shamy has an inspiring story: he won the X Games in the ‘90s, took a 15-year hiatus from climbing, got out of shape, and then began a 6+ year comeback that culminated in sending the hardest route of his life. We talked about his early climbing and hiatus, the turning point, Project 127, living in the crescendo, balancing family life, his 33 days on Flight of the Conchords, the tactics that helped him send, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/aaron-shamy

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:43) – Aaron’s early climbing

(00:06:56) – The X Games in the '90s

(00:12:05) – 15-year hiatus

(00:16:08) – The turning point

(00:20:43) – Starting his comeback

(00:22:33) – Milliseconds and millimeters

(00:24:17) – The rule of thirds

(00:27:23) – Project 127

(00:41:00) – Living in the crescendo

(00:44:12) – Balancing family life

(00:50:24) – 33 days on Flight of the Conchords 5.14c (8c+)

(00:57:32) – Why different routes require different strategies

(01:01:48) – Mental strategies for reducing pressure

(01:05:29) – Day 32 (the kneebar)

(01:10:45) – Day 33 (the send)

(01:14:11) – Playfulness & tactics

(01:18:13) – Best climbing days

(01:23:48) – Transformation

(01:28:20) – Life of Villains 5.14d (9a)

(01:32:29) – Supplements

(01:34:29) – Who are you becoming?