Sonnie Trotter is a Canadian professional rock climber and one of the most accomplished and respected climbers of his generation. We talked about his goal to climb 5.15, my impression of meeting him at Smith Rock, our parallel family histories, treating life as a game, how the Cobra Crack changed his career, how he trained as a teenager, stamina vs. strength, what makes Dave Graham so strong, and his book, Uplifted: The Evolution of a Climbing Life.

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Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/sonnie-trotter

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:03:38) – Connor Herson’s 5.15a FAs

(00:09:35) – Gunning for 5.15

(00:11:49) – Meeting Sonnie at Smith Rock

(00:20:37) – His life routine

(00:24:43) – Sonnie’s kids

(00:29:24) – Time warp

(00:33:24) – Family history

(00:39:35) – Life is a game

(00:42:45) – The business side of Sonnie’s life

(00:53:19) – Choices & constraints

(01:03:07) – Cobra Crack

(01:09:20) – The progression of climbing

(01:16:24) – Getting sponsored

(01:20:07) – The age of print media

(01:24:34) – Rifle in the 90s

(01:30:52) – How he trained as a teenager

(01:36:04) – Stamina vs. strength

(01:45:30) – Sticking to the basics

(01:49:31) – What makes Dave Graham so strong

(01:54:33) – Writing his book

Peter Mortimer is an award-winning filmmaker (King Lines, Valley Uprising, The Dawn Wall, The Alpinist) and co-creator of the Reel Rock Film Tour. We talked about his latest project, The Dark Wizard, a new 4-part documentary series now streaming on HBO Max about Dean Potter, which shares the full story of Dean in all of his human complexity—as a visionary, climbing legend, and a tormented soul.

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Join Climb Accelerator (Earlybird Sale) 👉 https://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/peter-mortimer

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:21) – Peter’s film career

(00:11:54) – Hustling

(00:15:28) – The Dark Wizard

(00:31:14) – Inside Dean’s mind

(00:38:34) – Dean’s rivalry with Alex Honnold

(00:49:42) – Everything on the table

(00:51:25) – Where to watch

(00:52:34) – Where to follow Peter

Dave Thompson is a 5.14 and V14 first ascentionist, alpinist, and coach for Evoke Endurance. We talked about his early climbing in the North Cascade mountains of Washington State, doing the first ascent of some of the best hard boulders in Leavenworth (Beautification, God is in the Details, The Teacup), how he got so strong, how to apply your strength on the wall, the challenges of endurance training in climbing, and more.

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

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dave-thompson

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:29) – Dave’s path to rock climbing

(00:07:31) – Bob Buckley

(00:10:42) – The Teacup FA

(00:14:54) – Dave’s coaching philosophy

(00:25:53) – How Dave got up to V14

(00:37:05) – A way of moving

(00:43:19) – How to improve your gym sessions

(00:48:11) – Training

(00:55:54) – Dave’s climbing and coaching

(00:58:53) – Dave coaches me on The Teacup

(01:02:48) – FAs in the Methow Valley

(01:06:59) – FAs in Leavenworth

(01:11:16) – How strong can adults get at climbing?

(01:13:18) – Personal agency

(01:20:34) – Catching a wave

(01:23:46) – Bouldering efficiency session

(01:30:32) – Evoke success

(01:36:47) – Training for sport climbing

(01:43:25) – Not thinking

(01:44:17) – How to connect with Dave