For the Love of Climbing

When we're born, a doctor proclaims that we are male or female, based on what our bodies look like. But some people's gender identity is just different from what was initially expected at birth.

Bryce’s brother Tyler died in a climbing accident but because of his death, Bryce became more intrigued with the sport that took his brother’s life. He says he has a unique relationship with climbing, and he doesn’t believe that the grieving process is this big scary monster we all think it is.

You haven't heard this story yet. But, maybe you have. Maybe it's a sister, a girlfriend, a best friend. Maybe it's you. Survivor stories like these are creating a global framework for how to end sexual violence–by talking about it. If there is any hope for having meaningful, nuanced discussions about this, transparency is our greatest ally. This is one survivor's story, out of millions. This is episode one of For the Love of Climbing.

Did you ever do something you loved, but for all of the wrong reasons? Ego is a hard thing to overcome. You want your ego to be as big as possible when you’re about to make that crux move–but it’s just as important to learn when to set it aside when you come back down.

Every job has its pros and cons. Some can be pretty chaotic and most, if not all, don’t always pay employees what they’re worth. But what if one of the downsides of your job was death? Pretty sure they don’t make bonuses that cover that.

When you’re alive and vibrant and healthy enough to choose to go climbing, but your dying mother doesn’t have that choice. What do you call that kind of juxtaposition?

Scarecrow always wanted a brain, but sometimes those things don’t really work as well without the other two.

What do you look for in a climbing partner? Stoke, strength, or most importantly, suffering with you and feeding you cookies on top of pitch twelve? Hopefully the latter.

Have you ever talked to a stranger about some of your deepest fears? Vulnerability is a fragile term. Sometimes people mistake it for weakness but it takes more strength to show people a part of who you are, rather than hide it. Being vulnerable is being strong.

The difficult things can be hard to talk about because, well, they’re hard. Just to be clear, this is not a climbing podcast. This is a funny/sad/somewhat uncomfortable podcast about choosing vulnerability, talking openly about our pain, our most awkward moments, and how we are all really just shining examples of this messy human existence. Lots of things can happen in a lifetime, and this podcast is about all of those ugly, awful things that we all have to go through in life.