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Since 2002 Alpinist has striven to push creative boundaries with everything we do, from award-winning climbing journalism and creative writing to photography and art. Now, with the Alpinist podcast, we aim to extend our conversations with climbers and community members into interviews and oral histories that will entertain and educate our listeners with everything from dramatic and humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of the most significant issues in the climbing world today. More at alpinist.com/podcast
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Alpinist turns climbing achievements into careful conversations about preparation, risk, history and the working lives behind them.
Alpinist follows the decisions behind difficult climbing as closely as the climbs themselves. Abby Collins conducts patient interviews that move between technique, ambition and personal history, giving guests room to explain how their approaches developed rather than reducing an…
A 3,000-foot flash attempt, with enough doubt to make your palms sweat before the first move.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A patient Yosemite climb story about deciding when to push harder.
Will Moss is given room for a patient, specific climbing conversation centered on a 3,000-foot flash go on Free Rider. The strongest pull comes from the buildup: he set the goal two years earlier, studied the route by downloading videos into an album on his phone, and arrived…
A measured climb story about obsession, progress, and the grind of making it work.
Sonnie Trotter comes across as someone whose climbing never stayed a hobby for long. What starts in a local gym becomes a full way of living, and the profile tracks that pull from teenage years through the point where his parents could see how far the sport was crowding out a…
Climbing records and reproductive rights frame a careful reconstruction of one life.
The episode follows Lauren Delaney Miller from Stanford Alpine Club records into reproductive rights work in Austin, and the real interest is how carefully it handles the blanks left by the archive.
A measured look at how Steve House built a training method before there was a blueprint.
Steve House's path shows how elite climbing training took shape before there was any tidy rulebook. Abbey Collins keeps the focus steady, moving from House's teenage start in the high mountains to the work he later did in climbing, guiding, and coaching.
A steady look at climbing history, editorial work, and the stories that keep major routes in view.
The episode works best when it stays close to David Smart's overlap with climbing, where his lifelong climbing background, route development, and editorial work give the conversation a steady center.
Climbing culture, with patience and bite.
Climbing stories with dirtbag memory.
Climbing culture, talked over by the people living it.
Scottish climbing yarns, arguments and a buddy check to finish.
Will Moss walks through why he decided to take Free Rider on as a flash go.
Abbey Collins talks with Sonnie Trotter about how climbing first opened another world for him as a teenager.
Abby Collins talks with Lauren Delaney Miller.
Abbey Collins sits down with Steve House to trace the arc from teenage mountain outings to a career in climbing, guiding, and coaching.
David Smart talks through a life that keeps coming back to climbing.
This episode features an interview with climber Justin Bowen discussing his climbing journey and experiences.
An interview with alpinist Alan Rousseau about his mountaineering achievements and philosophy.
An interview with Andrea Surest about climbing's impact on community and personal growth.
A climbing podcast episode featuring a narrated story about a mountaineer's experience in North Wales.
An interview with extreme alpinist Mark Twight about his climbing career and philosophy.