As the end of the 1970’s neared, climbers, more and more, the world over, were wondering the same thing. “How hard can we climb?

In this setup episode we look at the factors that coalesced right there at the end of the 70's and beginning of the 80's to help pave the way for what we now call sport climbing.

New equipment, new tactics, and most important, ushered in by a German giant named Kurt Albert, were new rules.

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Season Two is generously supported by Rab.

This episode is supported by Tension Climbing.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing.

Climbing, in the 1990’s, as you’ve already heard, was all punk rock and new wave, rising standards and superstar climbers pushing each other forward through friendly – and not so friendly – rivalries. And it was huge.

But all of that bravado started somewhere. It wasn’t some Big Bang event. Instead, January 1st, 1990 was a product of the previous decade. A continuation of the countercultural need to rail against the conservatism, materialism and, well, traditionalism of the cultural norm. What had been counterculture in the 60s and 70s had become, in fact, climbing culture, and there was a new class of climbers unwilling to be subservient to what came before. They wanted something entirely new. Entirely theirs. Something that bucked against the tired old ways their fathers and mothers and grandparents had climbed.

They were louder. They were stronger. They were better. By miles. And they knew it.

Season 2, The 1980's, coming soon.

Remus Knowles runs https://climbing-history.org/ , and since he's a fan of the show, I asked him to come on and tell me which climbers and ascents we missed in Season 1. He showed up with a great list of climbers including Leo Houlding, Klem Loskot and more. I do my best to defend my choices, but Remus makes some great points.

Become a Patron and get this full episode for free at: https://www.patreon.com/secretstonersclub

Links to things we discuss:

Steve McClure and Mutation: https://climbing-history.org/climb/392/mutation

Klem Loskot profile and videos: https://climbing-history.org/climber/941/klem-loskot

Beat Kammerlander free soloing Mordillo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iyaCK-xf10&t=2s

Alain Robert's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alainrobertofficial

The Alpine Trilogy: https://climbing-history.org/list/11/the-alpine-trilogy

Jam Crack Podcast with Leo Houlding Part 1: https://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2023/12/5/jcpc-142-leo-houlding-part-1

Jam Crack Podcast with Leo Houlding Part 2: https://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2023/12/5/jcpc-142-leo-houlding-part-2

Matt Samet is a legend of the climbing magazine world, having worked for Climbing, Rock & Ice and Alpinist as an editor, writer and general voice of credibility. Not everyone in the industry is core to the climbing lifestyle, but Matt definitely is. He loves this.

In this episode we discuss the role of the magazines then and now, the demise of print, my and others criticism of the magazines and the short comings of the media, even in it's heyday.

Become a Patron and get this full episode for free at https://www.patreon.com/secretstonersclub

Sometimes you need time away to realize what you were in the midst of.

In this episode Kris reflects on the season, where the true cultural shifts in climbing came, and the lessons that climbers can take away from examining climbing history this way.

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Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

Eva Lopez is one of the top Spanish climbers in history. While she is largely known as one of the world’s foremost researchers on training for climbing, she’s also a crusher. She was the 5th woman to to climb 8c and in 2013, at 42 years old, climbed her first 8c+, a route she bolted called Potemkin.

In this episode, Eva and Kris discuss the state of Spanish climbing in the 1990’s and what it was like watching Josune Bereziartu come into her own during those years. They also dig into the woman vs. woman rivalries that are often played up by the media and why it’s less common to see that happen today, and what Josune and her incredible accomplishments mean to climbing history.

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Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

Basque superstar Josune Bereziartu first tied in as the 80’s were changing into the 90’s, after seeing a documentary showing two women climbing in the Verdon. Within those first few months of Josune learning to climb, Lynn Hill did the first 14a ever climbed by a woman.

By the middle of the 90’s Josune became the 5th woman to equal the feat, which had yet to be surpassed. Her friends suggested she could be the first to climb harder, so she started training to make it a reality. Before the decade would change again, with the performance gap in climbing widening, Josune would push through the pressure and become the first woman to climb 8c, or 5.14b.

And she wouldn’t stop there.

Check out more here!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE.

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Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone

Chris Schulte is a boulderer who is obsessed with the lines and shapes of climbing. He fell in love with Fontainebleau many years ago based on a photo of Fred Nicole climbing Karma and has cultivated a relationship with the forest and climbed many life-list boulders there.

In this episode, Kris asks Chris to describe the forest in his poetic way, and to tell stories of his best memories of Bleau and the special connection he has to some of the boulders, specifically Karma and Duel. They try to unpack why Catherine Miquel isn’t as well known in the US despite her incredible accomplishments, and discuss traverse grades, eliminates, and how to be a good steward of climbing and the places we climb.

Check out more here!

Join the Secret Stoners Club for FREE.

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Thank you to our partner, Tension Climbing. Tension creates tools to help you elevate your climbing experience. Check out the goods here and use code STONE for 10% off anything but the full Tension Board set-ups, hardware, and gift cards. When you support Tension, you're supporting the team at Plug Tone creating this show.

Written in Stone is co-created with Power Company Climbing. Use code STONE at checkout for 20% off. Details at www.powercompanyclimbing.com/stone