The Ground Up Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Boone local Sam Dospoy—woodworker, van builder, and climber deeply rooted in North Carolina’s High Country. Sam shares how a two-year stint dirtbagging in a minivan sparked both his love of c...

Boone, North Carolina is where photographer Drew Mercer first discovered his passion for rock climbing, so it’s no surprise that his new coffee table book, In Season , is a love letter to the High Country. A modern champion o...

Training for trad climbing isn’t something most climbers think about—but Project Direct coach Dana Taylor is here to change that. Originally from Chicago, Dana spent years sport climbing at the Red River Gorge before catching...

Whether you know him as the Vampire Professor, the Banjo Man, or the founding president of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Climbers Coalition (SWPACC), you know that Joel Brady has the undeniable ability to crush nails hard roc...

Speed climbing is the ultimate culmination of dozens, if not hundreds, of hours spent dialing in beta, trimming the rack, and pushing the body to move as quickly up the wall as possible. Few do it better than today's guest, J...

Finding first ascents and new potential link-ups in Yosemite Valley is a rare opportunity these days, especially when they're as monumental as the QUAD! In a mind-blowingly short one year between his first NIAD (Nose in a Day...