This month’s episode features two rockstars out of the Southeast. Meagan Evans, Executive Director of the Southeast Climbers Coalition (SCC) and Daniel Dunn, Access Fund’s Southeast Regional Manager. Together they have worked to steward and conserve some of the region’s most cherished climbing landscapes. Most recently, the SCC protected a 58-acre boulderfield in northern Alabama known as The Citadel Boulders—an area that the SCC has been working to protect for nearly 20 years. Now the SCC, along with other major partners, are focusing their efforts on how climbing can contribute to broader co ..read more

On today’s episode, we host two conversations to recap Access Fund’s 2023 Annual Climbing Advocacy Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. First with Dave Thompson, president of the Arkansas Climbers Coalition, and then with Crystal Hudelson and Keith Murakata with Climbers of Color. Dave shares insight into how the explosion of tourism in Arkansas has garnered support for climbing among land managers at the state and federal level and for future conservation opportunities. Dave says that Arkansas is a great stop along the way while traveling through the southeast, but it may not be long before A ..read more

On today’s episode, Erik Murdock returns to take a deep dive into an issue that Access Fund and the climbing community have worked on for decades: how fixed anchors are managed in Wilderness areas. It’s an issue that requires context, history, and nuance, which is what this episode delivers. Erik begins with a thorough history of climbing in America’s Wilderness areas, then we get into the finer details of why managing fixed anchors in these places is a big deal right now. As Erik explains, recently released guidance from the National Park Service and US Forest Service will have serious implic ..read more

Today we are joined by zoologist and founder of Climbers for Bat Conservation, Rob Schorr. Rob has a particular passion for bats, which can be somewhat elusive and challenging to study given where they often roost. That’s where climbers come in. Around 10 years ago, Rob recognized an opportunity to partner with climbers to expand research on bat ecology. Since climbers and bats share the same vertical landscape, climbers are able to provide Rob and other scientists with information that they could not gather from capturing bats on the ground. Bats are largely misunderstood by the public. Rob’s ..read more

On this month’s episode, we are joined by Quinn Brett and Sam Sala. Quinn is an adaptive athlete and prominent voice in the adaptive space. As an avid recreationist, she provides her view on how outdoor accessibility can be improved in our national parks and other outdoor spaces. Sam is an instructor at Paradox Sports where he works with Quinn and other adaptive climbers. Across his tenure, he has gained a first-hand appreciation for how improved accessibility enriches the outdoor experiences for adaptive athletes. The pair discuss some of the barriers, challenges, and successes that they have ..read more

Our guest for April’s episode is alpinist and climate activist Molly Kawahata. You may recognize her name from The Scale of Hope, a Patagonia-sponsored film that came out last November. Leading up to the release of that film, Molly was becoming a household name in the climate movement. Pulling on human psychology and neuroscience, her approach to communicating climate action is arguably unprecedented, as she moves to make it more relatable to the everyday person. Molly’s experience as a climate advisor at the White House during the Obama administration spring boarded her into the path that she ..read more

This month marks the 50th episode of the Climbing Advocate podcast! Chris Sharma, our guest for this special episode, needs little introduction as one of the most prolific and influential climbers of our time. His contribution to the climbing community extends from the crag to the boulder field to the gym with his new indoor climbing ventures. After nearly 30 years of climbing, Chris’s psych is as high as it’s ever been and his continued commitment to the climbing community is truly special. Sharma has lived and climbed in Spain for 15 years and had a great perspective to share on the differen ..read more

On today’s episode we head south with Elaine Elliot. Elaine is one of the founders and writers of Steep South, a climbing media company. Elaine aspired to find a way to share the rock climbing treasures of the Southeast while also blending in themes of conservation and advocacy. With her history in writing, she found a sweet spot, linking up with local filmmakers in Chattanooga to produce two beautiful climbing films that share conservation success stories from Tennessee and North Carolina. These films bring conservation to life and paint a picture on how much work goes into the success of the ..read more

This month we head to the Midwest to hear from Raud Kashef and Adam Brummett of the Iowa Climbers Coalition. You read that right, Iowa. No time was wasted as Peter, Raud, and Adam dove right into what makes them so passionate about climbing in a state that many might write off as not having any climbing at all. Raud and Adam prove this theory wrong and talk extensively about the great climbing opportunities in the Hawkeye State. Much of the conversation focused on the ins and outs of a major trail project that they completed at Pictured Rocks County Park with the assistance of one of Access Fu ..read more

Each year, Access Fund rallies dozens of exceptional climbing advocates from across the country and this year was no exception. Peter had the chance to catch up with two prominent advocates based in the southeast and discuss some of the things happening in their respective areas. First up is Caleb Timmerman, marketing and outreach director with the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC). Caleb’s expertise goes beyond marketing and he has a great pulse on everything that’s happening with the SCC, including one area he and Peter discuss at length: Castle Rock. The story and protection of Castle R ..read more