In today’s episode, I talk with Enji Cooper about what happened on Oval Peak with Glenn Block on the 8,800-foot mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. This episode is a follow up from last month’s episode number 79. (Make sure to listen to episode 79 before listening to this one!) There were many questions that listeners had about some of the finer details of Glenn’s account. Tune in to hear Enji share their perspective of what happened and why. This podcast is produced by...

Glenn Block and his friend Enji set out to climb Oval Peak, an 8,800-foot mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. At the time, Glenn was a novice hiker and admits he didn’t fully understand what he was getting himself into. As a result, he has many learnings from this experience. Being prepared and prepping for a hike like this is extremely important. What I admire about Glenn is that he’s humble enough in his personal mountaineering journey to share these learnings with you to...

Rachel Pisula set out on July 29, 2020 on a pretty nice, mostly sunny day in Colorado to climb two fourteeners in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains about 3 hours from her home in Golden, Colorado. By this point in the summer, Rachel thinks she already hiked ten fourteeners with her dog, Emmett. She was feeling strong and confident. Her objective on this particular day was to climb Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak in a day. Unfortunately, she got turned around on a tricky part of the hike...

Clara was climbing at a local crag in Tennessee called King’s Bluff where she witnessed a free solo accident & was heavily involved in the rescue. The climber was out alone on a weekday, and her and her partner were the only other people at the crag. The climber that fell was climbing on an unestablished route and ended up being rescued via boat on the Cumberland River. A pretty interesting story and Clara definitely has some key takeaways to share with Sharp End listeners. Tune here to...

On January 10th,  2020 Adam Campbell and his wife, Laura Kosakoski were skiing with their friend Kevin in the Mount Hector area of Banff National Park. Laura skied first, Kevin followed, as Adam approached the slope, he triggered a size 2.5 avalanche that pushed Laura into a terrain trap and buried her with over 12 feet of snow. Although Adam and Kevin were able to get to her, she never regained consciousness. She passed away from her injuries the next day. Adam has had to live with the grief...

Tune in to episode 75 of the Sharp End Podcast to hear Joe Lovin share his story about a climbing fall he took in Clear Creek Canyon outside of Denver, Colorado. He talks about what went wrong and the important lessons he learned from his fall. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. 
Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and the American Alpine Club. --> 10% off Rocky Talkie radios at www.rockytalkie.com with code SHARPEND —> 20% off First Aid contents at MyMedic.com with code...

Bad fall, Broken face (Ep. 75) Tune in to episode 75 of the Sharp End Podcast to hear Joe Lovin share his story about a climbing fall he took in Clear Creek Canyon outside of Denver, Colorado. He talks about what went wrong and the important lessons he learned from his fall. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. 
Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and the American Alpine Club. --> 10% off Rocky Talkie radios at www.rockytalkie.com with code SHARPEND —> 20% off First Aid...

In this episode, Ken Wylie, author of the book “Buried,” recounts the horrific accident of La Traviata in Revelstoke, British Columbia. On January 20, 2003, thirteen people were caught in an avalanche while ascending the La Traviata West Couloir. Seven people died. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. 
Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and the American Alpine Club. --> 10% off Rocky Talkie radios at www.rockytalkie.com with code SHARPEND —> 20% off First Aid contents at...

Mount Emerson is located in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. It’s the 116th highest mountain in California. Christian and a friend set out to climb it and ended up spending an extremely cold and uncomfortable night out on the mountain side at 13,000 feet. Listen in to hear Christian’s learning from the unplanned bivvy. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe. 
Episode sponsors include Rocky Talkie and the American Alpine Club. --> 10% off Rocky Talkie radios...

Kyle Broxterman was consistently climbing strong. He was stoked on pushing himself physically and to continue to push the grades. Kyle and a couple of friends went out to a new crag on Donner Summit outside of Lake Tahoe, California. It was a beautiful day, they climbed a few routes and then Kyle decided to attempt to onsite a slightly overhanging, lightening bolt crack. Listen in to hear why Kyle is taking a step back from letting his ego drive his climbing and how he is managing his...

In late July 2016, Ed and three other climbers in his group were caught in a sudden storm on top of 180 foot, two pitch climb called ”Waves" in the Black Hills behind Rushmore. With estimated 50 mph winds, a dangerous plunging temperature, and golf-ball-sized hail, getting off the climb was a test of experience, concentration, and teamwork. Listen to the end of this episode to hear Desert Mountain Medicine’s Program Director Morgan Matthews (RN, CEN, WFR) talk about why Hypothermia is no...

Aaron and Ian are a father / son climbing team. Aaron is a teacher and Ian is a student and they both had summer break off. In June of 2021, they decided to take advantage of their summer break and head to Zion National Park, a climbing destination they try and go to at least once a year. Listen in to episode 71 to hear what went wrong and how they were rescued off this multi-pitch climb. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe and backed by the American Alpine Club. Episode sponsors...

Nick, owner of Beta, wanted to learn how to multi pitch climb. He’d been climbing in a local indoor gym on a pretty regular basis for about three years. He went out with his climbing partner and someone they recently met who said he’d teach them how to multi-pitch climb. The three of them went out to Clarks Canyon to learn the basics. This is where the trip goes south. Listen into this episode to hear what went wrong and what Nick learned from this incident. This podcast is produced by...

Foster and his two best friends were in the sport multi pitch climbing paradise that is El Potrero Chico in north eastern Mexico. It was their fourth visit to that climbing area and they had their eyes on a 15 pitch climb called ‘Devotion 5.11d.’ It’s a lesser known climb that is notorious for being a bit run out, hard for the grade, and chossy. Listen in to this episode to hear Foster’s account of his huge fall that resulted in a remote helicopter rescue. This podcast is produced by Ashley...

In late July 2016, Ed and three other climbers in his group were caught in a sudden storm on top of 180 foot, two pitch climb called ”Waves" in the Black Hills behind Rushmore. With estimated 50 mph winds, a dangerous plunging temperature, and golf-ball-sized hail, getting off the climb was a test of experience, concentration, and teamwork. Listen to the end of this episode to hear Desert Mountain Medicine’s Program Director Morgan Matthews (RN, CEN, WFR) talk about why Hypothermia is no...

On June 26th, 2021, Tori and a few of her friends were feeling strong and decided to climb Ellingwood Ridge on La Plata in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. The weather was forecasting classic Rocky Mountain afternoon thunderstorms so they got an early start. Knowing that this route was well in their ability level, they decided to go light and fast. Tune in to episode 67 to hear Tori tell her story of finding her edge on Ellingwood Ridge. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe...

Four friends set off to climb Mount Rae. A 4.9 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Kananaskis Improvement in Alberta, Canada that features a beautiful forest setting and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. On the descent, one women slipped and fell and wasn’t able to self arrest in the snow. Ultimately, she pressed the SOS on her Garmin InReach and what ensued was a heroic heli rescue. Listen in to all four perspectives of this accident. Two of the...

Matt and Trevor had plenty of experience hiking 14ers in Colorado, so when Matt's Dad was in Colorado visiting they decided to take him up Mt. Bierstadt so he could check off his first 14er to celebrate turning 70. On May 8, 2021 the group was nearing the top when weather changed dramatically from what the forecast had informed them of earlier. They suddenly found themselves (along with another group of hikers) caught in a lightning storm with extremely low visibility and rapidly dropping...

Jes Scott and Erica Ellefsen set out to travel 80km from Mt. Washington to Flower Ridge over eight days. Their goal was to climb eight of Strathcona Park’s tallest and most remote mountains. Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. They wanted a trip that was physically demanding but less scary than their usual mountaineering trips. Listen in to this episode to hear what went wrong during their traverse and how...

Jean and Ken summited Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental US, on what they thought would be their last day of the trip. On the summit they were caught in a severe snow and lightning storm. Using their ice axes, they began to descend via the north face in full self-arrest position. Ken fell 800 feet down the mountain while Jean, not knowing his fate, continued down slowly and methodically towards him. Then, at one point during her descent, Jean fell 165 feet bouncing on rocks...

Near-misses are greatly under-reported in general, yet they are plentiful. What leads them to be under-reported? Joel Reid, the Washington Program Director at the Northwest Outward Bound School and Steve Smith, from Experiential Consulting, chat with Ashley about why near-misses matter and the importance of reporting near misses in an institutional setting. You don’t want to miss this informative chat. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe and supported by the American Alpine Club....

We put together a survey in early February so we could get to know our listeners better. We want to know who you are and what you think of the show. Over 400 people filled out this survey and we gathered some good information. Listen in as Dustin from Podboarder and Ashley talk about the results and read some of the comments from fans. By filling out the February survey, you entered to win 1 of 3 prizes. 1. One year American Alpine Membership 2. Pair of Rocky Talkies 3. Aceso Hemp Prize...

A fumarole is an opening in the earth which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen sulfide. The steam forms when superheated water boils as its pressure drops when it emerges from the ground. These holes can be very dangerous. Listen to episode 61 as Scott tells Ashley about his fall into a fumarole during a solo ski mo attempt on Mt Hood in Oregon. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe and supported by the American Alpine Club....

After five consecutive years of producing the Sharp End Podcast, Steve Smith at Experiential Consulting turns the tables on podcast creator Ashley Saupe and interviews her! Listen as Ashley and Steve talk about a few incidents she's had in the backcountry, how she's managed them and why she is inspired to continue producing this podcast for her listeners. This podcast is produced by Ashley Saupe and supported by the American Alpine Club. Episode sponsors include Desert Mountain Medicine and...

On the morning of September 5, Annie Weinmann and her climbing partner started up the North Chimney, a broad 500-foot slot that leads climbers to the Diamond, Colorado's premier alpine wall. Annie had done the North Chimney before and was comfortable climbing the easy terrain unroped and in approach shoes. But when she got slightly off-route, a foot slip led to a terrible tumble. In Episode 39 of the Sharp End, Annie tells Ashley what happened and how she survived a 200-foot fall, plus some...