Jam Crack - The Niall Grimes Climbing Podcast

French-born ex-comp best turned lover of British hard trad mega-classics Caro sits down and answers some of her own questions - is that a thing? Super crack.

French-born ex-comp best turned lover of British hard trad mega-classics Caro sits down and answers some of her own questions - is that a thing? Super crack.

In part 2 of the Neil Gresham chat we talk Indian Face, Hard Grit, travelling and exploration, DWS, training and professionalism. Brilliant!

Neil Gresham has been chomping hard at the climbing bit for nearly forty years, always pushing hard and changing his focus. In part 1 we hear about Sheffield in the 1990s. Get in!

Jim Pope reads End of a Climb by John Menlove Edwards, widely regarded as one of the finest bits of pre-war climbing writing.

Away from the spotlight, Yorkshire-born Tom Bolger has quietly been redpointing and creating sport climbs of the highest calibre and is one of the few British climbers who are solidly climbing into the ninth grade. We caught up with Tom in his home in the global heart of sport climbing, Catalunya, to see what makes him tick.

Climbing royalty. Beth Rodden's impact on climbing from the late 90s to the late 00s was huge. She pushed forward female standards in sport and trad, did early free ascents on El cap, and established a crack testpiece where ascents still make the news. Injuries led to a stepping back, motherhood followed and she has now written her autobiography, A Light Through the Cracks.

Me and Remus talk crap about climbing.

Writer and podcaster Andrew Bisharat looks back on a life in journalism, creativity, climbing, being mbbed and his involvement in the Palestine-based film, Resistance Climbing.

On the 15th anniversary of Jerry Moffatt Revelations, for which I was ghost writer, I read some sections, remember the creation and listen to some recordings.

Norweigan trad beast, crack shuffler and professional amateur Mari talks Troll Wall, local clubs, El Cap and always looking forward.

Part 2 of the amazing tale of Billy Ridal and Alex Waterhouse's epic free ascent of The Nose on El Cap.

Having recently retired from a life of indoor comps, two plastic-hardened heroes declare to the world that they are off to free climb The Nose of El Cap, the world's greatest trad route. Get outta town. Part 2 follows tomorrow.

Al Lee's films have documented UK trad climbing and climbers for over a decade. Movies such as On Sight, Climbing Blind, Blocheads and The Prophet have made the screen shine. This week let's hear Al's crack.

Your annual sermon from the disco pulpit where the Jesus of beats and the Devil of groove battle it out in an epic dance to the death. Hot dog! Love's a-winnin!

23-year-old Zoe was born into climbing in the hills and homes of North Wales where the slopes of Eryri turn their eyes towards the sea, This world was sketched in a recent film, Adra, which captured too her love for her home. Hear about it and her current career as a routesetter and a move to Sheffield. Many Cackles are had.

In part 2 we hear about Leo's attempt to push standards and adventure on El Cap, breathtaking stories of wingsuit flying, racing Jeremy Clarkson, then taking his skills to the arctic wilderness and finally bringing it closer to home.

Leo Houlding is one of the finest and boldest rock climbers Britain has produced. In this first of a two-part interview we follow his journey from early Gritstone and wild Welsh forays onto the huge canvas of Yosemite's El Capitan. Stunning.

Chris Bonington's name is synonymous with high altitude mountaineering the world over and he led the charge into the extreme during the sport's most ambitious years. Alongside a successful and visionary career in the Himalayan giants from the 1960s through to the 1980s, CB communicated our sport to the armchair audience via his books and presentations. Hear all about his highlife.

Russ Clune has been more places, met more people and climbed more climbs than most of us put together. Hear this Gunks legend tell us about decades of climbing fun around the world, how things used to be and how things have changed. Old school guaranteed!

YouTuber, influencer and all-time trad slab moose Anna Hazelnutt takes us behind the scenes of video creation and climbing-wall superstardom. Legend.

Two stories. Niall Grimes reads his own Tents Situation and Tom LeFanu read The Waiting Game. Enjoy xx

Who can forget Didier Berthod from his attempts on Cobra Crack in 2007's smash video, First Ascent. The Swiss-born crack maestro's life sure has taken some turns since then. Find out all.

Al Burgess reads wild stories of 1980s alpinism and all that that world entailed - fighting for your life and passing into death.

Adventure boulderer Ruby Petch is one of the driving forces of the development of North Devon. By hiking pads, figuring tides, checking coves and sniffing out nooks Ruby and her small band of pad pirates have carried the proud Devon torch into new areas. Hear her crack here.

The world's best climber? Hell yeah! Adam Ondra gives us a tale of childhood, grades, Dawn Wall, comps and choss. Get in!

In part 2 of Dean's interview we chat about the Stonemasters' reincarnation, the Stone Monkeys, who brought their heart and soul to Yosemite's walls in the 1990s, and most particularly, Dean Potter.

Dean Fidelman's photographs captured the wild characters of the Stonemasters as they revolutionized the climbing of Southern California in the 1970s. John Long, John Bacher, Lynn Hill, John Yablonski and Dale Bard all sparkle in his stunning black and white images. Hear all about it in part 1 of Dean's interview.

She's ony 22 and she's already ticked many of the best 8as and 8bs in Yorkshire and has done 8b+ and Kilnsey, And she's a right laugh. Check out Anna Wild!

The Burgess twins were a legendary force in the mountaineering world of the 1970s and 80s. Al and his brother Adrian smashed full-force into the rollicking world of alpinism and high altitude, high attitude mountaineering. Full value crack, guaranteed.

Niall Grimes introduces top Himalayan climber of the 70s, 80s andf 90s, Al Burgess.

She's the ultimate Little Person! She's the Little Pearson! She's Liv Pearson. South-Wales-based LP it a climbing nut and a bright star in the SW bouldering scene. Let's hear her crack!

The young Scot owns the strongest fingers in the game and he has pointed them at many of the UK's hardest routes, and they have quivered before his might. In this podcast we chat early days, Malcolm Smith, Adam Ondra, Burden of Dreams, Excalibur, his diet and much much more. Much fun!

A reading of the classic caving story, The Honour of Being Human, about the tragic death of Neil Moss. Read by Anna Paxton.

Llanberis local and climbing lifer Charlie Torrance talks about a terrible car accident and the months of recovery that have followed.

Gunshot say rewind, spin say the man forward, You want more Cubby you got more Cubby. More Brat, more ice, more Malc, more everything!

Brian Hall lived through one of the most exciting and deadly eras of Himalayan exploration during the 1970s and 80s. In his new book, High Risk, he reflects on the many friends he lost to this deadly game and seeks to hear the wisdom to be learned from these lives lived and lost.

Ben Moon pushed climbing to new levels in the 1980s and 90s. He spearheaded sport climbing, training, and bouldering and was the defining image of our sport through his climbs, look and attitude. Hear all about it.

Top Scottish climber od the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Cubby pushed the standards in trad, sport and ice, including the UK's first 8a, with Requiem. The dude. This is hours of fun, this one.

She's only small, but she's great crack. Comp beast, trad-tinkler, climbing coach with lots of horse-power. Join us for a beer and a chat. Turns out she's a better climber than I had realised.

The Steven Spielberg of climbing looning, filmmaking fun freak, North Wales-based, Orme-loving, injured climbing lifer, Chris Doyle chats to Niall Grimes under a burned-out boulder problem.

Portugese-born, 22-year-old Teresa tells us how climbing looks like from where she is sat, under a tree in Sheffield on a sunny Thursday. More tea, vicar?

Pin-sharp trad boiler and world-renowned anti-Varian Franco Cookson sits down with me in a pub and after a while we forgot what we came in for. Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please. I said two pints of lager and a packet of crisps please.

The more northerly member of the Beastmaker duo sifts through his thoughts on his greatest bouldering addition, the mega-highball 8B+, Bombadil. Also much crack about the Prow at Kyloe-in-the-Woods.

A super conversation with Zofia Reych, author of a forthcoming book, Born to Climb. We talk about her book, also about Fontainebleau, her Women's Bouldering Festival, the pandemic, autism and being gender queer. It's laugh-a-minute stuff!

Jerry Moffatt was widely considered to be the best climber in the world during his epic career spanning from the 1980s to the early 2000s. With hard first ascents and quick repeats on sport and trad and bouldering all round the globe, to epic soloing and competition success. Here hear some of his tales.

French climber, Alain Robert, has been one of the world's most outrageous soloist for over 30 years. He has soloed numerous routes in the 8a – 8b range, most famously La Nuit du Lézards in Buoux in 1991 which stunned the climbing world. In the years since he has taken his skills and nerve to skyscraping heights by soloing many of the world's tallest buildings. This lawbreaking pursuit has earned him great fame as well as his nickname, the French Spiderman.

He's an 80s trad boiler and Catwalk-walking sports cat. He's into telling you about his E7 when he's in the pub. He's got it in for Peakies. He's a right laugh. He's Mick Johnston.

Ed February tells his story of growing up in South Africa, finding climbing and the barriers he faced as a black climber in in the Apartheid era of the 1970s. Then how his world opened up in the 1980s and beyond.

Bernadette MacDonald reads another section from her book, Winter 8000. This time we look at the Polish mountaineer Maciej Berbeka's lethal affair with Broad Peak.