Pete Whittaker is widely regarded as one of the best crack climbers of all time. We talked about his current trip to Moab trying Stranger Than Fiction, how he trained for the FA of Crown Royale 9a, the skills needed to climb cutting-edge cracks, why he is still working on improving at ring locks, the futuristic Crucifix Project, his most fun/rewarding/miserable/traumatic trips with Tom Randall, and much more!Become a Patron - 7 Day Free Trial!patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing Check out Rhino Skin Solutions!rhinoskinsolutions.comUse code “NUGGET” at checkout for 20% off your next order!Check out Crimpd!crimpd.comOr download the Crimpd app!Check out Rumpl!rumpl.com/nuggetHoliday Sale going on now with up to 25% off!The Nugget is sponsored by BetterHelp!betterhelp.com/NUGGETUse this link for 10% off your first month!Check out Wonderful Pistachios!WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more!We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt WalterShow Notes: thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/pete-whittakerNuggets:0:00:00 – Intro/Ads0:05:34 – Pete’s breakfast and voice0:06:29 – Pete and Tom’s current mission in Moab, and what makes that area so unique0:10:02 – Goals on trips, and working on ring locks as a weakness0:12:22 – How Pete and Tom ring lock differently0:14:57 – Pete’s book on crack climbing techniques0:15:56 – Trying Mason Earl’s route Stranger Than Fiction0:20:14 – Breakdown and progress on Stranger Than Fiction0:21:58 – Pete’s first visit to the Profile Wall in Norway to try Recovery Drink, and working his way through the established free routes0:27:54 – The style of climbing on the Profile Wall, and the skills needed to climb hard there0:30:08 – Placing 17 pieces of gear on the 100m Crown Royale 9a0:32:35 – Breakdown of Crown Royale 9a, and running it out on the send0:38:13 – Pete’s process on Crown, and projecting the top half as its own pitch0:40:42 – How Pete and Tom decide which projects to try together vs. individually0:43:19 – The most FUN trip with Tom (Century Crack trip)0:45:20 – The most MISERABLE trip with Tom (Bridge Boys)0:46:21 – The most TRAUMATIZING trip with Tom (Yosemite)0:49:09 – The most REWARDING trips with Tom (exploring the White Rim)0:50:27 – The Crucifix project0:53:26 – How Pete trained for Crown Royale 9a0:57:06 – Embracing the suck, why Pete is good at resting in stressful positions, and training stamina as a kid1:00:17 – Pete’s early climbing, venturing into more dangerous routes as a teenager, and doing the first ascent of an E9 at age 17 with his mom on belay1:06:12 – Why Pete loves offwidthing, and other styles of climbing that involve lots of suffering1:10:42 – How geeky is Pete about training?1:13:10 – Adding structure, and training with Lattice for Crown Royale1:14:51 – Shoulder conditioning for Crown, and what exercises he plans to continue doing1:17:51 – Keeping tabs on the world’s hardest trad routes, and Pete’s thoughts on trying Tribe1:20:09 – How Pete picks objectives and goals, and riding the waves1:23:07 – Pete’s recent trip to Yosemite with Mari1:25:37 – Using Darth Grader to suggest the grade of 9a for Crown Royale1:34:33 – How Pete’s experience with Crown Royale compared to Recovery Drink1:37:33 – Unclimbed lines on the Profile Wall, and where the name “Crown Royale” came from1:39:26 – Check out the Patron-only EXTRA with the Wide Boyz!

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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