The Cutting Edge Podcast
1) Finding Providence in the Alaska Range: Anna Pfaff, Andres Marin and Tad McCrea
On their second attempt in two years, in April 2025, Anna Pfaff and Andres Marin completed a direct new route up the south face of Mt. Providence in the Alaska Range, this time with Tad McCrea as thei...Show More
2) Big Walls on Baffin Island: Brandon Adams, Miles Fullman and Sam Stuckey
Three climbers from the U.S. spent nearly two months last summer in Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park, and they came away with three long new routes climbed in remarkable style. The trio went ul...Show More
3) First Ascent of Yashkuk Sar: Dane Steadman, with guests Kelly Cordes and Graham Zimmerman
In September, three young American climbers—August Franzen, Dane Steadman, and Cody Winckler—completed the first ascent of Yashkuk Sar I in northwest Pakistan. The 2,000-meter north pillar took five d...Show More
4) Babsi Zangerl Flashes El Cap
Babsi Zangerl’s flash ascent of Free Rider on El Capitan in November—the first flash of any El Cap big-wall free route—was a highlight of the year in climbing. In this interview, the 36-year-old Austr...Show More
5) Kilian Jornet's Mind-Blowing Traverse of the Alps
Born and raised in the heart of the Pyrenees, Kilian Jornet is the GOAT of mountain running and skimo, and he’s an accomplished climber too. This past summer, Jornet used his extraordinary fitness and...Show More
6) Mt. Dickey: A New Route and a Brilliant History
Alaska’s Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier has captured the attention of alpinists from around the world for generations. Mt. Dickey and the other giant peaks lining the gorge have also been fertile ven...Show More
7) Christian Black, Vitaliy Musiyenko and Hayden Wyatt: A First Ascent in India
For our final episode of the 2023 season, we’re heading to Kishtwar in northern India, an area of very dramatic granite peaks, most of which have only been climbed by one or two routes. One of these m...Show More
Christian Black, Vitaliy Musiyenko and Hayden Wyatt: A First Ascent in India
56:37 | Dec 28th, 2023
8) Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau: Jannu North Face
On October 12, climbers Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau summited 7,710-meter Jannu, or Khumbakarna, by a new route up the north face, climbed in alpine style. Jannu’s main north face h...Show More
9) Connor Herson and Fan Yang: 5.13+ on Mt. Whitney
In late September, Connor Herson and Fan Yang free climbed Hairline on the east face of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48. Hairline is a very steep, 13-pitch route originally climbed in 19...Show More
10) Kazyua Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima: The Secret Line in the Hindu Kush
This episode is all about Tirich Mir in Pakistan’s High Hindu Kush. This past summer, two Japanese climbers completed an ascent of the secretive north face of this 7,708-meter mountain—an isolated wal...Show More