The Cutting Edge Podcast
1) Sasha DiGiulian on El Cap's Direct Line
In November, Sasha DiGiulian free climbed The Direct Line (a.k.a. Platinum Wall), a 39-pitch 5.13d route on El Cap, in a 23-day push, including nine days trapped by a storm high on the route. For this...Show More
2) Colin Haley's Cerro Torre Winter Solo
On September 7, Colin Haley reached the summit of Cerro Torre all alone. This was the first winter solo of Patagonia's stunning granite needle—and the culmination of a nearly 20-year dream for the Ame...Show More
3) The Coveted Southeast Pillar of Ultar Sar Is Finally Climbed
In June 2025, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti and Maarten van Haeren spent ten days climbing and descending the enormous Southeast Pillar of 7,388-meter Ultar Sar in Pakistan—a route that had defied ...Show More
4) 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
Finding Providence in the Alaska Range: Anna Pfaff, Andres Marin and Tad McCrea
55:21 | Jul 11th, 2025
5) 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
Big Walls on Baffin Island: Brandon Adams, Miles Fullman and Sam Stuckey
1:09:05 | Mar 29th, 2025
6) 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
First Ascent of Yashkuk Sar: Dane Steadman, with guests Kelly Cordes and Graham Zimmerman
1:00:43 | Feb 22nd, 2025
7) 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
8) 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
9) 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
10) 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