Ground Up 23: Breaking Barriers in the Valley with Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Robertactually using that as opposed to you just wearing headphones that with a mic that not using the mic.
Laura PineauYeah, for sure. My audio input says like default one, like microphone, mic book. That's all I have.
RobertOkay.
Laura PineauI don't have the other, i don't think I see my other headphones.
RobertYeah, that's fine. That's good. Yep.
Laura PineauOkay.
Robertthis' more That's more for Kate.
Laura PineauSounds good.
RobertJust just her mic, her ah ah headphones have a mic. Just double checking that.

(00:23):
Ari GrodeYeah, it all sounds good on my end.
Laura PineauSounds good.
KateYeah.
RobertCool. Yeah. Sounds great.
Ari GrodeExcellent. So Laura, you're still in the Valley. ah where Where does that put you then, Kate?
KateI'm in Boulder, Colorado.
RobertNice.
Ari GrodeOh, OK.
KateBack home.
RobertNot too far from Ari actually.
KateOh, really?
Ari GrodeYeah, I'm over in Lakewood, so yeah, not too far at all.

(00:44):
KateOh, nice. Yeah, totally. And where are you, Rob?
RobertI'm in New York. Yeah, the climbing Mecca of the world, concrete jungle. um Yeah, I moved up here like three, a little over three years ago.
KateMe?
RobertSo we're doing the whole thing, going out to the gunks when we can.
Laura PineauHow do I go back?
RobertBut yeah, definitely not the yeah quite the backyard that Colorado offers for sure. Looks like we lost Laura a little bit there. We can wait for her to get back on. But you were in San Francisco for a bit.

(01:17):
RobertIs that right?
Kateme
Laura PineauHow am I?
RobertYeah.
KateYeah, just, we did like a couple of little escape the valley trips.
RobertNice. Nice.
KateIt's like nice to get out of there once in a while, see the sun rise and set on the horizon.
Robertfair fair enough yeah fair enough um
Ari GrodeSo do you do you have like ah do you have a band set up too? Or do you guys post up in the same one or same campsite or how does that kind of work?

(01:43):
KateNo, I have a Tacoma that's built out, but because I worked on search and rescue the last two years, I have like a whole crew of folks who live in the Valley and have houses.
Laura PineauThank you.
Laura PineauNow the Wi-Fi is better. Yeah, thank you so much.
Laura PineauSo sorry.
Ari GrodeOh, okay.
Laura PineauIt just went off for two seconds and now it's back on.
Katebeside I just like kind of bum around with them, which is pretty nice setup.
Ari GrodeOh, nice. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't realize how many people we were in. When was that? That was like, early November, late October, Rob and I were in the Valley and I didn't realize how much like housing and infrastructure there was actually there that people actually lived there.
Laura PineauNice.

(02:16):
KateYeah, it's it's kind of like a weird thing. Like it's government housing, so nothing really ever like gets updated or fixed or done. Like minor stuff gets done. But now there's like this weird, like there's like a neighborhood that has really spacious yards and like driveways and all this stuff.
KateAnd then the other housing for like employees that work seasonally are like canvas tents that they put three people tent. In one. it's It's like dorms, but worse because they're just made of canvas.

(02:48):
KateLike they have a mini fridge and a little like one outlet. But ah yeah, the search and rescue team lives in actual like canvas tents with no electricity and no water. So the housing thing there is is like pretty cruxy, actually. Like, yeah, I wish there was a better way they could do it, but there's just not enough space to expand. And because it's government housing, like getting anything done or redone or like rebuilding anything is just like many years out.

(03:13):
RobertYeah, i think we kind of walked through the, at least one of the canvas tent villages, I guess you would call it. Cause we were renting like crash pads and a guidebook from a guy. And, uh, he was kind of over in that, that area. we're like, Hmm.
RobertYeah, those are tucked away.
Kateyeah
RobertLike they're kind of discreet, but doesn't look like the ideals. Three people in one of those definitely sounds a bit, uh, a bit tight to say the least.

(03:36):
Ari GrodeYeah, one outlet. Yeah.
KateYeah, I mean, yeah, it's straight up. It's like college, but almost worse. It's like a bunch of other like full adults trying to share that space.
RobertYeah. Yeah.
Ari GrodeHow many people are on the YoSAR team?
RobertYeah, it's pretty wild.
Kateah Usually 10. um
Ari GrodeOkay.
Robertah wow.
KateLike last year, had tried to hire 11, but one person ended up failing. And then like some years, like the year I came on ah there were 10, but someone just like left halfway. So we had nine for a while and then I came on. So around 10 usually.

(04:10):
RobertThat is definitely less than I imagined.
Ari GrodeOkay. Okay.
Laura PineauWho goes first? Okay, perfect. Yeah, I can go first. ah So me, I started climbing back in 2017. So I was 17 years old back then. I'm from the south of France and I fell in love with rock climbing, deep water soloing above the Mediterranean Sea, which is not the typical way you would get into climbing.
RobertI don't know. I don't know what I was basing it off of, but I just definitely thought it was more than thought it was a much stronger double digit contingency than 10.
Kateyeah
KateYeah, I should say like, YOSAR, like the 10 person team is like the specialized team. But YOSAR also encompasses like the paramedics, seasonal paramedics and the permanent paramedics and the cops to sometimes get involved. So there is like, there are a bunch more people in the Rangers to help out with rescues or like,
Laura Pineaubut you know I love nature and that spot where I studied deep water soloing is a spot where I spent my whole childhood, learned how to swim there, learned how to you know jump really high rocks.

(04:40):
Laura PineauAnd it's just like the perfect summer spot. um And after that, a friend told me, hey, you know if you want to get stronger for next year, you should get into a bouldering gym and take a few lessons and you'll get better for next year, which is what I did.
KateYeah, regularly be on rescues, but our team of 10 are like the specialized people who like can climb hike super fast to like wherever needs to be, wherever we need to be.
Laura PineauAnd I just fell in love with the sport even more. And after this, I did my college degree in the US, which brought me you know to another continent. I was alone in the US at 18 years old, which I think was definitely a great experience for me to learn how to be independent and live on my own.
Ari GrodeHow many people typically get called like to a rescue? i mean, obviously, might depend on the situation, but like what's that call-up look like?

(05:05):
KateYeah, anywhere from one to all available, um depending on the sitch. Like a lot of the rescues we did were people who twisted their ankle or were too tired to keep walking.
Laura PineauAnd at this point, I didn't know yet that what I found special about rock climbing was the outdoor side of it and not just the training indoor side of it. So during my studies, I mostly I climbed and trained indoors because of my studies and I was very serious in it and very dedicated. So my weekends were pretty busy with schoolwork.
KateSo they'll send like one or two people up to just help someone muster up the energy to get back up and start walking down. ah But if it's like a highly technical rescue or life threatening rescue or just like an emergent rescue,

(05:26):
Ari GrodeGotcha.
KateAnd someone who needs to be like physically carried out from like a faraway place, usually like putting someone on a letter and carrying them takes like at least like minimum six people, if not like up to 12 or 13, if it's hard to get to place.
Laura PineauAnd when I graduated, I found this remote job for San Francisco startup and I bought a van and completely built it. And I was like, oh, you know what? Living on the road is pretty sweet. You get to climb rocks outdoors.
Ari GrodeWow.
KateSo yeah, it could be anywhere.
Ari GrodeWow.

(05:46):
Laura Pineautravel to all this amazing places in the US and then you know you get to work part-time on the side and this is a moment where I was like oh okay what I love most is outdoor rock climbing I love being outside and training indoors is great but the adventures you leave outdoors are just so special and yeah and that's how I arrived in Yosemite in ah April 2023
Ari GrodeCool, cool. Laura, welcome back.
KateGot her back.
Ari Grodeah
Ari Grodeis is the wi Is the Wi-Fi all good? or
Ari Grodeokay
Kateno
Ari Grodeah No, no worries.
Ari GrodeNo, no worries. We got to dive deep a little bit deep into the Yosar scene. So that was kind of interesting. I never...

(06:09):
Roberthow long How long have you been doing Yosar? Was it just this season or have you been doing that couple times now?
Laura Pineauthree and discovered big walls. And i was like, whoa, this is the next thing. This is this is what I want to do. i want to keep climbing walls. And, you know, I climbed the nose my first time that spring and I bailed off the great roof because there were waterfalls coming up and we're too early. It was still April. And that season, that's when Yosemite got the most snow. So it was not possible to go higher. So we wrapped down. But after this, for me, it was the most transformative place.
KateI did head did two seasons or kind of like one and a half. I joined like halfway through two, three years ago and then did a full season last year. And then that was it. I was done.
KateAlthough we did actually guest star on a rescue this year because Laura and I on one of our training runs, ran into a woman who had just fractured her ankle like minutes before ran into her. And I was like, oh, this is going to be carry And so and so ah

(06:36):
Laura Pineauclimbing experiences I've ever had in my whole life. And and I was like, okay, this is what I'm meant for. I'm meant to go climb big walls and I'm meant to do crazy stuff up there. ah and then, yeah, and then I've never really speed climbed before this season. I've done one nose in a day a year ago, but I had never really speed climb ever. So for me, the triple was a very new experience and I knew I had a good mentor with Kate.
Ari GrodeLike like on the wall or or on the trail?
KateNo, just hiking. Just like, it's funny because our team, we usually get, like, we send a hasty team up.
Ari Grodeokay
KateTwo people go up in like a paramedic packages or like starts to like, you know, splint or take care of the wound. So we never really, we usually don't see the injury that much. But this time I, so I like looked at her w ankle. was like, oh, that's a super angulated fracture. Like it was just like, beep.

(07:02):
Laura Pineauah But for me, the triple was a very, very new experience in climbing and I've never taken this much risk too. So was very interesting and I'm sure we can dive into this a little bit after. But that's my climbing background.
RobertOh, like compound, like sticking out.
KateNot compound, but like fully at an angle.
RobertYeah, that's, that's not what you want.
Ari Grodethe
Robertlittle dang, little dangler.
KateSo yeah, we helped carry her down, which yeah, was a whole thing, but that it was fun to guest star on a rescue and then not have to do the other, all the other rescues this season.
RobertYeah, that's not good.

(07:25):
RobertThank you.
Ari GrodeYeah, I bet. Cool. Well, you know, thanks. Thanks to you both for joining for this. We're super stoked to dive into, it you know, I would say, or i would say it's a bit of an understatement to say you guys have had a pretty good spring season.
Laura Pineauit's ah It's, you know, learning experiences and you take it one a step at a time. It's like, you know, first few times you're five meters above the water, you're shaking and it's horrible and you're so scared. But as you do it more and more, the fear kind of lowers off a little bit and it feels better and better days after days.
Ari GrodeUm, Rob and I both love a ah good, uh, suffer fest or, and and we love talking through all the, you know, nitty gritty that goes into some of these like speed ascents, but maybe I think it would be good to kick this off just with a little bit of an intro, you know, by both of you to give a better sense of, you know, who you are as climbers, what your background kind of looks like. And and then we can kind of move into, you know, how the two of you met and and and partnered up for some of these, uh, epic achievements.

(07:57):
Laura PineauAnd so I think that's how I approach all my climbing challenges. I don't know why, but I personally love to climb. go after objectives that really scare me. Either it's deep water soloing or it's speed climbing or it's a big world challenge that I don't know if I can do it all the way to the top.
Laura PineauAnd that's how I've done it since I've started climbing, you know, deep water soloing, like you said, which is scary at the beginning and feels better over time. So that's just all the different goals I've been going after were pretty scary at first until they're not scary and you're just able to do it.
KateSweet.
KateNose growth.

(08:17):
RobertOh, Laura, you're up.
Ari GrodeOkay.

(08:57):
RobertThank

(11:23):
Ari GrodeThat's, that's cool. That's super interesting that you got into climbing from a deep water soloing background. I would say it's, I'm going to assume that you had a pretty strong mental game, you know, coming up through that.
Ari GrodeI mean, deep water soloing super scary. Like, especially once you get, you know, yeah, super fun.
RobertIt's a blast though.
Ari GrodeBut once you get up, you know, five, 10 meters, you're like, Oh, I'm pretty high up here.

(12:37):
Ari GrodeAwesome. Kate, you want to tell us a little bit about yourself?
RobertYeah.
KateYeah, totally. It's funny when Laura's like, it's not scary. And then you're just able to do it. I'm like, bro, everyone's still scared.
KateUh, yeah, I started climbing about a decade ago. um I didn't get into climbing until i graduated college. Actually, i was like extremely unathletic as a child.

(13:02):
KateI just like wanted to do art um and like go to music shows. So like, yeah, up until college, I mostly strayed away from anything that like made me like breathe hard.
KateBut i started trail running ah like my junior year of college and was like, actually like the outdoors is pretty sick here.
Ari GrodeYeah.

(13:24):
KateLike growing up in Colorado, you know, i I feel like I really just like missed out a lot, not doing any of that stuff, but Better late than never. um And my my dad convinced me to come do some 14 years with him and my little brother. And we started doing 14 years. And I was like, wow, this is insane. Like these rocks are crazy.
KateBut I was like, I want to be like on on like those rocks, like not just this trail. And so my my dad was a climber um and he had like kind of taken us as kids a few times here and there.

(13:54):
KateBut never really stuck. Like I hate, I hated bugs and I hated being like, like I hated camping and like all of that just didn't seem like my thing. uh, yeah, he, he ended up taking me climbing after we did some 14 years and it just was like the thing I had been missing, like finally clicked.
Laura Pineauum Yeah, mi i would say I would say it's passion for the sport, you know, and I feel very lucky and privileged to have found a passion at 17 years old. I'm very happy I didn't find it earlier on because I'm someone who's very stubborn and could have been a bit reckless if I started maybe a little earlier, especially climbing outdoors. So I think... The fact that I found it at 17 made total sense.
KateI was like, oh, this is the thing. that I've been missing my whole life that really was like, yeah, it was kind of mind blowing. So like from that, like pretty much that week, I went online and found some classes, some rock climbing classes through the Colorado mountain club and took every single rock climbing class that they had.

(14:24):
Laura PineauAnd just very grateful that I found a sport that I never count my hours. You know, every time I wake up, I'm like, ah I want to go rock climbing. You know, it doesn't matter how many hours I spend there. It doesn't, I don't count the hours and I just love what I'm doing. And I think when you're passionate enough about something and you put the hours in,
Kateand like was pretty much like six or seven days a week, like trying to get some sort of climbing and from then on out, like just fully fell in love with it and became like totally obsessive. uh yeah and then living in boulder it was kind of easy you just like you meet a lot of people and you hear about all these things and like the diamond and yosemite and so i was just like totally enamored and like chasing after all of those things and um eventually like had i had a couple partners who were pretty like uh important in my path like eddie taylor for example is the first person i speed climbed the naked edge with
Laura Pineauyou will progress really fast. And especially if you surround yourself with people who are better than yourself. And I think that's one thing I was good at in my early climbing years is surround myself with people who are way stronger, way better, way wiser at climbing than I was.

(14:59):
Laura PineauAnd so I learned a lot from them. And eventually in the middle of my climbing years, I ended up climbing with just people who were a bit weaker than me. And I could feel that I was stagnant in my climbing level. And that's when I realized, oh, I'm making a mistake here. i need a i need to find people who are better. i need to learn from them and keep learning. And that's when I got into big walls and climbed with people who were way more experienced than I was, way more experienced at crack climbing.
KateAnd like there, are there are just some people who were like, Hey, you could, you could totally go climb the diamond. Like you could totally do the naked edge in a single pitch. And that like led me into like pushing into harder and bigger things.
RobertAll right.

(15:22):
KateUm, and then obviously like went on to Yosemite and Eddie and I started doing like weekend long weekend missions where we'd fly out to Yosemite and try to do something and then like fly home on Sunday.
Laura PineauAnd that's when I became a beginner again and I could learn from those people. And that's why I progressed so much faster. So I would say, you know if you surround yourself with people who are better than you, it definitely helps you improve way faster than if you were alone with people with the same level as you.
KateUh, and I was like, this is not sustainable.
Ari GrodeOh, wow.
KateUm,
Ari GrodeHoly moly.
KateI got, yeah, it was like, we called it just smash and grab, like fly in, like our, our first night, I'd be like flew in on Friday night and drove into the valley at 11 PM and slept for like three hours and then woke up and like started climbing the nose. It was totally insane.

(15:51):
Laura Pineauoh
Ari GrodeWow.
KateSo i was like, yeah, I got to figure out something more sustainable.
Ari GrodeHoly moly. Jesus.
Laura Pineauah
KateUm, and that's my company.
Ari GrodeThat's dedication.
Katewent Yeah, we were, I was very psyched. Uh, and, Yeah. So when we went remote for COVID, I was like, okay, I'm just going to figure out a way to live there for at least like a month or two.

(16:15):
KateAnd basically like cold called my, like a friend of a friend and was like, can I stay with you for like five weeks and just like climb and work. And that started my like half Yosemite, half Colorado phase for the last few years where I just started like doing half, almost half a year there, half the year here in Colorado and just going after bigger and bigger things.
Ari GrodeThank you.

(16:36):
KateAnd Speed climbing the naked edge lent itself very well to speed climbing big walls. I was like, oh, the nose is just like the naked edge of Yosemite. So yeah, just like was a really slippery slope.
KateI did like, yeah, attempt. I mean, I kept free climbing, but once i I got hooked on speed climbing, that really kind of like took center stage for me.

(16:58):
Robertthat is That is awesome to hear. It's funny because I think like the concept of like a weekend warrior is pretty prevalent. I think that Ari and I, when we first started climbing, probably would have kin ourselves to that, but I feel like there's gotta to be some other phrase for what you guys were doing.
KateHmm.
RobertJust flying out, catching the red eye back after like a day and a half out there. Um, I got two questions. Like one, I would love to hear how the first attempt on the nose went on that.

(17:27):
RobertLike, strike mission. I don't know what you would call it, but just like in and out. But then also too, like, it sounds like you both progressed pretty quickly into climbing like more serious objectives, I would say than the average climber has been climbing for three or four years outdoors.
RobertObviously part of that's kind of the places you were in, but would love to hear if there's anything that either of you can think of that you would attribute that ability to progress that quickly through it because it sounds like there wasn't a huge base to build off of, but all of a sudden you guys were stoked and, and you found yourselves really rapidly moving through the sport.

(18:05):
Kateyou want to go first, Laura?

(18:30):
Laura PineauWho should tell the story? but Okay.
Laura PineauSo me, I was in the valley and I was, you know, talking to two friends and one of them was like, Oh, ah Kate Kelligan from the Yosemite search and rescue reached out to me and was looking for partner for triple.

(18:54):
Laura Pineaubut that person had already a partner to climb the triple with. And this is a moment where i was like, oh, I'm free. you know Why not me? Maybe you know the triple. Why not? I've never speed climb ever, but that sounds like a a big goal.
RobertThank you.
Laura PineauAnd also, so I had never almost climbed with women in Yosemite, especially women who were into big walls.

(19:14):
Laura PineauAnd I think that appealed to me even more to meet Kate and maybe climb with her, even if we weren't going to do the triple together. So I reached out to her and I say, oh, hey, like, how are you doing I heard you look for a partner for the triple. Have you done the double, which is to climb El Capitan and have them in a day? And she said, yes, she had done it, but she's looking.
Laura Pineauto find someone for the triple. And I told her, okay, like next week, I'm supposed to do my first nose in a day. I've never speed climb before. So I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not. So I'll let you know. And then the rest is history. I did like it a little bit and was like, okay, I've done it once. Well, why not? You know, I can come back in the fall and and we can climb together and and see see if we could be a good fit.

(19:49):
KateYeah, I like to call Laura a super frother instead of passion.
KateYeah, that girl's the
Ari GrodeNeed to get that on a t-shirt.
RobertBye.
Kateone of the frothiest I've ever met.
Ari GrodeAwesome.
Kateum Yeah, I also like, for me, like, ah one of the biggest things is just the privilege I have of like living in Boulder, and also having a home base here that I could like return to.

(20:19):
Katewas like, yeah, incredibly helpful to like be able to like take the time to go on climbing trips and like really focus on climbing um with a place to land.
KateAnd like Laura said too, having like people around you who are stronger or like more knowledgeable, just having like mentors is so huge. That's one thing I found with doing the classes is at Colorado Mountain Club is like built in mentors and not only just like mentors, but people who are like AMGA certified or trained in some sort. So you learn the safe way, which I think is like, yeah, a huge thing in this industry that we're kind of lacking right now is an abundance of like mentorship. So many people are getting into the sport and ah kind of unsafe ways, but yeah, it'd be cool to see a little bit more of um like building a building like organizations that can help people learn the safe way.

(21:09):
KateBut yeah. And then the other thing is like, being a little bit obsessive. Like I'm a super goal oriented person. And once I had found this, like I was, I'm a designer and was going into like, yeah, design at the time, but I didn't have any other like huge physical or exhaustive things that I needed to do in my life. So like, I didn't work a job where I'm doing like manual labor or physical labor. And that really helped to be able to put all of that physical energy into climbing.

(21:37):
KateSo yeah, I think that also is a big thing for people.
Ari GrodeSo that's your that's your pre pre-crag excuse that way, you know set yourself up so when you don't send.
RobertYeah, maybe maybe that's the reason I'm not climbing to my full potential already is because I have a physical job. I hold a camera all day, so I'm pumped out. I'm not recovering fully. That's that's what well ah ah so we'll leave it up.
Robertthat's That'll be my excuse. yay Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, dude. Brutal shoot two days ago, man. I don't think I missed that.

(22:06):
KateThat's technically just arcing, I think.
RobertLove that.
Ari Grodeso you should really have a great, great base.
KateYour endurance is great.
RobertYeah. Yeah. Basically once I retire, i will be the strongest version of a climber for myself that I'll ever be. That's perfect. Yeah. That'll definitely work. That'll definitely work.
Ari Grodewould Would love to hear about how the two of you met. So it sounds like you both at least had some experience going to Yosemite and go to the Valley and getting psyched on big walls. But when did you actually meet each other? Was that in the Valley?

(22:40):
RobertThat's what we're here for. We're here for stories.
KateYeah, I guess you, Laura, because it kind of started on your end.

(23:19):
RobertThank

(24:04):
Ari GrodeSo, so the idea was, wasn't, you were trying, you weren't trying to climb the triple like next weekend and looking for a partner. It was like, I have this goal that I would like to accomplish sometime down the road. And that's kind of, you know, that was kind of the, I guess the, I don't know what, what allowed the two of you to meet.
RobertThe catalyst, if you will.
Ari GrodeOkay.
RobertYeah.
Ari GrodeYeah. The catalyst, there you go.
RobertWhat, what roughly like what timeframe? mean, it sounds like this is while you're part Yoastar. So this is pretty recent when you guys linked up.

(24:25):
Laura PineauI knew...
KateYeah. Um, so like I climbed the double three years ago and like, as soon as I topped out on the double, I was like, okay, time for the triple, you know, like the double felt like it was like a hard day, but I was like, oh yeah. Like it wasn't that bad. You know, I was just like so surprised myself and was like, okay, sick.
Laura Pineaui think yeah I think when we talked over the phone, I could feel there was already like a friendship chemistry. I was like, okay, like we get along and we talk for an hour or two on the phone. I'm like, it's already a good sign that we could get along and I could see a lot of myself in her and how we function in a lot of different ways.

(24:51):
KateUm, and I had been progressing so quickly through those speed goals, but it just like, it was like, okay, cool. First year you do the nose next year, you do the NIAID next year you do the double next year you do the triple.
Laura Pineauah But I could tell that she was doubting me and very rightfully so, because I know she had some partners who bailed on her and were not risky enough and it was tough to find partners. But me, from the moment I told her, from the moment I've done my first NIAID, I was on for the triple.
KateBut it turned out like that pool of partners as you go through those goals gets like exponentially smaller.
RobertThank you.
KateAnd then the for the triple, it was kind of like, okay, no women have ever done the triple. And like everyone was kind of like, yeah, like be really cool if you did it with a woman. And I was like, yeah, obviously I'd love to do it with a woman.
Laura PineauI was like, I think I can do this. And I think as long as I know every route and I have time to practice them, I could do it. So me, I almost signed up last April in 2024. But i know i knew that it was still a test for her, that she wasn't sure of me.

(25:19):
KateSo I started looking for women who wanted to do the triple. And that's where I kind of like ran into this wall where it was like, there was no women who wanted to do the triple or were capable of doing the triple or like were risky enough to do the triple.
Laura Pineauwhich I fully understood why, but me, I was in since the first moment. And that's why when we first met and we when we first climbed together, I was a little stressed because I already really wanted to do the project. And ah was in I wasn't fully sure we would get along climbing or it wasn't a certainty.
KateAnd Also, like I wanted a partner who it was going to be fun to do the triple with too. And like as you guys know, for like giant climbing objectives, you really do want to have a partner who's like not only strong enough, capable, you know fast enough, risky enough, whatever, has the right parameters for the skill sets, but you want to be with someone who you have a fun time with. and like I'm maybe like more on the goofy side of climbing. like I'm not much of like a high intensity climber usually.

(25:41):
Laura PineauAnd when we did climb on the rostrum, in Yosemite and we also so did the alien finish, which is a harder finish. And we had so much fun the whole day and everything went well. And we could just tell we both had big cool experiences. We both knew what we were doing and we both could rely and trust each other since that first moment.
KateLike I like to be with someone who like laughs at like dad jokes, basically.
Laura PineauWe knew, oh, OK, I think we can do we can do this together and it's going to go well and we're going to have a lot of fun doing it. So I think that first day really sealed the deal for her and for me.

(26:04):
Ari GrodeThank you.
KateI was having a hard time finding that person, particularly a woman. And I did reach out to a couple of friends of mine, like pro climbers who I knew were capable if they wanted to commit a season to it.
Laura PineauAnd the second maybe I think confirmation that I could speed climb was when we did doldrun, which doldruns are when you climb the first nine pitches of the nose. And we did it the first time together where Kate really explained me all the beta. you know She told me like which which piece to place, when to places, when to pull on it, which took us probably four hours, four hours and a half. It took us a long time because I was stopping and she was explaining me moves and I was redoing them.
KateBut all of those people were like, no, I'm trying to like, go on the nose or I'm trying to like climb I was like, okay. So yeah, I like ended up kind of spiraling a little bit. was like, I don't know if I'm going to find this person.

(26:31):
KateAnd then I was like, I just need to find anybody because I don't want to waste like three years just like speed climbing a bunch of stuff, but never actually doing the goal. um And that I was asking like anyone, like man or woman who I thought might be a good choice. And that was kind of like when Laura came into the picture and was like,
Laura PineauAnd then two days later, we came back and I did this section in two hours and 10 minutes. So I could downtime almost in half in two goes. And so I think that's the moment where Kate was like, oh, okay, she can speak time with sex. Let's go. Let's do it. And then that's when we're like, okay, next, next spring, we're spending the whole season training for the triple.

(26:52):
Kateit was like um an Instagram DM. So like she slid into my DMs as a stranger and was like, Hey, and I was like, I don't really know you. But then I went to her Instagram, she did free rider. And I was like, okay, she's like big walls.
Kateum And as we like started talking more, we like talked on the phone a few times, then made plans to climb together in the fall um to see if it was a good fit. So I just like didn't know if she was like, mostly gonna laugh at my jokes.

(27:19):
KateSo We made plans to climb in the fall and and yeah, it ended up working out really well.
Ari GrodeYeah.
KateAnd we, yeah, we hit it off and like, I could tell she was maybe like the most important thing was like the psych on the project. Cause this is something that was going to take an entire season and like be very dedicated to a single style that doesn't necessarily make you better at like free climbing or anything else.

(27:42):
KateIn fact, it makes you worse. So I was like, okay, she's like psyched to commit to this, like definitely like capable, stronger than I am, will make up for like my lack of like free climbing skill with hers so that my like experience and speed will make up for her lack of experience and speed. and And that ended up like being a perfect fit.

(28:03):
Robertthat That is awesome to hear.
Ari Grodecouple of questions on this okay go ahead go ahead
RobertOh, Ari, I'm going to sneak in for one first. Because I want to know, like, Laura, from your perspective, like, Kate's looking for someone who's easy to get along with and, like, obviously has, like, the climbing criteria down, but wants be able to tell some dad jokes.
RobertWhat's your mentality going into this first climbing experience? Is it almost like an interview? Like, are you, like, a little nervous? Like, oh, I got to, like, got to impress her? Like, what's... Talk us through that.

(28:33):
RobertAnd like, what does that day look like?
RobertWhere'd you guys climb little more detail on that? Cause that sounds like a fun experience where like two people are probably in their head a little bit and they're on the same page, but.

(31:01):
Laura PineauI think ah coming into it, Kate had talked to me so much about the naked edge and she was like, oh yeah, when we go to my hometown, let's climb the naked edge and who knows, maybe we'll beat the record. And so I had this in the back of my head and I've always been a little competitive in general.
Ari GrodeAwesome. Yeah. That's, that's, that's cool that it clicked like that.
Robertyou
Ari GrodeSo yeah, i wanted to ask, I mean, what did, what did the speed climbing team progression look like? Cause you know, you obviously did the, um, the Yosemite triple crown, uh, this very recently, but, um,
Laura PineauI have this inside of me and in climbing, you know, I'm competing against myself, but it's always fun to have an objective and something you're trying to achieve or or maybe a time you're trying to beat, which shows how efficient you're becoming.

(31:28):
Ari GrodeI want to maybe dive into the naked edge. Like, did that, was that kind of like a sub objective that came up before you guys, you know, really set your sights on, on putting down the triple?
Laura PineauAnd so I've only climbed nine times the naked edge with Kate. I had never climbed it before.
Laura PineauAnd and the first time I climbed it, it took me like four or five hours you know with another friend. And I was so freaked out and it was so scary. And I was like, oh, I was like, those girls did 37 minutes.
KateYeah, definitely. It's funny, when Laura and I did climb the Rossum for the first time, like, one of the things I knew was going to be good was she, like, wanted to do the alien fish, and I was like, I'm not climbing hard enough to do that, but will support you.
Laura PineauI was like, this is so crazy. I don't want to do this. I don't know how they did it. And then Kate comes into the picture and she's like, okay, Laura, that guy sent back you like, let me take you back and I'll show you everything step by step. And I think that also showed how a woman-man partnership works and how a woman-woman partnership works because Kate took the time to like show me everything, explain me why she does things and doesn't try to sandbag me and maybe places more protection the first time for me to feel safer.

(31:54):
KateAnd then I just, like, short roped her so badly the cross, like, so bad. and And she just was, like, cursing in French, but didn't, like, zero problem with me. She wasn't like, what the fuck?
KateYou know, she just was like, chill about it and then went on to send it i was like okay that's a really good sign that she's not like super aggro with her partners and i just felt so bad it it was a really funny moment because i was also like yeah i don't know like what climbing with her is like and then was like here i am just like sure you're so bad um but yeah we we did so we like had a couple of weeks together in yosemite in the fall and then I left and we made plans to meet up in France first, actually, so that I could climb with Laura in her hometown.
Laura PineauAnd this is exactly what she did on the triple, which is also why we did the triple so fast together and why we were able to break the naked edge speed record. Because I felt so comfortable with her.

(32:24):
Laura Pineaui trusted her so much. And even though sometimes because I'm stubborn, she would tell me, okay, do this thing this way or this move this way. And I'm like, ah, I don't know. I think I'm going to do it my way.
Laura PineauAnd then eventually as we get faster, I'm like, okay. I understand what she says the way she says. So over the process, I think I started trusting her more blindly and be like, okay, Kate says this, I'm going to do this because she's done it for years and there's a reason behind it. And I don't fully maybe need to understand why, but I know it's going to work because Kate,
Ari GrodeOkay.
KateAnd we ended up doing some like big, bigger, like link up days to kind of just see what it was like to, you know, link pitches and simul climb together. um That was great because like, there's so many systems involved in speed climbing and the different types of speed climbing that you can do.

(32:52):
Laura Pineaudid it this way and she wants us to be safe and she's worked on it for years. And so it was like she said, the perfect you know like warm up for the triple. And we ended up being 30 seconds faster, which was after, you know ah it was on a third burn of the day.
KateSo it was good to get a feel for like, oh, I need to make sure we like are communicating about like x Y, and Z when the micro's on directionals, like when we start climbing, when we stop climbing, when we're on belay, that kind of thing.
Laura PineauWe did two attempts and the second attempt, we missed the record by 10 seconds on that day. And it was so sad and frustrating. And we went home and we're supposed to climb somewhere else in the afternoon. And at 2 PM, we're like, you know what?
KateUm, and yeah, it was cool to see her hometown and and climb there. But then when we came to Boulder, but had like talked about climbing the naked edge and obviously like, it's a great, it's just like a great training ground for speed climbing.

(33:21):
Laura Pineauthe weather like The forecast looks so bad in the upcoming days. We're like, you know what? Let's maybe give it one more burn today just in case we cannot try it another time. And we went back, which we were way more tired from those two burns earlier in the morning, but we gave everything we had and it just worked out. And one decision that I think made it work is me deciding also also to like run in my TC pros down. I did not put like climbing, like running shoes on. So I didn't take them with me. I did the whole 38 minutes in TC pros sprinting down the the ledges or the East ledges.
KateUm, and then as we started climbing it I was like, okay, we actually like could potentially try and like get down to the record that Becca and I had set.
KateAnd so instead of like climbing anything else or doing any of the training, we were just like, okay, let's just like fully focus and make this like a mini, this is like a mini project of like speed objective. Like we treated it kind of like the triple, but just like in two weeks.

(33:50):
KateAnd so we were like, just like doing burns, like learning the beta, resting for like two days, doing more burns, you know, keep learning the beta. And it worked out.
Laura PineauAnd it just like, it worked out really well. And we didn't make any mistakes on that burn and every, everything went really smoothly. So that was a really great warmup for the triple and a little confidence boost that, yeah, we can speed climb together and we can cut down time goes after goes.
KateYeah, it worked out so well. I was like, honestly, kind of surprised at how fast we went, like quickly. um And then, yeah, we just ended up like having just enough time to do enough burns that we got down to shaving 30 seconds off of my previous record. And ah yeah, it just really honed, honed our partnership in like speed climbing and tactics and like revising tactics and working together with communicating about like what was working, what wasn't working.

(34:20):
Laura PineauDetails.
KateAnd that was like really great, both like from a logistics standpoint, but also from like a partnership standpoint, we like, yeah, we're able to have discussions about like what was uncomfortable, what risks we want to take or not, you know, where we felt the other person was could do it like this or that and that kind of thing.

(34:46):
Kateum So yeah, it was like the perfect, the perfect hors d'oeuvre for the triple.
Robertand And obviously, Kate, you had climbed it several times before, as you mentioned, you had the record already. Laura, had you been on it at all? Or was this like kind of first? You're like, cool. Yeah. I mean, I like the valley, but I guess I'll leave and go climb this thing so that we can train together. Was that kind of your experience?

(35:40):
Ari GrodeOh, wow.

(36:17):
Laura Pineauum No, because I'm going to leave that record to locals. i'm I'm happy. little French girl came in Boulder, did a little record.
Laura PineauI'm going to keep it for six months and then someone else can come break it. And it's like, that's what records are meant for. You know, I'm not doing ah record because I want to keep it. I'm just like, I'm really happy for the experience more than anything else with Kate. And the record like didn't really matter. And it was just a fun game, but I'm happy that she can do sub 30 with another local record.

(36:41):
RobertThank you.
Laura Pineauwho loves the naked edge as much as Kate does. And I know those girls are going to crush it, but it's also, I mean, the naked edge is more about becoming a uphill sprinter more than being a really strong climber. I mean, it's crazy the amount of cardio you need. And I was so impressed by it. And I think Kate loves running and wants to get back into it. So, ah you know, anyone who wants to go sub 30 needs to start sprinting uphill really hardcore. And I'm like, ah, I don't have to do that.

(37:11):
Laura PineauI don't think so. But it's going to be amazing thing and I know Kate can do it.

(37:32):
Laura PineauIt's crazy. It's crazy.
Laura Pineauand

(38:11):
Laura PineauOkay, but
Laura Pineauand
Ari GrodeThat's a, that's an amazing story that you guys just said, we're gonna, we're gonna run it back.
RobertThat, yeah.
Kateyou
Ari GrodeLike,
Robertah What? I mean, there's so many little like nuggets within that that I'm curious about.
RobertOkay. So like, obviously we've got to assume that you probably have like the fastest send to like attempt ratio that's on the naked edge. Cause I feel like, okay, you can speak to this. Most people are like dialing that in. You're like, yeah, nine times. I got a couple, couple pretty close ones and we, we knocked it off. That's wild.

(38:47):
Robertum
Ari GrodeYeah.
RobertDo you have any,
RobertI guess like goals of going back and seeing what you guys can do on a fresh burn, like day one, like, can you knock off like another two minutes or is it that was training? It served its purpose. We have the record, but that's not the goal. We want to stick to bigger, bigger objectives on big walls.

(39:08):
KateYeah, I mean, i have always wanted to go sub 30. If I could do that with a woman, that would be sick. um i It's funny because Laura climbed and hung out with Becca, my previous previous partner who held the record while she was here. And Becca kind of had been like, yeah, like that was a fun season. And I'm like, not really into that kind of climbing anymore. And like,

(39:31):
KateI think that was like over for me. And then as soon as she saw me and Laura's reclimate, she was like, actually, so I went back and I climbed the edge fast and it was actually pretty fun. And I was thinking like, you know, we never really did get a chance.
KateSo like I got Becca psyched and then i have another friend, Lynn Anderson, who is like a local crusher here who's been climbing the edge super fast too. and Yeah, I was like this fall, I've mostly been traveling the last two years and I'm excited to just be back in Boulder this fall. And I was like, yeah, sub 30.

(40:01):
Kateactually just texted. wait There's this group chat for people who climb the naked edge all the time. And I texted them this morning. it was like, guys, I need to go sub 30 this fall. Who's in? So, yeah, I think if Laura ends up back in Boulder, absolutely.
KateIf she's psyched, but I'll definitely be back on the edge.
Ari Grodekit and Can you just like...

(40:21):
Robertyou're shaking your head no a bit there Laura does that mean you uh don't put on boulder
KateUh,

(41:21):
Ari GrodeYeah, I think on
Ari GrodeYeah, I think on your Instagram, one of your Instagrams, you have like the the breakdown of the different heart rate zones for that record. And it was like... and a large percentage of the time was spent like above 170 beats per minute.
Ari GrodeSo it's like, you are just absolutely like pushing it.
RobertOh my goodness.
KateIt was.

(41:42):
Ari GrodeBut, but also like, it's very technical terrain.
KateYeah.
Ari GrodeLike, you know, you're not just like, it's not like running up a hill, you know, you're doing five 11 climbing at the same time.
RobertYeah, our we had Joe Kennedy on who has like the overall, he's part of the team that had the overall record.
Robertin the One of the lines that sticks out to me is what he's talking about. Yeah, you're doing 5'11 trad with no gear. You're just like sprinting through that bit. And it's just like, all right, yeah. I mean, that is a particular cup of tea that I can understand why someone would love it, be hooked on that and why someone would be like, yeah, you know, that was that was nice, but I'm going to move on. Yeah.

(42:18):
KateI mean, there's not no gear,
Ari GrodeCan you
Ari GrodeYeah. Can you explain the obsession with the naked edge?
Ari GrodeLike, I just, I just want to hear it from somebody who's climbed it. Like climbing in general, I feel like a lot of times we climb, we we pick a project, you know, we try hard on it. Eventually we put it down and then we never climb it again. It's like, I would never want to try that again and then fall.

(42:40):
Ari GrodeBut like, you know, the naked edge is it just got this like cult following of people that want to climb it over and over and over and over again. Can can you just like talk about that a little bit?
RobertAnd maybe add a little context of when the first time you set eyes on the naked edge.
KateYeah, totally. Yeah, totally. I mean, the Naked Edge when I first started climbing here was like this, like, it's like this history, legendary route that's like notoriously like sandbagged. And like, ah it was with Eddie that we climbed it for the our first time. And I just remember her that day going in thinking like,

(43:13):
KateThis is so intimidating, like 511 and Aldo is so intimidating and so hard. And this is like so committing. Oh, my God. And we went up and it took us like, yeah, seven hours, I think, or eight hours maybe to get up the thing. And I was just like whipping all over stuff. And was like whipping on the piton under the Bombay chimney, which has been there for who knows how long.

(43:37):
KateAnd a couple of speed climbers came up behind us and they were like waiting for me to be done whipping on it. And then finally, after I whipped on it again, one of them was like, you should back that up. And I was like, okay.
Laura PineauAnd me, if I can add two things to the naked edge, one is the naked edge. When you go slow, it's always so much scarier than going fast.
Laura PineauMeaning on the day when we were training for it, our first lap was the warmup lap where we would be at, you know, hundreds 130 BPM, whatever, like we're going really slow. And it was always so scary to grab those crimps and go slow and and felt slippery. But as soon as you go fast, your brain just go poof.
KateAnd then like pulled the move. Like with no idea whatsoever that in a few years I would just like, I watched them climb and it was just like, that's insane and that they're like, just like climbing so quickly, so smoothly. Like it, it looks like five, seven, you know?

(44:05):
KateUm, and then Eddie and I went back for like our send burn, I think like a few months later and like sent the route and we're like really psyched, but it's just a route that it like caters really well to.
Laura PineauAnd then the flow starts here and it's like singular focus. And all you do is like go do the scary moves really fast. So your brain doesn't even have time to get scared, which was always so impressive to me how much easier it felt when we we're speed climbing it.
KateClimbing it fast because of like the way the anchors are placed and also like accessibility, obviously. And so you can go into Eldo at 5 30 AM, m climb the entire route and be down by like eight, you know?
Laura PineauAnd the second thing is You know, when we did the record, we like, like me, I'm out of breath the whole time. I'm like, i need air, but I just can't get it because Kate's running up and I need to follow her. Otherwise, I'm going to slow her down. And then someone filmed us from the other side of the valley.

(44:30):
KateAnd so I think people get really psyched on that. But like, because there's also a bunch of other people who are doing it, yeah like during the season, I set the first female record, we had like this group of people who would meet at like 5am or 5.30am.
Laura PineauAnd it looks like we're chilling on the rock. I'm like, it doesn't even look fast when I'm like doing the hardest climb of my life. I'm sprinting.
Laura PineauAnd he films us and it just looks like we're going so slow like that. And I'm like, how is that possible? We're full on max effort and it looks like we're just climbing normally. So it's just so funny to see another perspective, you know, from someone filming outside of it and then us being in it and feeling like we're doing the best effort and the fastest effort of our lives.
KateAnd we would all like conga line up the naked edge, like fast enough, like are different speeds that like, we're not like running into each other, but it was just like so fun to party up the naked edge in the morning.

(44:55):
KateAnd then we would all run down and we get to the parking lot and spend like 20 minutes just like yelling beta at each other that we had discovered um it was just like the most fun vibe and like the best way to start your day just like so fun and you're like yeah i just climbed like six pitches in eldo in like two hours and now i have the rest of the day and so uh yeah it just we kind of came this like totally cult thing and and it's fun to climb with different partners and see how they do different things and like yeah everybody has like their own little like idiosyncrasies of how they do it
Laura PineauSo that's just, you know, two funny things to know about the naked edge too.

(45:20):
Laura PineauThat's true.
Laura PineauSame thing.
KateAnd especially like climbing with Eddie has been fun because he is like 6'2 and he has a plus seven. And I'm 5'6 with a plus like one.
Robertgift.
Kateso like everything we do is totally different. So I was like, okay, I'm going to climb this with people who are like my height and like see what everyone's doing. and then like throughout time, there's like pieces of gear go missing or get stuck. And everyone's like, there's like a stuck blah, blah, blah. Or like this fixed thing came out or like the the fixed nut is gone. And like, we would all like make sure like people knew what was happening. Cause we had like honed our rack down to just what we needed.

(45:54):
Laura Pineauyeah Yeah, I can go first. So we went, so after the Naked Edge, I think we didn't climb together for a week and we both drove separately to Yosemite. So we arrived in Yosemite around April 10th.
Kateso like, if you didn't have the fixed nut, like you were, you were kind of like extremely run out. Um, but it yeah it was like a mini community and it was just like, it's just so fun to be a part of like a community like that. That's like so psyched on this, like common goal. And like with speed climbing, it's like, yeah, like you said, you send a project, you do it and you're done.
Laura PineauAnd in this moment, I think we both knew that what we needed is to practice the routes because personally, I had never climbed Watkins and I had never climbed Half Dome. So, you know, that's some question marks where i was like, oh, I hope I'm going to be able to be up to speed knowing that I've never climbed them.

(46:23):
Laura PineauBut also trusting the process and trusting Kate as a great partner for it. And we both knew that I think the hardest one for us would be the nose on El Capitan. So we started training first on El Capitan to get the speed climbing endurance and the gym or in cardio as well. And we decided that...
KateBut with speed climbing, like you're never done. There's always faster. So like, there's always, and then there's like, for me, at least Becca and I did like our Power Ranger, our first Power Ranger ascent on the 50th lap. And then we got like a whole Power Ranger team to do it in one ascent. And then Like yeah I got paid to make a an ad for a watch. So I convinced her to do a classy ascent where we were like really classy clothes and did it.
Laura Pineauyou know, we would do like one big wall a day and then we would take two to three rest days and then do another big wall, two to three rest days, and then either keep doing the nose or move on to Half Dome or Watkins.

(46:53):
KateSo was just like all these opportunities to just use like the naked edge as like a playground for just like having fun with this community. And yeah, I don't know. I don't think it'll ever end. I'm on lap 77 and Eddie and I were just texting yesterday about getting to a hundred this year.
Laura PineauAnd one thing that me stressed me out a little bit is in late April that the weather was a bit unstable. We got a lot of rainy days and me and Kate didn't want to play with the forecast and decided that whenever there was a 10, 20% chance of rain, we would not climb on a big wall because we didn't want to get stuck really high on El Capitan with no rain gear or anything because we were climbing always as light as we could to be faster.
KateSo yeah.
Ari GrodeWow.
RobertThat's amazing. I mean, it almost sounds like the equivalent of the run club phenomenon that is going on around the country. It's like you guys have this little squad that you show up and it's not necessarily even about what you're doing.

(47:18):
Laura PineauAnd another thing was got foot poisoning end of April, early May too, for like a week to 10 days where I felt extremely bad and couldn't climb for six days. And even when I did the nose after I was sick, I felt like I was going to die on top of the nose. And we did a record in seven hours, 49, but I thought I was going to die. And I was like, no way I would ever climb another big wall after that. But, you know, knowing that I would still be sick.
RobertIt's about who you're doing it with and like the community and everything. And you kind of just have a good time.
KateMm-hmm.
RobertAnd sometimes you change the outfits and all that stuff too. So that that's hilarious. I mean, it sounds like an absolute blast. Like I would love for that to be in my backyard. So I can i can understand the appeal for sure.

(47:41):
RobertBut yeah, it does seem like you, ah I leaned in pretty hard, which is, which is cool.
Laura Pineauah So that's how the training kind of started. And maybe Kate can can talk about, you know, how we moved on to the other mountains and how long it took us on Watkinson and have done too.
Ari GrodeYeah.

(48:50):
KateSo slow.

(49:11):
Ari GrodeYeah.
RobertThat's hilarious.
Ari GrodeThat is pretty funny.
RobertThat's like whenever you film yourself like bouldering or like cliff jumping or something like, oh man, that was so scary.
KateSo true.
RobertWe were so high up. It must've been 40 feet. And and it's so you like, yeah, it looks like you're about two feet off the ground, brother.
Ari Grodebut Yeah.
Kateso true

(49:33):
Ari GrodeSo, okay. So you guys obviously had, by the time the naked edge speed record went down, you had established that you were like excellent climbing partners together. You, you know, you could feed off of each other's energy.
Ari GrodeI'm sure psych was super high. So, but the ultimate goal was the Yosemite triple crown. So can you maybe talk us through kind of what that next step looked like, uh, you know, as you, as you went towards check tackling the ultimate objective?

(49:59):
KateYou want to take it, Laura?

(52:01):
KateYeah, totally. It was, I mean, we had timeframe, right? Like we had chosen oh a couple of weeks where we were like, okay, this is kind of like when we want this to happen. um Also like organizing a whole support team and like making a film about it. So like all these other factors depending on the timeline as well. So was kind of like, we didn't have to do it um in this week, but like we were really hoping it'd come together that way.

(52:28):
Kateum And so, yeah, when we first got there, it kind of was like, okay, let's tackle the nose. Like I can give her all like every single piece of micro beta. Cause mostly when I was speed climbing the nose before i was doing the bottom block. And so now Laura's doing doing the bottom block. so I was like, I know everything you need to do.
KateAnd then it was just a matter of like perfecting the top block for me.

(52:51):
Ari GrodeThank you.
KateSo, yeah, we we kind of just like dove in. um Yeah, it didn't have much wiggle room for things like getting sick or like the but weather, but kind of just like made it work. Like while Laura was sick, I climbed the nose with Jacob Cook, who was also working on the triple.
Kateand ended up being really fun because we had two other teams of folks that we knew of. who were training for the triple. So we ended up making this like little group called the triple triple threat.

(53:18):
Kateum It's similar to the naked edge actually that we like, we just had this tiny community of people who were like, there's the same thing. We're all like talking micro beta, like what gear goes where, what tactics we're using, like what variations we might be using. And and then obviously say if partners were out or like sometimes his partner had to travel climbing with the other partners ah to continue training.

(53:40):
KateAnd then we, yeah, we moved on to Mount Watkins and Half Dome after that. And Watkins is like just kind of an annoying hike. Like it's a three and a half hour hike to get out to it. That's like kind of long.
KateAnd then if you're not hiking off the top to Tuolumne, you have to hike all the way back down Snow Creek. So Watkins days ended up being like really big days just because they were a lot of hiking. Yeah.

(54:03):
Laura PineauExactly.
KateAnd meanwhile, we're like using our Coros watches, tracking, like tracking our exertion, tracking our stress, seeing like, it was kind of funny. I like posted on my Instagram the other day, like our, our like training load as we started to like ramp up was going higher and higher.
Laura PineauYes.
Laura PineauWay too long. Way too long.
KateAnd then it just hit the top of the graph and then it just flatlined across the top of the graph.
Laura PineauI think, i mean, totally, it's crazy because we started climbing. We probably both woke up at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. m that day, and we started climbing at 4 p.m. for 24 hours. And then we still had a three, four hour hike down back to the place where we were sleeping in the valley. So it was probably, I don't know, like 35, 40 hour day, 40 hour day almost.

(54:26):
Robertah so I saw that post.
KateLike our watch was like, wow.
RobertIt was hilarious.
KateI was like, I wish for like you could have a setting on Khoros where you could change it to like the tone of voice. So it can change it to something more aggressive. That's like, you need to stop. Like, stop now. You're raging too hard. Like when you are arrested, it's like, okay, you're ready to rage.
KateLike, it would be funny to see the watch just be like, you're going to die if you keep doing this. Like, please stop. Please sleep more. But yeah, we like, we kind of listen to our bodies too, though. Like we would watch our sleep and watch our recovery, but also kind of like feel out, okay, have only so much time, maybe two or three rest days in between objectives, more rest days for the first time when we knew it was going to take us longer.
Laura PineauProbably 40 hour day. Yeah.

(54:47):
Laura PineauLong, like the hike down from half dome, we were both two zombies trying to not fall asleep.
Laura PineauAnd this is when having the best support crew we could have ever asked for was so essential for us. It was really important because they were keeping us alive. And I think if they weren't there, I would have probably fallen asleep on the side of the trail.

(55:07):
Laura PineauCan you hear me?
KateAnd then as we hone down our beta for each formation, the days would get smaller. You know, Watkins went from nine hours down to like six hours and like half dome went from nine, nine hours down to six hours. And so the days were getting like less, less exertion.
Laura PineauNow, can you hear me better?
Laura PineauYeah. Can you hear me well?
Laura PineauOkay, perfect. yeah Yeah. So the, I think if we didn't have this amazing support crew ah helping us hiking down from the top of Half Dome, I would have probably just slept on the side of the trail for 10 hours. Like I would not have made it down alone.
KateSo we had like, we didn't need as much rest, but we really did. Like we brought it down to the wire with like, we had goals, time goals of like each formation. so writing it out you know like we need like this amount of time on the nose this amount of time on Watkins and this amount of time on Half Dome which leaves us this much time to hike this much time to hike down this much time to hike up and this much transition time ah and like we barely hit those times on each formation I mean like give or take like 10 minutes so we were kind of like okay like

(55:35):
Laura PineauAnd we were both really happy to have everyone around us being like, okay, let's go. Like we keep going. Don't fall asleep. It's, it's And I had never done that hike ever before. And it was just a never ending hike. i was like, how much longer? Like this takes forever. Like I couldn't see the end of the tunnel until like Kate was like, oh no, we just 20 minutes, you know, till the car. And i was like, oh, thank God it's it's coming, you know? And in the car, I was just falling asleep because we were just so tired. and

(56:01):
Katewe we just have to make a call to either like go for it Like, and pretty much we decided to just go for it because like at that point, our bodies were starting to kind of break down. Like the small injuries that Laura and I both have were like flaring up.
Kateah Like, yeah, I have turf toe from Freerider years ago that was starting to like become pretty unhappy. And like, we both have some like leg things that were flaring up. And so we were kind of like, okay,
Laura PineauYeah.

(56:29):
Katewe have We haven't been fully rested this whole season. we you know We never took more than like three rest days. Like Laura was sick, but like that didn't really count. And so we were kind of banking on the fact that if everything went perfectly smooth and we were 100% rested and with a support team, that would be the margin that we needed to get to that 24 hour mark. So i was like really a gamble, honestly. and like we didn't know for sure if that was going to happen.
Laura PineauI mean, yeah, technically me personally, I was extremely happy that we woke up so late because usually I have trouble sleeping, especially when I do two, 3 a.m.

(56:55):
Laura Pineaustarts. So that's, you know, the two nights before that I slept nine hours, which never happens to me before such a big objective. And the reason why we did this is because Watkins goes in the shade at 4 p.m.
KateWe both kind of talked about like, okay, what's, what are we going to do if we do 25 hours? You know, what are we going to do if it's 26 27? Are we happy with it just being the triple, like first female triple? And I think we were both like, yes, obviously that's like such an amazing accomplishment, but also like, should we have cutoff times, you know, like if we get to the top of the nose and, and you know, we're going to be hiking in the sun on the dust labs, like that's just like a no-go.
Laura PineauSo imagine it's early June Yosemite. It's super hot. It was maybe 80, 90 Fahrenheit that day. so extremely hot. So we waited for Watkins to go in the shade at 4pm. And then we climbed the nose through the night, which we were both fully dehydrated that time because we brought three liters and a half and it still wasn't enough water.

(57:22):
KateSo we had to have like some conversations about like, yeah, what if this, what if that, you know, is like definitely a little bit stressful because ah the other teams who were working on it were hitting their times like by out an hour or two. so it was like almost you were like, we were just like, dang it.
Laura PineauSo me, I was out of water by pitch 20 and we still had 10 left and Kate was lead climbing the top of the nose, telling me that her mouth was full on dehydrated and was on the verge of having cramps from the lack of water.
KateThey're just like, I have it almost in the bag. And and where here we are just like really bringing down to the wire.
Laura PineauBut thank God we had prepared water bottles with carbohydrates and electrolytes on top of the nose with our support crew, which helped us, you know, dehydrated. hydrated really quickly. So I think, you know, those cramps went away and we gain energy again for the rest of the day.

(57:46):
Ari GrodeYeah, it seems like there wasn't a ton of ah room for error. Plus it was also like a now or never type of moment ah in terms of deciding to go for it. So, and and and correct me if I'm wrong, but it goes, the order you guys do it in is Mount Watkins, then the nose, then Half Dome.
Laura PineauAnd then we climb half dome full on in the shade as well. So this is why all the teams were doing such a late start, which in a way is great, but it makes you, you know, stay awake for a longer period of time. And I think it was a so safe route.
Ari GrodeAnd the time starts at the base of Watkins at the top of Half Dome, right? But it does count the transition times between ah the the formations.

(58:10):
Laura Pineauto do it this way because we ended the day on half dome in the full daylight i think me personally if i had finished the day in the dark on half dome which is in my opinion the most dangerous mountain out of all three it would have been really dangerous because i was falling asleep blanket in the middle of half dome and that's a moment where i was slapping myself to stay awake because that's Like my energy level just crashed down as Kate was climbing and I was not climbing anymore and I was being static. And this is when my body was like, oh, nice. Like you're getting a little relaxed.
RobertYeah, you basically shave off the approach to walk-ins and the hike down from Half Dome.
KateYes.
RobertCorrect?
KateExactly.
RobertYeah.
RobertAnd so, like, how long...
Ari GrodeHow long does the overall date end up being?
Robertgo ahead.
Ari GrodeSorry, go ahead, Rob.
RobertHa ha ha ha

(58:42):
Laura PineauWe can maybe now fall asleep. And I was like, no, no, no. It's not the time to fall asleep. We still have 15 pitches to go. Don't don't do that. And it's a bit dangerous because when you think of ultra runners,
KateProbably 40.
Laura Pineauwhen they crash and when they get tired, they can just lay on the side of the trail and take a power nap for 20 minutes, 30 minutes or a few hours. But us, when you're in the middle of Half Dome and a storm is already coming and it's starting to sparkle rain a little bit on top of you, there's no moment for a little power nap. You just need to keep moving. And if you make a mistake, you could put yourself and your partner in danger. So it's a very different mental game to be up there while being super tired.
RobertWow. Yeah, we've,
Ari GrodeHoly
Robertyeah we've

(59:20):
Ari GrodeYou're cutting in and out.
KateWe're losing you.
RobertLaura, can you talk about the hike down from Halftown one more time? Mm-hmm.
Ari GrodeYeah, it's coming through better now.
Kateyeah

(01:00:10):
RobertYeah, that that hike down is, i it's got like so many signs about bears and like mountain lions and stuff too, right? And you're just like, yeah, I'll curl up on the side. Whatever happens, happens.
Robertah Yeah, that's.
Kateah Bears won't bother you unless you have food.
RobertNo, you'll be fine.
RobertYou'll be fine. ah Yeah, that's a that's so serious day. mean, the fact that you woke up at 8 a.m. m is that i mean I'm assuming it's because you kind of needed to prep everything and run through everything as opposed to like, okay, we're going to try to sleep too till noon and then go out. But yeah, that's long, like 40 plus hours. you don't You don't think about that when you hear, okay they did it in 23 hours and some change. like You're like, oh, sick. that's ah That's a full day, but it's actually kind of full two full days with no sleep.

(01:00:54):
KateMm-hmm.
RobertMm-hmm.

(01:03:31):
Ari GrodeWow. Yeah, no kidding. And okay so and it sounds like there was there was very little room for error based on the pre-rec times that you guys had you know just beaten in the in the weeks leading up to this.
Ari GrodeSo, I mean, you alluded to it a little bit, but I mean, can you just talk us through the the day or two days of of how this all went?

(01:03:52):
KateYeah, it was nerve wracking. ah We, at least for me, I was like, okay, if we can PR on Watkins, like anytime we made up from like our allotted schedule was like winning, you know? so I was like really nervous until we topped out on Watkins.
KateWe started the hike. It was very chill. You know, the late start, like Laura said, is so nice. Like never in any of my like huge objectives have I started at like 4 p.m. So it's nice to like, yeah, sleep in We had prepped everything, you know, every detail was laid out.

(01:04:24):
Ari GrodeThank you.
KateEvery so person on the support team was like in place or ready to do what they needed to do. And we hiked out there and chilled and on the little like platform at the base of Watkins until the mountain went into the shade.
Kateum And we tried to start exactly at four o'clock so that everyone in our support crew knew kind of like how we were doing. Um, we had also pushed our day a couple of days out because of thunderstorms. There's like unusually thunderstormy week in Yosemite where we were seeing like 20 to 30 to 50% chance of thunderstorms, which was an absolute no-go.

(01:05:04):
KateUm, I've been rescued off of Half Dome in a storm. So for me, that's like a really important boundary that I had to establish with Laura right away was like, Just so you know, we're never going out there when there's any weather.
Kateah So we're like pushing it. And then like the next day, the forecast would change. And then it was like, now it is 10% chance. Now it is 20% chance. So we were like getting anxious. and And then we had these two days that were 0% chance. And we're like, okay, we're doing it.

(01:05:29):
KateAnd so we like plan everything. We wake up on that day, like that morning while we're hiking into Watkins starts to change to like 10 to 20% chance of thunderstorms. Like at that point we hadn't looked like we were like in it already, you know, but as we're climbing Watkins, like all these storm clouds start building and like, then we start hearing thunder.
KateAnd for me, like, coming from Colorado to like Rocky Mountain National Park, you hear thunder and you're like, abort, like get out. And so I was just like, oh no, like so stressed because I have two pitches of 5.9R on Watkins that like are no falls, like absolutely catastrophic if i if I took that fall. So I was like getting super nervous that i was we were about to just like you know, the triple would be off because like if it rained, like I wouldn't be able to do those pitches and would have to either like eight alternative pitches or figure something else out.

(01:06:23):
KateBut um we just like kept going as fast as we could.
Ari GrodeThank you.
Kateand like, I was like, if I can just get through this first pitch of 5-9-R, which ah the rain like started to sprinkle, like as I began the pitch and i was just like, go as fast as i can to get through this, like one crux move, got through the crux move.
KateAnd then like this weight lifted, I was like, okay, everything else is like at least safe. If it starts to rain, we can aid to the top. Um, so we continued on and just like, kind of like, yeah, that was a stressful start, but we raged to the top and seeing our friends at the top and hearing them like hoot and holler was like a huge boost of confidence. I was like, oh yeah, there's like all these people waiting for us up there.

(01:07:03):
KateUm, and we got to the top and had cut an hour off of our time. So I was like, okay, it's on like, we're in this now.
Ari Grodewow
RobertNice.
KateWe have an hour of wiggle room. with just the huge pressure off. And everything went super smoothly, like packed up our gear. We've got this whole crew of people is like psyched and hiking with us and like playing music and got to the car, like did the transition. And i'm in the car, my partner was driving and Laura gets in the back and I get carsick in her van when it's like that windy road going super, like as fast as we could basically without, you know, like being super sketchy.

(01:07:39):
Kateum or like breaking the speed limit too much. And we, so Laura's in the back.
Ari GrodeI'm sorry.
RobertOfficer, you don't understand, okay? You don't understand.
KateWe didn't do anything illegal, just because it's on record. But yeah, so then we're driving in the night, like after climbing Watkins, like,
Katefully just in the zone and Laura's re-racking her whole harness in the back of the van while it's just like rocking back and forth just totally almost also trying to like shove food in our down our throats like trying to get like carbs mashed potatoes like fried rice all this stuff that her sister had prepared for us which was oh oh sorry there's a wasp in my room oh god sorry I hate bugs um uh

(01:08:22):
Ari GrodeThank you.
KateYeah, so then we, like, get to the base of Cap, and Laura has, like, done all of the re-racking. I've, like, prepped the backpack. um We had people waiting at the meadow, like, this whole crew of people is, like, can we hop out of the van, and I guess, like, someone had told people, like, you know, don't, don't like, make a bunch of noise. They were, like, really focused. We need to, like, they just need to get out and go. so like, we got out, and it was kind of, like, eerily quiet.

(01:08:49):
KateLike, people like, yeah, you guys got this kind of, like, thing. And we're, like, okay, it's, like, intense. And then my finally was like, okay, we're ready to go. And I just like screamed woo. And then everybody just like released their screams of like excitement.
KateIt was like such an awesome boost of just like energy. And we were like, yes, we're like in this. And then we like went up to the nose with a couple of friends who helped us like carry some gear and set off into the night. And like Laura said,

(01:09:17):
KateThe funny thing about like El Cap is like during the day, it's hot in the sun, but it gets windy. So it's like not that bad usually, but during the night it's very still. So it's very like muggy and humid and that's why it was so warm.
Laura PineauAlmost not yet.
Laura PineauAlmost not yet.
KateSo yeah, we both ended up getting a little dehydrated, but still when we topped out, you know, we were within like 10 or 15 minutes of our PR and we're like, okay, we're, we're like still on track, like barely, you know, like We had like, yeah, 20 to 40 minutes of wiggle room left now.

(01:09:49):
KateAnd so we had Nick Eamon meet us at the top, who is like just an absolute speed beast. And he was guiding us down, just like keeping us at a super fast pace as we hiked down, which gained us another 20 minutes of wiggle room.
Kateso when we got back down to the valley floor, we met the next leg of our supporters. drove over to the trailhead for death slabs, tried to eat as much as we could. at this point, we're both a little loopy.

(01:10:16):
KateLike we were putting our feet into a cooler that had ice in it Cause like your feet get really hot as you're speed climbing one, but also just because the rock is like hot. And um so we had sitting in her van as our, our friend drove it just like kind of loopy and slap happy, like eating like watermelon and like trying to just chill for a second.

(01:10:39):
Katewith our feet in like the cooler. um And then, ah yeah, we got to the base of the dust labs and just, it was like, okay, like two down, one to go The crux most people have said is hiking to the base of Half Dome because that hike is just heinous and it's kind of sketchy and like not very like not super straightforward and there's loose rock. And so we we just like raged up the dust labs with our support crew and like, yeah, honestly would not have been able to do it without them. Like,

(01:11:06):
KateWe really had like good people come through for us there that kept our psych super high and were there for us and like told us what we needed to hear. And when we got to the base, we realized, I was like, Laura, you have the stiffy draw, right? Because that was the one thing we didn't need on the nose that we did need on half dome.
KateAnd we realized we had forgotten the stiffy draw, which is actually like pretty crucial for a move Laura has to do on the top block on a big PDL. ah which is duff loop.

(01:11:37):
KateI can explain that too. It's like, basically you pull out a bunch of slack and then you're on like a 40, 50 foot loop of slack to do the first part of the pitch while I jug up and then get her on belay.
KateSo she has to do this like pretty scary slab move, but with the stiffy, she could reach the first bolt. ah So we're like freaking out because we don't have the stiffy draw. And then Jacob, we're like, Jacob's like, maybe we can make one out of a stick.

(01:12:02):
KateAnd so we like take an alpine draw and some tape and like tape. carabiner like open and like tape it to the stick and then Laura's like okay like we need two like make a make another one.
KateSo I made double rack of stick stiffies one for me and one for her because I can use it on the boat ladder too and uh it ended up coming in super clutch it worked really well like if anyone you know if you ever need a stiffy draw yeah just like make sure it with a stick I guess paid way too much money for the stiffy suppose but

(01:12:28):
Ari Grodeto improvise.
Kateah Yeah, and we started climbing Half Dome and honestly, like in my head, I was like, there's no way. Like we need a PR on Half Dome right now. We need to do the fastest time we've ever done pretty much or or match the fastest time we've ever done.

(01:12:50):
Ari GrodeWere you behind after the the hike up?
KateAnd like I was.
Kateno we were like right on time, basically.
Ari GrodeOkay, okay.
KateI think at that point we had 20 minutes of wiggle room if we did the fastest time we had ever done on that tone.
Ari GrodeOkay, gotcha.
RobertPlus, I mean, you got to make a stiffy stick clip.
Ari GrodeHmm.
KateSo
RobertSo like that probably ate in, you know, five, five, 10 minutes there as well. So you're right on the margin.

(01:13:13):
Kateyeah, we like, yeah.
RobertAnd is this, is this, is this when Laura, I believe I saw something and I might be getting this wrong. Is this when Laura is like kind of starting to tell you we're ahead of schedule, even though you're not, or is this little later?
KateWe're almost back up.
RobertOkay. Okay.
KateYeah, we so we simul climb the first nine pitches naked edge style. um And i was Laura's leading, thank God, because at that point, I was just like, I'm so tired.

(01:13:39):
Laura PineauAnd then me too.
KateLike, my muscles were starting to feel super fatigued, you know, just like that point where you're like, even jugs or just like pull ups kind of felt so slow And yeah, luckily with the microtractions placed, like it doesn't matter if i fall or pull on the rope necessarily. So like take some of that risk pressure off.
Laura PineauYeah, definitely.
Laura PineauYeah, but honestly, she, she,
Laura PineauShe just made me relieve the moment. I was psyched again. I'm like, let's go back. or have dome, you know.

(01:13:59):
Laura PineauNo, let's go. oh my God, the quad. Yeah, crazy. But yeah, no, it's it's so cool to hear, you know, each other's perspective because we before the day we did it or so, we...
KateBut yeah, I was just like, man, I just hope we get to the top. Honestly, like I was like, I don't even care if we do 24 hours anymore. Like, let's just get up there. um But we got to our transition point actually like I think it was like within a half an hour of like what we had done the previous time.
Laura PineauWe had told each other, okay, if like maybe one of us will tank and maybe the other one will have to take over on Half Dome. Like we don't know how we're going to react, but we talked about it, but we never made a plan on telling each other what each other's block would look like and how we needed it to climb. So we had talked about it, but never really made a plan about it or really shared the beta to each other in case we needed it to happen. And I thought maybe, OK, if Kate banks like bonks, maybe I can take over. But after I let the first nine pitches and I got so tired, i was like, oh, I hope she still has it in her because I don't know if I can keep going right now. I think I need a break. So when it actually happens, I was I was really tired and I could feel that Kate was not coming as fast as when we did the half like the
KateI was like, okay, we're not actually going that much slower. It's like time start starts kind of like lose reality. Like you're like, I don't know how fast I'm going. Like, I don't know what time it is. We're just like in this now.

(01:14:30):
KateAnd so we're just like, we just got to keep moving. so I take over and I'm leading the bolt ladders and I could just feel myself like so it drained, like slowing down. But then I might get to the anchor and Laura's like, wow, you did that pitch like as fast as you've ever done it.
Katei was like, really? i was like, are you serious? Whoa, crazy. I must just not be perceiving time right. And then i like lead the next time. using ladders where I don't even usually use ladders. And she's like, yeah, you're going just as fast, like blah, blah, blah, like hyping me up. And I was like, wow, that's so crazy. I guess that's just like my brain.

(01:14:57):
Laura Pineauthe second burn on the half dome and that the simul climbing, I had to pull her up and she was going a bit slower than I was. So I was just like kind of bullying her pulling, you know, like 40 feet of slack because otherwise she was going a bit too slow. So I was just bullying her on the micro tracks and then I was running up and then bullying again. Otherwise I would get stuck in an awkward position and it could be scary for me to fall in this position as well.
KateI guess I was like, that's kind of what I needed to hear too. And she's like, we still have like this many hours left. And I was like, dang, okay, there's still a chance. And so we got to the, the chimneys is like the famous part on the hack dome where you climb these like very physical chimneys for like three pitches.

(01:15:20):
Laura PineauAnd when we did the transition, yeah, Kate did so well, but I knew we were both in and in pain, of course. And when when she did the bolt ladder, I was looking at my watch and i was like, oh, I feel like we're slow. But i like like she said, we lost perception of time and we had no idea on...
KateAnd, I got there and Laura was like, Kate, if you lead the ah big Sandy ledge in an hour and a half, and I lead from there to the top an hour and a half, like we'll do it. And so in my brain, I was just like, okay, this is it. Like, this is the moment we've come to where like, I just need to break that wall of like perceived energy and like give it everything.
Laura Pineauhow fast we were going, but I was just like, okay, Kate probably needs encouragement. So I was like, yeah, Kate, like, you're doing so well, like, you got this, like, you so fast right now, like, you have no idea, it's great. And I knew she was going slower than usual. But I was like, okay, but she doesn't need to hear me say, you know, she needs encouragement and needs to hear that I'm here without like with her and supporting her.

(01:15:47):
KateAnd this is, I've, I've had this happen like once or twice before on big objectives, um like the double L cap day. And the rescue on Half Dome where it was just like, you can't feel the tired. You can't feel the pain. Like don't feel anything until after this is over.
Laura PineauAnd in the chimneys, that's when I was like, okay, Kate, like everything you got like three hours left, like we got this. And She went so fast in the chimneys that I was struggling to follow her. Like I was dying in the chimneys following because she was going much, much faster than usual in the chimneys. I think she had a second breath of life and just started raging. And Mia was behind her trying to catch up.
KateAnd just like raged as hard as I could into the chimneys. Like I was like screaming and like just like really raging, like everything I had. um And then I got to Big Sandy and there were two guys on Big Sandy that were like, they knew we were coming and they were waiting for us to pass them. And I was like, what time is it?

(01:16:20):
Laura PineauAnd by the time I arrived in...
KateAnd they're like, ae two o'clock. And I was like, are you serious? Like I had done my block in an hour and I was like, oh, we are fucking in. Like we have this.
Laura Pineauyeah Yeah, I was almost like, whoa. i was like, I know. I was like, Kate, slow down. Like, you have a partner down there. She's struggling. Slow down. So, you know, when I pulled her on the first nine pitches, she was pulling me up.
KateAnd so then like Laura got up to me and I was like, Laura, we like you have two hours to leave these four. Like we're going to be totally like this is it. We're going to do it. And she's like, OK, like we got to transition. Like don't like like stay chill.
Laura PineauYeah, then she was pulling me up on the chimneys. Yeah. Exactly the same way. So it's so funny how we were pulling each other up in different sections and Kate is so much better at climbing the chimneys than I was. And as she was doing it, she was like, Laura, you have no idea how lucky you are to not lead the speeches. It's so heinous. Because it's so physical, like you fall on like pushing against the wall with your feet and we've hiked like 15 miles or more at this point. So your legs are so tired, but she kept going and was so strong. And when I arrived on Big Sandy and she was like, oh, we have two hours left. I was like, oh, let's go.

(01:16:46):
KateWe're going to do this. And like we transition and I'm like riding rope to the top. So I'm like, we're going to do And then Laura has to like be the one to take over now and like perform for the last two hours.
Kateum But she did. And I was like watching the clock and every pitch from there on out, she's time. like We're like time checking. Like how much time do we have left? Like hour 40, hour 20. We have an hour left. And we get to the last pitch and she's like, how much time do we have left? And I'm like 38 minutes.

(01:17:10):
Laura PineauLike now I'm like hyper-focused mode. I'm like, I'm going to be the best A climber I've ever been in my whole life.
KateAnd at that moment, I'm like, we're going to do it. And then Laura just looks over and she says, don't get too excited yet.
Laura PineauAnd I'm going to climb the zigzag so fast, which I did. And it was nice that Kate kept giving me the times to just to know if I was on track time-wise. And even when I told her, hey, on the last page, don't get too excited. I still knew, you know, okay, I have one more, like, let me finish it.
KateAnd I was like, okay, yeah. And so she like led the last pitch in like eight minutes or whatever. And then I had 30 minutes to jug it. And yeah, I was like, yeah, that was like big Sandy was the moment.

(01:17:32):
Laura PineauIt's like, you know, when you send a hard route, it's not over until you click the anchor. And that's, I think I was in the same mindset. It's not over until we're both touching this anchor. And we're both on top of half term. So I was focused. Like, I've never been this focused in my whole life. I was like, into it. was like, I'm going to as fast as I can and as efficient and safe as I can. And and when we topped out, me, for me, it was just a moment of, wow, I can't believe we did this. I was just so astounded by what we had just done and achieved. And it's, I think so much pressure came down because for 24 hours, we were in hyper-focus mode.
KateLike I knew, okay, like we're we're actually like probably going to do this. And that last pitch, I was just like, wow, I can't believe this is happening.
Ari GrodeMan, I got chills, goosebumps here in that.
Ari Grodewhat was I would love to hear, Laura, from your perspective, what that section where you know there was some encouragement, necessary encouragement was like.

(01:18:00):
Kateuh
RobertWe're doing the quad. yeah
Laura PineauThere's no margin for errors, no margins for any falls. Otherwise you could badly get injured. So once you, all the pressure comes down, suddenly you're like whoa, like I can't believe we just did that. It's amazing. And it was just a dream come true. And I was just so happy to help Kate achieve this dream who that also became my dream along the way.

(01:19:52):
Laura PineauAnd you know, at this point, I also told them, hey guys, where are like our running shoes?
Laura PineauBecause we had been in climbing shoes for six hours and they're oh no, it's not here. It's down there. So we still had to run down the cables and climbing shoes. and I was like, my God, like, please take us off those climbing shoes.
Laura PineauLike I can't anymore. It's so painful.

(01:20:19):
Laura PineauWell, I mean, yeah, no, they did amazing. And and no doubts that without those 15, 20 people of helping us along the way, we would have never made it under 24 hours. Like it was really a team effort and not just a do effort because everyone helped us, you know, drive around. carry our gear, help us just stay psyched along the way. And that was just a huge motivation for us and a huge support. So definitely all the people around us have the same credit for the triple. And without them, it would have been so different. And we would have for sure gone above 24 hours, like no doubts.
Ari Grodeyou're like why did i give her so much energy
RobertYeah, you're back in those 175 BPM zone.

(01:20:42):
KateYeah, then it was my turn um the microtraction point.

(01:21:17):
Laura PineauLet's go.
KateThank you.

(01:22:36):
KateYeah, the other thing i think that's worth mentioning too is our 0% chance days both turned into 20% chance.
Ari GrodeThank you.
KateAnd as we talked on Half Dome, Nobody was at the top cheering, which was like, okay, not good. And as we got higher, ah we started to see lightning striking the peaks around us.

(01:22:56):
KateSo it was like, actually, like we were both, I think a little too tired to really be that stressed about it at that point. But when we hit the top, it was so scary because our gear was buzzing with electricity and ah lightning had struck clouds rest, like right before that.
KateAnd only like a couple of people were at the top and they were like, Congratulations, so so amazing. Take 30 seconds celebrate. And then we need to get the fuck off this mountain because it's about to get struck by lightning.

(01:23:19):
Laura PineauYeah.
KateLike drop all of your gear. We like dropped all of our metal gear right there and stashed it and ran down the cables because like it was the touching the rock even was like shocking.
Laura Pineauit's yeah It's a great question because you know we had this film project on the side of the climb as well. So I think we had three like rest days, but then we still had to keep climbing, go on top of Half Dome, re-film some scenes, and then go back on the nose and re-film.
KateIt was like quite scary, actually. and And so like it was a little bit high stress, even at the moment where we're like, oh, we did it then we're like, oh, no, we might get started by lightning.

(01:23:40):
Ari GrodeOh, wow.
Laura PineauSo we did do extra climbing and hiking to keep filming, which I think was not ideal for our bodies and which was not great because we were in the zone of injuries.
Katebut Would be a horrible end with triple?
Ari Grodeah you just want Yeah, you just want to turn your brain off and all of a sudden it's like, no, we got to turn it on more now.
RobertYeah, and that thing you did was really cool and like kind of important, but like you actually need to be more on right now.
Laura Pineauyou know like if it's like ultra trailers at this they were going to run like another marathon after they did an ultra trail and we had no other choice because of videographers were here for another 10 days and we had to keep shooting and we cared about this movie so much that we were willing to put extra effort to make it a great movie hopefully and so that was not ideal for us but you know we did yeah extra effort to do that and After that, once everyone was gone, then now we're finally resting and taking a week off and not climbing, which feels great.
KateYou might die.
RobertYeah. Yeah.
Kateand so

(01:24:16):
Ari Grodeyou
RobertOkay. So, so one major note for the support team, at least if, if a round two is ever in the cards, a running shoes at the top would be definitely a good one to include.
Laura Pineauum But we should have definitely rested more after the triple, which we couldn't do because of the film.
Kateyou
Laura Pineauah But that's how it is, you know, and sometimes you have professional duties and we wanted everyone to understand what speed climbing was. And because we couldn't shoot those scenes before we did the attempt, because we took this rest week before, but then we had extra duties to do after.

(01:24:44):
Laura PineauAnd that was that was a little brutal for sure, like mentally and physically. And like me, when I went back up to the King swing to film it and Kate was belaying me and the videographer was with us, I was like, I'm in so much pain.
Laura PineauI was screaming in the number four cracks.
Laura PineauI was like, guys, this is my last climbing day. I hope you're going to film well because I'm not going up the nose for for the rest of the season. Like this is my last climbing day. And I think we stopped right on time because after this, if we had kept going,
Ari GrodeYou know, we've we've interviewed quite a few people that have told some amazing stories, but I don't think I've ever felt so a part of what was actually happening as I just did there.
KateYeah.

(01:25:10):
Laura PineauLike something bad could have happened. So we just stopped at the right moment for sure.
Ari GrodeLike the way you guys described that, like it was, you could like, and I hope the listeners feel this way too, but like kind of experience it.
KateIt was electric.
Ari GrodeSo it sounds amazing.
Laura PineauOh, yeah.
RobertHey, look at that.
Ari GrodeYeah. Electric. Yeah.
RobertYeah, I would certainly second what Ari said there.
KateSorry.
Ari Grodeah
RobertI feel like, I don't know. It seems maybe because it was such a, you were so locked in and maybe because it was I don't know, like the the margins seem to be like very on edge for you guys for the whole experience.

(01:25:46):
RobertIt wasn't like, oh, we realized that the last 18 hours we were going push for the next five and a half hours. It was like, okay, we're ahead, but we're ahead by 40 minutes or we're ahead by, and now we're, this one was like 10 minutes off.
KateMm-hmm.
RobertSo because I think it was so meticulously calculated out and such a marginal experience that I wonder if that allowed you to all really like fully remember and like recount every single step of the way and just be turned on the whole time, if that makes sense.

(01:26:18):
KateYeah, I mean, it definitely was like, obviously, we've told the story a bunch of times at this point. But like, it was, yeah, incredibly, like, visceral and physical. Like, when you like engage your body at that level, and, and push it to the limits and and like past your perceived limits, it really, I think, just like does leave a mark in your brain as like, wow, that was totally crazy.

(01:26:44):
KateLike all the feelings and all the like smells and tastes and like, the carb water and like what it felt to like try and lay back when you're like 24 hours in and like number three and number four cracks on your feet are just like, yeah, you there's just a point where you're like, you have to turn the pain off.
Laura PineauYeah, hopefully our director, Thibaut Marot, will edit it this summer and then hopefully you know finish it November, December. And it should come out next April, 2026. We can say more about where it's going to come out yet and everything, but hopefully this movie will inspire the climbing community and women in general, because we are still going to share the stories of other women be climbing in Yosemite. That's the goal of it.
KateBut then you also feel that energy of like, wow, it's over. We did it. Like we did the thing for like, for me years, you know, in the making and for Laura, like months of intense training, just like,

(01:27:11):
Laura PineauSo we hope to tell stories that were never really told before and that women never really get any media attention, especially speed climbing Yosemite, when everyone knows about all the men, no speed record, but no one knows about the woman one and who's speed climbing Yosemite. And Thanks to Kate, who was part of USAR and knew the stories of all those women who, you know, she shared it with me because even me, I didn't know about those women and didn't know the records they had and how much of an impact they had in the community. And I think now it's great that it's going to be brought to a ah broader audience. And I think we're really proud of this and worked really hard to make it a reality and raise funds for it and pay all videographers for the movie. So we're very excited about what's coming next year.
Katecoming together in such a perfect way that we pulled it off and we didn't have to do it again was so nice her.
Ari Grodei
KateLike, oh, please tell us. We don't have to like wait five days and try this again. but yeah, it was surreal.
Ari Grodeyeah what was the what was the aftermath like like how did your bodies feel you know 12 24 48 hours after this

(01:27:41):
Ari Grodeokay

(01:28:04):
Laura PineauAmazing.
Laura PineauWhat's next, Kate? What's next?
Laura PineauYeah. Yeah.
Laura Pineauyeah

(01:28:25):
Laura Pineauyeah
Laura PineauYeah, that's that's next on my list, Ptolemy Triple, which is, you know, a much nicer and smaller day and easier grades and I think a bit less risk than the Triple in Yosemite or in the Valley.
KateIt is.
Laura Pineaubut ah But yeah, I think the first priority is get back into training because I don't know if I can still cramp.

(01:28:51):
Laura PineauI have doubts right now.
Laura PineauI'm not certain, you know, I can probably not cramp for more than two seconds. So I think... you know Getting back to training slowly and smartly because after such a big objective where you know we weren't trained by anyone, I think maybe having a little bit of a structure and guidance from someone else could be really helpful. That's why I think both of us want a climbing coach and want to get back into it you know like softly and not get injured from someone going too hard too soon because both of us are pretty obsessive and probably sometimes go too hard too soon.
Katethank

(01:29:21):
Laura PineauSo trying to be a little smart about this and slowly reflecting on, you know, what are we psyched on?
RobertWell, as okay.
KateYeah, we, I don't know.
RobertVery good.
Kateah do you know what wall hands are?
Laura PineauMaybe finding a job again, because both of us took a lot of risk for doing the triple and stopped working. That's how much invested we were in this project. And i think now it's time to, you know, hopefully find another re remote job, both of us and get back to an active life and then see what's next. But yeah, not sure yet on on what's coming in the agenda.
Ari GrodeNo.
RobertNo.
Kateso like after, after doing a wall, especially speed climbing, if you're pulling on a lot of gear, you get wall hands and wall hands are like the nerves in your hands like are kind of like damaged.

(01:29:42):
KateSo they like just go to sleep or like tingle or like you can't feel them. And like, also you can't like really close them. And they're like extremely sensitive to like heat and like anything sharp for like a couple of days.
Laura PineauPtolemy triple is, it's it's another link up. And I think it's actually started maybe with a Ptolemy triple, but it's climbing three peaks over there.
KateSo it definitely was like, I mean, I had wall hands all season. we were like doing a big wall every three days but like after the triple was like yeah your hands are just like claws like wooden things they're not super functional and like you would wake up and you just don't feel your hands but like after we did take like three days which was nice and the merced river is right there so you can like jump in an ice bath whenever you want um and i was like icing my hands and toes but Yeah, our bodies were like, that's enough.

(01:30:02):
Laura PineauSo it's Tenaya peak, Mathis Crest and Cathedral peak. So I haven't done it yet, but it's more, you know, of a smaller day mission, more scrambling, five, seven max, less beaches.
Laura PineauSo it's more scrambling hiking day. ah But, you know, after doing the triple in the valley, i had never climbed in Ptolemy before. So i'm like, oh, it'd be cool to do this before I head to squamish in Canada for the summer to climb there. So I thought it was a cool little challenge to discover Tuolumne and how beautiful it is because it's such a special place too.

(01:30:28):
KateYou can stop now.
Ari GrodeYeah.
KateYeah.
RobertWell, I can tell you as a filmmaker, you're going to be very happy that you took the extra days to to film in the the fill-in shots. I've certainly been on projects where that's not as receptive, but yeah, that's ah that's awesome.
Laura PineauReally?
KateYeah.
RobertWe're stoked to check out the film. what's the What's the plan with that? And do you guys have a timeline or anything or what's what's the latest on the progress?

(01:31:03):
Laura Pineauah
Laura PineauThat is so funny.

(01:32:01):
RobertThat's amazing.
Ari GrodeAwesome.
RobertI think we'll certainly have to have you all back on at some point ah closer to the film release to chat more about that and then kind of push it out there for sure. That's exciting.
KateCool.
Ari GrodeDo you guys have anything else on the agenda? Any any upcoming objectives that you're psyched on or is it still in the cool down period of...

(01:32:23):
RobertYeah, I mean...
Ari Grodeah
Robertwe've got We've got Kate's Naked Edge Sub 30. Ari Grode ah
RobertI mean, Laura, I know you and I were chatting because you put out a post you were looking for a coach.
RobertI was like, oh, you should chat with Carly from Project Direct. Like, clearly some stuff is on the horizon.
RobertDo you want to talk about any of that?
KateYeah, Laura's doing the triple in Ptolemy.
RobertOh.

(01:32:48):
Laura Pineauyeah Yeah, probably, I think, yeah, mine is just easy first and last name, Laura Pino.
RobertYeah.
Laura PineauAnd I think hopefully everyone can get to a movie next year, The Queen Swing.
Ari GrodeYeah.
Laura PineauThat's what they should hope for. It's going the best place to find it.

(01:33:29):
RobertYeah.
Laura PineauYeah, thank you for both of you. It yeah, really fun. And now I'm excited again. Let's go. Let's keep climbing. Always.

(01:33:51):
Laura Pineauah always
RobertVery cool. What's the, for the listeners and ah what is the Tuolumne triple?
KateThank you.
RobertJust to give them a little bit of context.
RobertYeah.

(01:34:41):
Ari GrodeI still have a Rob. I still have a rock that I broke off when we did cathedral peak. um I think I went the wrong.
Ari GrodeIt's the root description is like, just climb anywhere on the slab.
KateYeah.
Robertyeah
Ari GrodeAnd I ended up,
Robertchoose your own adventure because you're going to get it one.
Ari GrodeI ended up in some like, yeah, I ended up in some like off with that we brought very little gear. So there wasn't like that much protection in. And there was all these like little knobs. And I finally got to this one knob that I was, you know, it was like the knob that I was going to relax on.

(01:35:07):
Ari GrodeAnd I like let out a deep breath. And then the knob just came off in my hand. And I was like, and I just put it in my pocket and then like, it I ah still have it.
RobertYeah, that was a fun day for sure.
Ari GrodeThat'll be fun. That's cool. Yeah. Cathedral Peak is really cool.
RobertYeah, nice.
Kateyeah I'm also I'm also headed to I'm actually headed to Europe for the month of July do like no objective but just like fun climbing in Chamonix and the Dolomites so I think yeah for me I'm like I'm psyched to have no goal for a little bit of time just like climb for fun I was like

(01:35:39):
RobertNice.
KateLaura needs to go. i was really hoping we'd have time to go Tioga Cliff in Tuolumne, which is like some of the most like amazing sport climbing up there. And I was like, we're just gonna, we're gonna go to the Whirly Pool, which is like this nice swimming spot. And then we go to Latte Da and we get a sandwich and a latte. And then at 1 PM, we go to the Tioga Cliff and we don't carry any quick draws or anything.

(01:36:04):
KateAnd then we just sport climb. It'll be so amazing.
RobertIf you, if you end up falling in love with the Dolomites climbing and sticking around till August, let me know. Cause my wife and i are going to be there climbing a little bit before a friend's wedding.
KateOh sick!
RobertSo definitely. ah
KateYeah I'm psyched.
RobertIt's pretty, it's pretty rad. We've climbed out there once before and like the views out there, you're just like, this is insane. And then you come off the mountain and you're just greeted with the best Italian and German food you can ever imagine. You're just like, this is heaven.

(01:36:33):
KateYeah I'm super ready for that. I'm ready for some European food.
RobertYeah.
Ari GrodeOh yeah.
RobertAmazing. um I think this feels like a pretty natural place to to end it. I think for the listeners, can you both share where they can find more about you all, plug everything, you know, do the whole, the whole thing.

(01:36:55):
KateSmash that follow button on Instagram.
RobertExactly. Yeah. What are your, what are your handles?
RobertOkay.
RobertLove that.
Ari GrodeAll right. Awesome.
RobertLove that.

(01:37:15):
KateYeah, mine's just pretty much Instagram too, which is just my name, Kate Kelligan.
RobertPerfect.
Ari Grodeawesome
RobertAnd we'll obviously link all of this in the show notes as well too. So it'll be easy for everyone to find, but this has been an absolute blast. it Like Ari said, it was really fun to relive a lot of these experiences with you. I feel like you both did such an amazing job of bringing us along for the ride. Cause it sounds like it really was one hell of a ride.

(01:37:40):
RobertSo, uh, can't thank you both enough for coming on here and sharing the time and sharing these epic stories.
KateYeah, thanks for having us. It was really fun. It's fun to relive it.
Ari GrodeThe stoke is high. That's for sure.
Ari GrodeAwesome.
KateDropping.

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