Ground Up 25: 3,000 Feet of Psyche with Ethan Morf

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Ari GrodeSo you guys met down in El Salto?
Robertwell yeah man how we did yeah
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari GrodeYeah?
Ethan MorfThey're filming that project on LaGloria.
RobertYeah. Yeah. It was a good time. We were down there with Carly and Mango filming their first free ascent of Guerreras on La Gloria, which was pretty epic project.
Ethan MorfYeah.

(00:23):
RobertHad a blast down there. We're working on the post-production side of things. So certainly more to come on that. But yeah, we met in Hanuman, right?
Ethan MorfYeah. how
Ethan MorfYeah, dude. Yeah, that's where, like, the scene in Mexico. So classic.
RobertYeah, man. so Such a cool little spot. i it's It's pretty funny, actually. i I texted Ari like five minutes after we met because I was like, dude, you're never going to believe this.

(00:47):
RobertBut someone just asked me if I'm on the ground up podcast. And I was like pretty convinced that Travis or somebody else from the crew is like putting you up to ask if if that was me.
RobertBut I guess, you know, our buddy Armand as well, who was on the podcast.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertSo that's how you'd seen it. But yeah, small world.
Ethan MorfYeah. Yeah, dude.
Ari GrodeOh, you know Armand as well?

(01:08):
Ethan MorfYeah. I actually hadn't met him when I met, like, Sawyer Mexico. I'd only seen, like I mean, it's getting out there. i had only seen, like, the Instagram reels of, like, your guys' podcasts with them.
Ethan MorfAnd I was like, who is this kid? Like, he's insane.
Robertah
Ethan MorfAnd then we started texting online about climbing. And, yeah, i met him in the valley this spring, which was super sick.

(01:29):
RobertYeah. Yeah.
Ari GrodeOK.
Roberti remember I was, uh, you were out there when he was working wet Lycra. Um, so yeah, it's full circle moment, but yeah, he's an absolute tank just like yourself. Um,
Ari Grodedid did you ah
Ethan Morfsuch a weapon.
Ari GrodeDid you get up on their, on What Like or Nightmare with him?
Ethan MorfI didn't get on what Lycra when I was in the valley. I was kind of like, since it was near the end of my trip, I was like really psyched to just get out of the valley kind of soon. So I was pretty honed in on my project.

(01:58):
Ethan MorfAnd then once I did it, I was like out of there. But I'm definitely psyched to go onto it. It looks so good.
RobertYeah, yeah, it's all time for sure.
Ari GrodeYeah, i ran and I ran into him outside the gym a couple weeks ago because he's in the same area as me. And man, i he's like, the dedication that he's got is pretty impressive. Like he'd just go up there on Awani ledge and then post on Instagram looking for partners and just be like, I'm up here. If anyone decides to jug my fixed lines, like we can climb.

(02:26):
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan MorfIt's crazy like it is unreal like he's like yeah dude like I'm just gonna go rope solo up there and then like I'll go ask around and I'm just like You're like it's insane to me.
Robertyeah.
Ethan MorfIt's so funny
RobertYeah, the stoke is certainly there. I mean, funnily enough, Ethan, you know, Chris from El Salto as well, too, is one our crew.

(02:46):
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertSo he was down there and I was like, hey, man, like, because Chris is always up for like a little adventure, a bit of a suffer fest.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertSo was like, hey, very random, but... I got a buddy that's trying to work on wet like it right now. Like any chance you or someone, you know, would be down to give this man a catch and he was immediately in it. So I think he jugged up for part of it. And then I think he had a work thing and had to, had to bail on on section of it. But yeah, it's all the, all the El Salto dots are connecting for sure.

(03:14):
RobertWhat, um how long did you end up staying down there?
Ari GrodeSmall world.
RobertWell, because we were kind of in and out. We were there for like two weeks for the project, but you were down there for quite some time, right?
Ethan MorfYeah, I guess I got to Mexico like January ah or something. And then I was there until, I was there until like nearly the end of, Salto until like nearly the end of and February.
RobertOkay.

(03:43):
Ethan MorfAnd then right at the end, i went to La Popa and spent like 10 days there.
RobertOkay.
RobertOkay. What was that like?
Ethan MorfLa Popa? Oh, dude, it was so sick.
RobertYeah.
Ethan MorfIt was crazy.
RobertYeah.
Ethan MorfIt was like, I mean, it was such a hectic turnaround there. We had basically like, yeah, we're in our salto session. And then one night, like we left in the day and then we got all the groceries and shit for La Popa in Monterey.

(04:12):
Ethan MorfAnd then we got to ah EPC at like,
RobertOkay. Nice.
Ethan MorfAt like 10 p.m. maybe. And then the next day we got up at like 5 a.m. to go do El Cendero Luminoso.
Robertnice
Ethan MorfAnd then we had were up there for like 12 or 13 hours.
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan Morfand then we And then we got down. And like so fucking late. And the next day we were leaving we're leaving EPC at like 9 a.m. to go get our donkeys and like go to La Popa.

(04:43):
Ethan Morfgo to the top. It was a really hectic, really hectic few days. But the experience in La Popa was so, it was like, it was magical. It's so cool up there. It's insane.
RobertYeah, I mean, I think that's like kind of all time. a couple couple of things in that little list right there kind of all time for a lot of people. So it's cool that you guys squeezed so much into that. was was that with um Was that with Arlo and Connor and all them? Or like, who are you who are you going on EPC with in La Popa?

(05:09):
Ethan MorfIt was with Arlo, and then, I don't know, did you meet Zavi, the French-Canadian?
Ethan Morfsee yeah He might have got there.
RobertHmm.
RobertDoes he long brown hair?
Ethan Morfno
RobertNo, no, no.
Ethan MorfNo, I think he got there right after you left.
Ethan MorfBut, yeah, I went there with Arlo, Zavi, and then my friend Tim Greenwood that was in Mexico, not this past winter, but the winter before.
RobertOkay.

(05:32):
Ethan MorfAnd, yeah, we were, I guess, like two teams of two.
RobertCool.
RobertNice. Nice. So you'd been down to Mexico before, which kind of makes sense because I feel like you guys were, I mean, your whole crew, but you especially as well, were like really kind of doing some damage while you're down there?
RobertBecause you ended up doing, was it murder weapon 514 or something like that down there?
Ethan MorfYeah.

(05:53):
RobertHow is i was like, I guess from like a project tick list and everything when you went down there, like was that a pretty productive...
Ethan Morfwho
Roberttrip down there, I guess you would say, or was there the more that kind of left on the table you want to go back or like walk us through a little bit since you've been down there a couple of times, like how you started going down to Mexico for the winter and just like what else you kind of were able to manage to squeeze into that one trip. and if there's anything left on the itinerary, I guess, or the wishlist for, for next season.

(06:23):
Ethan MorfYeah. um Yeah. So basically, i guess I went to Mexico. Yeah. Like, no, no last season, the season before. And that like a six months before i went to Mexico, i had like torn my labrum in Yosemite.
Ethan MorfAnd then i like didn't was off climbing like five, six months, maybe. And I had these tickets booked to Mexico already. And I was like, oh, fuck, like, should I go? i don't know. And then was like, I am also a photographer. And I was like, I'll just go there and end up shooting.

(06:55):
Ethan MorfAnd so I just lined up a little photography thing with like a local clothing company. And then we bought the clothes there. And the first, so yeah, the first time was in Mexico, i didn't really climb that much.
Ethan MorfI climbed like I there for like, yeah, little less than a month. And I probably climbed like a handful of days because my shoulders get so fucked. I like couldn't really do much, but I was taking a lot of photos and that was sick.

(07:19):
Ethan MorfAnd then, yeah I got back. I got back to the Okanagan, like back home. We had my shoulder climbed. And then this past winter went back and yeah, I mean, I did like,
Ethan MorfIt was a very productive time in Mexico for me, for sure.
Robertright.
Ethan MorfI mean, this whole States trip and like whole winter was kind of like it really expanding what I thought was possible in my own mind. Like I got there and really did not think I'd be trying out something like murder weapon.

(07:52):
Ethan MorfAnd I was able to do like, yeah, a few 13 pluses. And then my first like 14, a, which was cool. And then, yeah we did. El Cendero ground up in a day, which was cool. And, like, Los Noguales and El Gavilan. Like, all of them, like, total dream boots.
Ethan MorfAnd, like, just had, like, the fucking sickest few weeks, if like, month of my life. It just seshed. It danced a lot, which was awesome.

(08:18):
Robertnice nice
Ethan MorfAnd then... Yeah, I don't know. Leaving Mexico, I was kind of like, I feel very satisfied. i'm kind of like, I think I'll come back in a few years and there's definitely like, I mean, El Salto in Mexico is like so much like infinite climbing. That's so good.
Ethan MorfAnd the scene is so good. But um I think I'm gonna like take a step back to the next few seasons and go do go to some other places for the winter. Yeah.

(08:43):
Robertcool no
Ari GrodeWas there a big learning curve with, cause I know you're, you're from Squamish and you grew up climbing on a lot of like your, your, most your career has been spent climbing these like granite routes where, you know, the feet are non-existent or you're following crack features or whatever, you know, granite climbing couldn't be more opposite than a steep limestone.

(09:03):
Ari GrodeSo was there, was there like a big learning curve there did, did it, I don't know, did it just kind of come together?
RobertThank you.
Ethan MorfI mean, it was definitely a bit of a learning curve for me. I've done like, I'd say I'm pretty balanced in my mix of disciplines and climbing like I love bouldering I love sport climbing I love track climbing but I've done like the only limestone sport climbing I've done has been in Mexico and so basically that like month was my only month really limestone sport climbing like the Mexico season before I did like a few pitches and I was like this is fucking hard and then yeah I mean I

(09:40):
Ethan Morfcut On my first few days there this season, i like couldn't, I mean, I'm like 12 minus. I was like falling. i was like dogging up like 12 minus. And I was just like, this is, I was like, it's so steep. And like, I don't know. I was just like,
Ethan MorfIt was hard. Like it's just steep and but the feet are big insanely polished though. It's crazy on limestone. But after like a week of being there, think it's climbing like as much as I can every day. i feel like I guess like I don't know.

(10:12):
Ethan MorfI feel like I picked it up pretty fast and it worked out thankfully. Yeah.
Ari GrodeYeah, i'm sure I'm sure you take a limestone sport climber and you put them on some ah some nice smooth granite and they have the same reaction. So other but that yeah, it is it is it is kind of wild how quickly you kind of adapt to the styles, like how something can go from so impossible to pretty kind comfortable so quickly.
Ethan MorfYeah, for sure.

(10:34):
Ethan Morfyeah yeah
Ari GrodeIt's cool to hear.
RobertYeah, and definitely like as a guy who ah I think the highlight of my El Salto climbing, granted I wasn't climbing too many days. I was kind of more focused on the film project, obviously.
RobertBut like me hang-dogging my way up the 512s was like the highlight. So I would certainly say you you had a productive time down there. I think it's probably... Worth circling back to Squamish though, right? Because that's kind of where this all started. And you've been climbing for what?

(11:05):
RobertFour, four and a half years now?
Ethan MorfYeah, like four and a half years now.
RobertIs that...
Ethan MorfYeah, pretty much.
RobertOkay. um I think it's pretty incredible, at least for us to like, think about everything that you've already ticked off. Like some of those routes, as you mentioned, just on this one trip, like for some people, those are lifetime type days.
RobertRight. So I think it'd be really cool to kind of like understand how you first got introduced to climbing when you're in Canada and like
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.

(11:32):
Roberthow you seemingly progressed as quickly as you did in, in a sport where, especially with big walls, like there is usually such a steep learning curve and yeah, kind of paint the picture of like when you first got introduced to climbing and how it grew from there.
Ethan MorfYeah, so, um, it's kind of funny, I guess, like, when I was younger, i was i was very much, like, not an outdoorsy kid at all. Like, I did a lot of skiing and stuff, because that's, like, the thing where from.

(12:01):
Ethan MorfBut I, like, oh I just played so much video games, like, I really hated outdoors, kind of. And then... I did a lot skateboarding too, but that was about it. And then when I was like 15 one day, me and my dad like went on this hike in the mountains in Canada, guess on a random weekend for fun.
Ethan MorfAnd I had like this like little scramble at the top, this little dihedral. And I was like, we just did it. i was like, damn, that was so sick. Like, is this a thing? And then i think that I went home and like,

(12:33):
Ethan Morfwe watched the Dawn Wall or something. And I was like, oh, that's cool. Like, I want to try that. And think, yeah. And then we, it was 20, winter of like 2021, think.
Ethan MorfAnd then we, I started going to the climbing gym with my friends and we get like session in the gym for a few, ah few months. And like, This is awesome. But then the second it warmed up, like it's time to like go outside and do like do the Dawn Wall things, like climb on rock.

(13:04):
Ethan MorfAnd we it like we just had no mentors, though.
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan Morflike Our local scene in Skaha, it's quite small. There's like definitely experienced people out there, but it's like kind of hard to find them, I thought. So basically, me and my friend, like we just...
Ethan MorfI went and like bought a rope and ATC and draws and stuff. And like, he got a shoes harness chalk bag and we just started like going out to the Craig and like watching YouTube videos on like how to top rope belay. There was like, I remember very vividly, there was like REI videos on like how to tie a figure eight and how to use an ATC to belay.

(13:45):
Ethan MorfSo we didn't a guidebook either. So we'd just like go to random crags that like, was on very small niche websites in Canada. Like we don't have mountain projects that much.
Robertyou
Ethan MorfAnd we just would like go to Craig's. We could like walk to the top and reach over and like put on your top rope. And then we're just like, dash like five, like five nines and stuff.

(14:09):
RobertNice.
Ethan MorfAnd then after like two days of top rope, we're like, Oh, it's time to do a lead climb. And then like, I remember leading my first pitch and it was like some 10 B and I was so, so gripped.
Ethan MorfAnd my friend had just learned how to play on YouTube. And then we'll, I like get to the anchor and I like go in direct and I like pull up my phone and I'm like searching up, like, how do I get my stuff back from this climb?

(14:35):
Ethan MorfCause I couldn't just walk to the top.
Ari GrodeI don't know.
Ethan MorfAnd so, yeah. Locked to the top, watched a YouTube video. And yeah, basically learned everything off of YouTube, which was very fun. I'm glad we survived.
Ethan MorfIt worked out.
RobertYeah.
Ethan MorfAnd yeah, that first season, like, i don't know, we get psyched. Like, we just get out, like, every day after school. Like, our parents are driving to the Craig. It was, like, right before we got a license.

(15:01):
Ethan MorfAnd we're, like, just dog every 5, 10. It was crazy. Like, I would, like... We'd yo-yo everything in the park. So basically I would like, I would go like one or two bolts up on some like 10 minus and like, God, dude, this is, this is nails. I can't go any higher. And then I would lower it to the ground.
Ethan MorfMy friend would tie in and then he would push it one bolt further and be like, no, I can't do it. This is, this is messed. And then we'd just do that on like one pitch for like six hours in a day. And we'd do that one pitch and we're like, call it a day.

(15:35):
Ethan MorfAnd yeah, we're getting like frothing. And then that winter, I guess like moon boarded. i guess like I worked in, um I still go into school.
Ethan MorfAnd then I was like working ah like a pizzeria. And I just like moonboarded every day at the gym. Like no warmup, had no tactics. I could show up and moonboard.

(15:57):
Ethan MorfAnd then I went back climbing the next outdoor season and it like changed the game. I was like, wow, I can pull on holds. Like my first few weeks back, I did my first 512. It was like a 12B.
Ethan MorfAnd I'd only done 11C before that. So I was like really psyched. Minigs went from there. Yeah.
RobertWait, sorry, so when was the first 512B?

(16:18):
Ethan MorfIt was my second my second season climbing. So, like, my first season, that summer of, like, dogging every 510. And then right at the end, I did an 11C when I learned, like, you could try things multiple times and then do them.
RobertYep.
RobertRight, right.
Ethan MorfI learned what projecting was, basically. And then it was, like, in March of 2020. twenty 2022 then, I guess. it's ah It's hard to think of the dates, but I think that's when.

(16:48):
Ethan MorfAnd yeah, I did my first 12B and that was, it really opened my eyes. i was like and into just like projecting and like how much training actually helps and stuff too.
Ethan MorfAnd like bouldering and being multidisciplined. So yeah.
Ari GrodeIt's kind of, it's kind of funny. You you almost took like an old school approach combined, like, or like married with a new school approach. You know, all the guys back in the day, i was like, the thing was to yo-yo roots, you know, they'd work as a team to push the rope higher until they eventually got the ascent.

(17:19):
Ari GrodeAnd then, you know, Mary in the training tools that we have available to ourselves now with like the moon board, I guess you, yeah.
RobertYeah. Kilter board, YouTube, you know, just like new age, old school.
Ethan Morfyeah exactly.
RobertIncredible. That's amazing.
Ari GrodeWhat was the what was the but was the climbing you were doing like? I mean, was this all all sport climbing, kind of it just local crags, or what was kind of the scene?

(17:42):
Ethan MorfYeah, it was it was all sport climbing. Basically, i grew up in... it's like I grew up in this small town. It's Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Very small. And it's like 30 minutes away from this like quite good sport climbing area called Tsukaha.
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan MorfAnd yeah, it's just like all sport climbing. like It's really well known for like slightly overhanging, crimpy roots. like It's a lot of... it a lot of shift routes like it's not insane but it's like there's definitely a lot shift routes and so it ends up being a lot of like crazy crimp ladders and stuff like that and it's like i find it very very fun there yeah it exactly like slightly off vert and like big walls like very long routes like very enduro stuff which is very yeah i love it

(18:24):
Robertlike slightly off like kind of steep, but nothing crazy.
RobertYeah, I mean, that sounds like a blast. i like I grew up playing soccer my whole life and I played in college and stuff. So for me, after school was always soccer, but I'm always envious when I hear about people like yourself that's like, okay, after school, I'm going to go hang with my boy and we're just going to like hit the crag and have a blast.

(18:53):
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertSo I mean, I think that that probably lends itself to progressing quickly as you did, but it's still kind of astonishing me.
Roberthearing someone that says, yeah, in my first, basically full year of climbing, right? Like a season, season and a half, take down a 512B.
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
RobertIs there anything that you think attributed to the fact that you were able to progress as quickly as you have been able to?
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.

(19:19):
RobertObviously, like this is a theme and a trend that has carried on ah beyond just like your first season or two seasons sport climbing. But is there anything like, is it, because you were frothing and you're always training and always kind of working at it? Or was there like anything else that you kind of think helped you find the early success that you did? Because 512, I mean, even 11C in your first season out at the crag, like that's not exactly the most common story you ever hear, you know?

(19:46):
Ethan Morfhey Yeah. I mean, I'm sure it's a big, a big mix of things for me, but I think that one thing that I've really found in my climbing that has helped me just progress so much so consistently is that i I, don't, I guess feel like a very,
Ethan Morfwhen I like hone in on a goal or an idea, it's like, that is all that I'm doing. Like I'm making every, every choice that I'm making is hopefully something that is like going to bring me towards my goal.

(20:16):
Ethan MorfAnd so it's like, it does come at the sacrifice of other things in my life, in my life. But like, I think usually all the progression has been t was just like frothing and being very like,
Ethan Morfdedicated and honed in on goals. And like, I remember like on my first like five 12s, like that 12 my first like 12 C I was already looking for new tactics to like do these things faster.

(20:44):
Ethan MorfSo like on my second five 12, I was like writing down all the beta, like memorizing everything, rehearsing it in my head, not realizing that these are tactics that are like going to help me so much in the longterm.
Ethan MorfSo yeah, I think it's just like tactics. And also I think, yeah, I guess being ultra psyched, like trying so hard. i feel like that's a good gift that I have. i can like try very hard when I want to.

(21:11):
Ari GrodeSo, okay.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari GrodeSo you're, you're working on these, you're kind of progressing through the grades a little bit, employing some training, learning bill, I would say laying a nice, uh, building some good habits that are leading towards, uh, you know, like a proficiency in, in, in pushing your, your climbing grades.
Ari GrodeBut mean, when did you start, Or where did your climbing go from there? I mean, eventually where did you kind of set your sights on some of these bigger goals that you you started to work towards?

(21:41):
Ethan Morfhey um I guess like I've always i guess like my biggest goal is always like freeing El Cap like I watched the Dawn Wall and then I like watched me solo and then I'm like wow like El Cap like that is it I need to go there and climb that and then i guess Yeah, like, I very quickly started getting very into, like, climbing media.

(22:09):
Ethan MorfI mean, super classic, like, teenage boy gets into climbing. It's whole it's his whole personality. Like, all I did was watch the old dosages and return to sender and stuff and being, like, lucky.
Ari GrodeOh yeah? Okay.
Ethan MorfI was very drawn to old, like, the trad climbing stuff, like Tommy and Yosemite and, like, all, like, the Squamish stuff. I mean, like, Didier vs. the Cobra. I remember watching that.

(22:33):
Ethan Morflike in the winter that I was like moonboarding a lot. I was like, I'm going to Squamish and I want, like, I haven't tried it yet. I want to touch it. But like, I was like, I'm going to Squamish.
Ethan MorfI'm going to do Cobra crack one day. Like that was like huge goal. And obviously still is, but I like basically graduated high school. And like the day after i graduated, I drove like my van to Squamish.

(23:01):
Ethan MorfAnd then I lived in, my van in Squamish for a month and like met the community and then I like went to the Bugaboos and that whole first like summer in Squamish really solidified all my goals and like taught me what I love to do it's like this great get the aesthetics I got like super in love with certain lines and like certain kinds of climbing yeah get something like

(23:25):
Ari Grodewhat what is it What is it like about that or what was it about Squamish or the characters there that I guess got you so psyched or drew you in? I mean, was it the people like like a Didier a Sonny Trotter or was it you know the particular lines or yeah?
Ethan MorfI think it was definitely, for me at first, it was like the lines and the climbing. Because like I started watching those and then I was like trad climbing in Skaha. Like I bought a rack and then I was just like learning how to trad climb via YouTube.

(23:52):
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan Morfand
Robertbut
Ethan MorfBut it's like so, all the cracks in Skaha, like so bad, like incredibly not splitter. was just so gripped all the time. And then I was like watching these videos squall rush and be like, wow, those cracks look so good.
Ethan MorfAnd it was definitely the lines that like brought me there. But then what has kept me here is definitely like the people and the community. Like it's like such, but such a good scene here. Like I love it. It's so good.

(24:24):
RobertThat's awesome. So I got a follow-up question on that for sure. Just thinking back on my my learning curve for trad and like placing gear and all of that.
RobertLike you're learning on YouTube, you're looking at placements.
Ethan MorfYes.
RobertIs it one of those situations where you don't know enough to be worried about like some of the potential dangers or anything of like placing trad gear and like that? Or are you like terrified and you're just like rewatching YouTube videos like 12 times? Like, is that place right? Am I good? And like, like what was that process light of like of just like learning how to place gear like via the internet as opposed to having a mentor? Like you mentioned, you didn't really have one necessarily. You guys were just figuring out as you were going.

(25:06):
Ethan MorfYeah, I would say it was definitely probably more of like a ignorance is bliss situation. I remember ah my first trad lead ever was on like some 5-5 with my friend who had just bought his trad rack.
Ethan MorfAnd he didn't know anything either. And we're like, let's just go climb a crack. And I remember climbing it and like po placing and this point, I hadn't watched YouTube videos. i was just like, i'll guess like seems easy enough. Like, let's go figure it out.

(25:34):
Ethan MorfAnd then I like was placing gear. And every time i would like my foot would hit a piece of gear, it would literally just fall out of the crack. And I was just like, this trad climbing thing is so sketchy.
Ethan MorfI can't, I thought it was just normal. I can't believe people do this.
RobertWhat?
Ethan MorfAnd then, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos. And I think my first, like that first experience climbing trad was so jank that I was like, oh, everything is staying in the rock. Like I'm totally chilling.

(26:05):
Ethan MorfLike it's not, it's falling out. I'm sure I'll be fine. But it definitely came to bite me in the ass a bit. Like, my first season in Squamish, I was there for, like, yeah, I was there for, like, three or four weeks.
Ethan MorfAnd on, like, week two, I was like, oh, I want to try and onsite this, like, single crack. It looks so good. And like we rock up to it and yeah, I guess I started climbing it and it kind of had like a little bit of a lip on the crack.

(26:34):
Ethan MorfAnd obviously I wasn't very good at placing gear yet. And I'm like at the crux, halfway up the wall and the my piece is like a few feet below my foot. And I'm like, cruxing out super hard. was like, oh, I'm, I'm just gonna, like, whip right now.
Ethan Morfand then I let go. and the piece is like, ping, like, straight out of the rock. See you later. And then, i had this, like, little.1 that was so shit. And like, it like,

(27:02):
Ethan MorfGot tight a tiny bit, but I like decked pretty hard. It was like right by these railway tracks. So the ground was flat like pebbles, which was nice. But I guess it landed completely flat on my back at this crag.
Ethan MorfAnd there was like these other old guys there. They're like, holy shit, dude. Like that was crazy. and Yeah, that was definitely a pretty wild first decking experience.

(27:26):
Ari Grodeah first deck
RobertWow.
Ari Grodewell i mean what was there any like what was the aftermath i mean were you injured at all or you just popped back up
RobertOh, no, you definitely got right.
Ethan Morfi yeah I was like, I basically like landed and my son like, Oh my God, are you okay?
RobertYou got right back up on the route. I'm like, oh, I'll try that one again, didn't you?
Ethan MorfAnd I was like, yeah, I'm fine. And that's like my, everything kind of hurt a bit, but nothing was like lots of adrenaline. i was like, oh I think I'm fine. And then I sat there for a few minutes and then I, went back up and like, so I was like, I don't want to build a mental block. I just have to go for it right away right now.

(27:59):
Ethan MorfThen I pulled the rope and then tried it again. And I did not send it the second time. i was really gripped, but I did not deck and I got to the top.
Robertprecise
Ethan MorfLike that was nice.
Robertand that's That's progress, baby. That's all you can ask for. That's amazing.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertHave you since sent the route? I'm hoping so.
Ethan MorfYes.
RobertNice.
Ethan Morfi like I went back to it one more time, and I did end up having like kind of a mental block on it.
RobertNice.

(28:24):
Ethan Morflike I'd get to the place and be like, oh my god, like I'm just going to hit the ground right now. But then I went back the next season, and then I get to the first go, and I was like, oh it's actually okay, now that I know how to play Skier a bit more.
Ethan MorfBut yeah.
Ari Grodeit is It is amazing.
RobertThat's awesome.
Ari Grodelike you you you know Once you kind of know how to place gear, you kind of just you forget that it could be that difficult to or like that possible to place gear that poorly. But you know you give people some trad gear who don't really know what they're doing.

(28:49):
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari Grodelike even if they're good climbers and it always blows my mind how bad placements can look that you're like, you know, you just you touch it with your finger or move the rope a little bit and it just comes right out of the rock.
Ethan MorfYeah. it
Ari GrodeI'm sure I was the exact same way. Cause I mean, I, you know, when I got into trad climbing, I just kind of brought a rack up and climbed some easy stuff. And I'm sure the gear was just atrocious. Like, don't even want to know what it looked like.

(29:16):
RobertOh yeah. I remember, i remember I, uh, I was on whiskey sour Ari with, uh, there's like a five, six at one of the crags that myself, Ari, and some of our friends used to climb at in North Carolina.
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
RobertAnd like, same thing as you were like, yeah, I'm on this five, five, five, six. I'm not going to fall. Hopefully I learned how to place gear along the way. And like my buddy, fault my buddy, Josh followed up and was like, yeah, I'm pretty sure you were just free soul.
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.

(29:38):
RobertAnd that whole thing is he's just pulling cams out left and right without putting the triggers. So yeah.
Ethan Morfoh
RobertYeah, we'veve we've all been there for sure. i think the the moral story is certainly learn on the ah the lower grades. But yeah, it's ah it's definitely like a progress thing that like all of a sudden it just clicks.
RobertAnd and yeah, like like Ari said, you forget that like you can place it as poorly as as is possible. So that's funny.

(30:02):
Ethan Morfyeah.
Robertum Go ahead, Ari.
Ari GrodeSo as a, go ahead. No, I, I was going to ask. Um, so aside from, you know, your first decks and, you know, not really knowing what you were doing with the trad gear, uh, how did that first season in Squamish go? I mean, did you, did you find any mentors or did you find a crew that kind of was able to impart some wisdom on you about maybe how to, how to safely trad climb? Like what did, what did that kind of look like?

(30:27):
Ethan Morfyeah um Yeah, thankfully I did find a crew and I survived the season, which was nice.
Ari Grodeah
Ethan MorfBut yeah, basically I got there and I was pretty shy when I first got there. The scene was really like, it's kind of different nowadays, but Then it was, like, very prime era of the dirt lot in Squamish. Like, at the chief campground, you have, like, the chief parking lot for, like, the day is the day lot for the visitors. It's paved.

(30:55):
Ethan MorfAnd then, like, there's the actual campground right there. And there's this, like, dirt lot where people park to go set up, like, tents and stuff. And, like, all the van lifers and dirt bags have, like,
Ethan Morftotally taken it over. It's just like no people staying in tents. Like it was just like rows, like a hundred bands, everyone's staying in it. And I just like rolled up there, immediately learned that I could just like post up there and it was no worries.

(31:21):
Ethan MorfAnd i was just hanging out for a few days, climbing with people from Facebook. And then, um, yeah, some, one of my friends, like one of my good friends nowadays walked up to me and he's, his name is Mateo. And he was like,
Ethan Morfhey, dude, I've seen you around. Like, do you just want to come hang out with us? You're always just, like, alone. and I was like, oh, yeah, sure. I'd love to come hang. And, I was quickly taken under the wing of this, like, amazing group of dirtbags. Like, yeah, it was awesome. Like, it was just, they're all, was 17 at the time, so they're all quite a bit older than me.

(31:55):
Ethan MorfBut it was like, I don't know, yeah, it's like this little family. They took me under the wing, and we, like, was climbing every day with them on different multi-pitches, and, like, I had an amazing season.
Ethan Morfi ended up doing a bunch of boots in Squamish I was psyched on. Like I climbed. I climbed the Grand Wall. I climbed like 11 plus trad. I like, it was our first month like learning trad and it was like, yeah, i mean, it was amazing.

(32:20):
Ethan MorfAnd then right after that, i ended up going to the Bugaboos with some friends from Squamish, which was like insane experience because I had just learned a trad climb. And then I was in this amazing Alpine environment. Yeah, it was like the best summer i could have ever asked for for sure.
Robertthat That's awesome. How long were you in the Bugaboos for?

(32:41):
Ethan MorfI was there for like, first I went up with some friends from the Okanagan and I was there with them for like five days maybe. And then I left and then my friend from Squamish was like, let's go back in. Like, it's so good.
Ethan MorfAnd then I went back up for another like four days or something. So I was there for like a little little over a week.
RobertNice.
RobertYeah, that's awesome. I mean, it sounds like that's like a summer and like a chapter of your life that you'll just like never forget. I mean, that's that's super special. With the Chief, I mean, obviously it's such a striking piece of rock and just floating and in Squamish, right?

(33:16):
Robertum
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
RobertWhat was like some of those early memories, like ah any routes or any lines stand out to you? Like any any absolute classics like for you that if someone is spending... two weeks up in Squamish, like they have, they cannot leave without getting on or anything like that. Like, what were some of those like early ones that really kind of stood out to you and and also kind of showed you like, oh, like I really can keep at this. Like, this is like my path to the Donwall and El Cap and all of that.

(33:47):
Ethan Morfum I would say like absolute. I mean, the thing is like the busy, they're all pretty busy, these classic roots. And it's like, for good reason, they're amazing.
Ethan MorfBut like, all you guys probably like heard of the Grand Wall. I mean, it's like amazing.
RobertRight.
Ari GrodeMm-hmm.
Ethan MorfYou cannot miss it. It's so good. And then there's some stuff on Slahani we ended up climbing called like, I think it was, It's rainy, rain something. or It's like, it starts on this route called Halley's Comet. Insanely good.

(34:20):
Ethan Morf11A. I don't know. It's like those early day routes that can't miss. I mean, i ended up just climbing like super classics. Like if you go to Squamish, you look at the guidebook, it's like, the top 100s, like, Angel's Crest, Crime the Century, Grand Wall, like, Sunset Strip.
Ethan MorfAll of these are, like, in so good. You cannot miss them if you come to Squamish. And those are definitely my early day things. And I was like, yeah, I mean, they're kind of big. I mean, the Chiefs, it's not huge, but it's like,

(34:49):
Ethan Morf12 pitches kind of maybe a bit bigger in places and it's like you're sort of like oh like you can climb big things and like i love the whole all-day aspect of it and it was really like oh i want like it really made me like okay el cap is like probably more realistic because it's like just like three chiefs and you've done el cap so yeah

(35:11):
Ari GrodeYeah, I want to, I want to, wanted to circle back to something you said, ah maybe like 10 or 15 minutes ago.
RobertThank you.
Ari Grodeum you said something about like after that first summer in Squamish, you know, it really solidified, ah you know, your path or your, your kind of your goals in climbing.
Ari Grodeah you want to circle back to that and just elaborate kind of what you meant and what that looked like post that first climbing season there.

(35:35):
Ethan Morfyou um I guess like, i don't know, before going to Squamish, like, I knew of all these climbs and I knew that like, obviously people go do them, but I didn't know how like how sustainable it was to live on the road and be able to do it and how fulfilling the community was and everything.

(36:00):
Ethan MorfAnd so I got there. i like kind of learned about the whole dirtbagging culture and like people traveling for climbing and just like living very cheaply, like how to make it realistic.
Ethan MorfAnd it was really like, oh, I can like go travel for extended amounts of time, go do all these goals and like, feel very fulfilled at the same time. don't know, it all gets became very realistic to me. And like the progression with my climbing, I was like, Oh, maybe it is realistic to like get on our cap one day kind of thing.

(36:33):
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertAmazing. Yeah. I mean, i can I can only imagine like just especially you said you were like 17 at the time, just like how many like like formidable and like transformative experiences you probably had like within that month in Squamish, like alone. So yeah, it sounds super unique. It sounds like such a rad experience. Yeah.

(36:57):
RobertWith that season kind of coming to a close, like what was but was next after that month in Squamish and going up to the Bugaboos? Like what was like kind of that next little phase for you?
Ethan MorfYeah, so it was a weird period for me. i kind of like was in Squamish, learned about the whole dirtbagging thing, went to the bugs. i like, this is awesome. And then after the summer ended, was like, okay, like, guess I just go home and work and I'll come back the next summer.

(37:25):
Ethan MorfAnd then I'm like at home working in this like greasy kitchen. And I was looking on Instagram and I'm like, all my friends are in this place called Indian Creek. Like that looks very good.
Ethan MorfAnd then like the Indy 70, I'm like, what the hell is going on? and I just like did not realize that I had missed a memo that everyone just keeps going. Like it doesn't just end after Squamish.

(37:49):
Ethan MorfAnd ah so I kind of just spent another winter on the moon board working and making money and stuff. And then the next summer I was like, I'm going to Squamish and then I'm going to keep going and it's going to be sick.
Ethan MorfSo, yeah.
Robertah Oh, amazing. Okay. So we spend the winter in the, on the moon board, get absolutely jacked and strong, right?
Ari GrodeAnd is it

(38:10):
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertYou save up, save up some money.
Robertyou go to Squamish. What's after Squamish? Like what's like that immediate. Okay. Like I'm, I'm with my boys now. Like we're, we're traveling. We're hitting the road. Like, where'd you guys go from there?
Ethan MorfYeah, so it was, it's good to it's a little grim, but basically was in Squamish, and i like, in Squamish, I got the most insane tendonitis.

(38:32):
Ethan MorfIt was so messed. I was just, like, crazy injured all summer, and I, like, barely climbed.
RobertOh.
Ethan MorfI climbed with a shit ton of off-width and stuff, and I didn't, like, I had that more of like a victim mentality and I was just like, God, like, what is it going to be fixed? It's resting, waiting for it to go away.
Ethan MorfAnd then eventually it like kind of got better. And then I went to Yosemite right after. And within the week in Yosemite, that's when I tore my labrum. So I was like there, i climbed the Staxalathe, climbed generator crack.

(38:58):
Robertoh
Ethan MorfAnd then like a few days later, toy my labrum on separate reality. And then I was going to go to the creek, go to these places, but then, yeah, that winter i ended up going back home again and then just like doing, hitting legs every day and rehabbing my shoulder until it was better.

(39:23):
Ethan MorfAnd then that's the winter to I went to Mexico the first time and just took photos and stuff. And then the next winter, this like past winter, basically, that's when I got to the circuit for the first time.
RobertGotcha.
Ari GrodeSo what...
RobertGotcha, gotcha.
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari Grodewhat What happened on this separate reality? like you know how you like what happened to Tara the Layroom?

(39:43):
Ethan MorfYeah. So basically it's just on it. Like at the end, there's like this little boulder problem. I don't know if you guys have been on it, but it's like you get a few thin hand jams and there's like a little crimp out there.
Ari GrodeUh-huh.
Ethan MorfAnd I don't know, I guess, I think I'm a little bit injury prone and I like hadn't learned how to really like do injury preventative stuff yet. And so I was like, no warmup, hop on it.

(40:08):
Ethan MorfAnd then I guess like, get this Gaston in the crack, like behind my head kind of. And then I like reach up, hit this jug and do this like massive swing, like to bring my feet in.
Ethan MorfAnd i was like kind of scorpion. But then as I swung through, my shoulder was just like on the whole swing. And i was like, oh, that wasn't good.
Ari Grodeno
Ethan MorfAnd I could just feel like instant weakness. And then I just dropped off and I couldn't really move my arm after that much for the next like few days. was like, this is not good. So yeah.

(40:39):
Ari GrodeCurious, what was it like? i mean, you you'd spent the whole ah winter, you know, working, saving money with this master plan of, okay, I'm going to go to Squamish and then I'm goingnna go to go creek and I'm going to go to the valley and I'm going to live this like extended dirtbag life.
Ari GrodeAnd you get to Squamish and you're fighting all this, all these injuries with the tendonitis. And then you finally make it to Yosemite and you tear your labrum. I mean, what was the, what was the mentality like there? I mean, was that just like, or how did, how did you kind of handle that?

(41:08):
Ethan Morfit was definiteaf It was really... i mean, it kind of rocked my world a little bit because I learned, oh, this is my path. like This is what I want to do, whatever. And then it was just kind of like... I don't know. it was we I was just like... At that time, i had all these injuries and I wasn't like... I did the tendonitis.
Ethan MorfI wasn't like doing rehabbing things. I was just like hanging and stuff instead of like climbing because I couldn't climb. and After I tore my labrum, I was kind of just like, oh, like, should i I, was really contemplating just like stopping climbing and just being like, okay, like it's time to just go to school and like do normal, normal people things.

(41:51):
Ethan MorfAnd then, but I was like, oh, I, I could either like stop or give it like a really good, give it everything I have, see if it works out. If it doesn't like, I'll just go do my own thing.
Ethan MorfCause I really don't like doing stuff. at a very like, I would say low, like hobby, like, I guess climbing is more of a passion. Like I don't like is like chilling on things. like I would find it very hard. Just like, I guess I'll just like go to, so I guess I guess hang out and like do five times and stuff.

(42:25):
Ethan MorfI was like, I'm either here to climb or I'm like, not going to do this. So after I tore my labrum, I was really gets like, I'm going to do everything I can.
Ethan Morfto make my body healthy and like go and try and climb. And it really made me a lot more focused after that. I feel like after I got back climbing from the injury, I've instantly just like way stronger, way more focused and honed in.

(42:52):
Ethan MorfIt really changed. Like I used to like got way more dedicated after it, way more psyched. Yeah.
Ari GrodeAnd what did that kind of look like? I mean, were you, uh, I guess two questions. I mean, what were some of those tactics, I guess, that you implemented to, you know, future proof your body. So that way you could kind of go all in, like you said, on this climbing thing. And then I guess too, just to set some context, I mean, what was your, you know, we had talked about kind of your climbing ability or level grade wise, uh, you know,

(43:24):
Ari Grodea couple of seasons ago. I mean, were you still seeing incremental progress or was this like you'd kind of plateaued and then this, you know, some of these things that you did ultimately kind of helped you level up?
Ethan MorfYeah, so it was like, I mean, I guess I'll do like the progress thing first. But basically, like, that summer that I had tendinitis, I had a really good start to it. was crying I climbed my first like 12 pluses on gear. I was like, oh, it's going very good.

(43:54):
Ethan MorfAnd then I really like plateaued out with my injury and like wasn't improving that much. And then i started like, once it injured my shoulder, i guess it was like,
Ethan MorfYeah, I guess I really learned a lot of stuff that is normal for a lot of people, but I thought I could just get away with not doing so like basically nowadays, I like it's very old man vibe, but I do like a 30 or 45 minute warm up for like every day I climb basically.

(44:24):
Ethan MorfIf I'm going to the Craig, if I'm going bouldering, if I'm doing anything, Unless it's like five ten or like 11 minus, like I'm doing like a massive warmup to make my body feel good and going through every muscle group.
Ethan MorfAnd I'm doing just like a lot of stretching.
Ari GrodeThank you.
Ethan MorfI like... This is kind of funny. I like was a very, very picky eater growing up. I like almost ate no vegetables. And in Yosemite, the first few times I was like, for the first time, I was like, my friends were introducing me to vegetables. Like, this is a sweet potato. And like, this is a zucchini. And we're having like a new vegetable every week.

(45:01):
Ethan MorfAnd then once it hit my shoulder, i was like, I can't just eat Annie's and hot dogs every night. I need to like probably have nutrients. So now I like try to eat well and stuff like that. And that has like made me feel very good and doing a lot of lifting. I do love a lot of bench press and shit like that. And instantly like I just felt like so much more of a unit getting back into climbing.

(45:24):
Ethan MorfI just feel very much more resilient to it all.
RobertOkay, well, that might be a like a good way to to transition, I guess, into ah maybe maybe a little bit of El Cap.
Ethan Morfyou
RobertSo you you go to Yosemite, you start getting on your Popeye grind, eating some spinach, you know getting the nutrients and everything. when is ah When does like the ultimate goal start to come to fruition? I'm like, okay, you realize that this is very doable where I want to I wanna go live the Donwall life, right? I wanna go up LCAP.

(46:00):
RobertAnd when when does like the site start to get set on that and and walk us through that a bit? Cause you've mentioned you've been to Yosemite a couple times now, right? So when does like the the big goal start to come into play?
Ethan Morfme
Ethan MorfYeah, so I guess I always wanted to free free rider and like any style. When I started climbing, I imagined it would be like wrapping in and working it like I guess thought that was the way.

(46:24):
Ethan MorfAnd then ah my first time the assembly when I tore my shoulder, I was gonna go up free rider with my friend and we were gonna go ground up because we got very sick. Like I'm very psyched on that style nowadays. And I was like, we're gonna go ground up.
Ethan MorfThat tore my shoulder like this is the time. But then yeah, I guess like the summer previous to the this past assembly season, I was just like, feeling very fit and ready to go and I we did like a practice wall in Squamish where we like walled out the chief over two days and tried this route and I was just like oh what I don't know it gets like at some point i was like I never felt ready but I just like I have to go try and see what's up and yeah I mean we went up El Cap in October and like we were ready i mean we ended up doing Freerider over seven days which was super sick and then after that

(47:18):
Ethan Morfit was It was still a huge leap in my mind to do it in a day. But I was like i was kind of's like, if you take away the bags, like i mean hauling sucks. like You could go so fast without bags.
Ethan MorfBut yeah, I guess it was after that Squamish season.
Ari Grodeso that that that first attempt you guys or the first seven day push you guys did manage to free it

(47:39):
Ethan MorfYeah, I, um, it's, we were kind of, there's like a team of four, like two teams of two, but we're like leapfrogging and then I freed it. And then my other friend got pretty close.
Ethan MorfEveryone was kind of going like at three years, three as can be kind of clear.
Ari Grodeokay okay
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
Ari Grodeokay So did did you immediately think like, mean, you mentioned trying to do it in a day. I mean, was that like the next obvious goal or.

(48:08):
Ethan MorfUm, it was like, I see the next obvious goal at first was like, oh, now I try Golden Gate. Like I try different routes.
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan MorfBut then, i don't know, I just like, it was always in the back of my mind. And my friend Sam, which I'm Sam Stroh, like one of my mentors nowadays, kind of, he was like,

(48:30):
Ethan Morfoh Dude, like if you do it in the spring like you'll be the youngest like he was the youngest before me and he was like I don't know it's fun having that little friendly competition and he was just like dude you should go try it and I don't know I found it hard to believe in myself, but he like obviously truly believed in me so I was like it seems golden gate seems sick but doing Freeing out half in a day just kind of seems like the pinnacle of free climbing in my mind.

(48:58):
Ethan MorfLike, doing that much climbing in a day is like the sickest thing ever.
Ari GrodeOh, totally. I mean, you're leaving the ground with like relatively small rack, you know, and, and, and a bit of equipment and you're, mean, you're just going to the top.
RobertYeah, absolutely.
Ari GrodeThere's no, like, there's no seaging.
Ethan MorfYeah, exactly.
Ari GrodeThere's yeah, it's, it, it looks, I mean, yeah, it's bad-ass cause you know, for sure.

(49:20):
Ethan MorfYou get to climb 3000 feet. Like it's so sick. We get to climb so much rock. Like it's amazing. Oh yeah. Very fun.
RobertYeah, Ari and I had ah hope, dreams, and aspirations of of of doing part a part of it in a day, and it ended pretty quickly on the second pitch.
Ari GrodeSo i what did that ahead? good
RobertBut um yeah, I mean, you look up you look up at it from underneath, and you're like, wow, that is so much more rock than I thought. You know, like, because obviously, like, LCAP from a distance, right?

(49:49):
RobertLike, you think you have an idea of the scale and everything, but then, like, once you pull on, you're like, this is...
Ethan Morfmean
Robertwild So, yeah, I'm sure you guys were just absolutely buzzing, just riding it to the top.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Robertwhat um What were you going to say there, Ari?
Ari GrodeNo, I wanted to just hear about the process of, you know, how you kind of went from doing it over seven days to like, you know, working towards that goal of of freeing LCAP and, you know, under 24
RobertYeah, yeah.

(50:17):
Ethan MorfYeah. So, I guess it was like
Ethan MorfIt was weird. It was mostly a big thing of it was kind of versus the mental thing of believing. Like, I was in Australia the month before, and I had this, like, pretty bad finger injury there.
Ethan MorfAnd just, like, really wasn't climbing that much there. And I was just, like, fuck, like, I'm going to from climbing, like, four pitches a week to climbing, like, 3,000 feet in a day. That sounds, like, not a thing.

(50:45):
Ethan MorfAnd then
Ari GrodeThank you.
Ethan Morfa Yeah, I just got to Yosemite and I was just like, I'm going to to just give it, like, take it really step by step. So I got there and I, like, did the free blast twice. And I, like, in my phone, I have all of the, like, every move on El Cap written down, like, bottom to top of Free Rider.

(51:07):
Ethan MorfLike, even on the five ten Any weird section, like, I have beta on it. And so I, like, Just like went step by step, went up free blast, like ticked every foot, figured out my beta.
Ethan MorfAnd then I like jugged heart, started doing the middle section. And like, we just really broke it down. We wrapped in over three three or four days and we like worked the top, path like worked the head wall, worked the middle, and then we'll do the monster shit ton. Like, yeah, we just really broke it down and until we were like,

(51:38):
Ethan Morfit's just time to give it a push. Like we hadn't done that much climbing, but I just, after my experience at La Popa climbing those roots in a day, i did a very similar style where we worked like half of the roots would work like one half the root, jug out, work another half of the root, jug out, do it in a day and like writing all the beta on our phones.

(51:59):
Ethan MorfAnd I guess knew that like that muscle memory and like visualization, once I got back up there, those pitches will like feel very easy. So I knew that even if I hadn't been climbing a lot, I would have the margin to do that.
Ethan MorfSo yeah, just look at that.
Ari GrodeWhat do you, what would you say kind of the crux of climbing something that big in a day is, I mean, is it the variety of, you know, different styles and the, you know, different, you know, types of climbing you have to do throughout all those pitches, or is it like the pure difficulty of, you know, some of the moves you encounter on the crux pitches mind, like kind of breaking it down a little bit.

(52:37):
Ethan Morfhe um I think the hardest part of something like that in a day is definitely like your to me it was like the pacing of it and the fueling like there'll be hard moves and stuff but like you know that like you could go and we we could go and do any pitch like it's no worries like there will be hard moves but once you dial it in it'll feel easy but it's like being able to do that after like 16 hours of climbing like you have up to that point you have to have made like done it all perfectly so we're like

(53:13):
Ethan Morftaking breaks for the right amount of time like making sure i'm like eating the right things and i'm like fueled the whole way through like not going too slow but not going too fast like just really trying to have like a steady pace with that all i think that's the biggest crux because you could like burn out real right at the beginning or could go too slow run other times or you could like You bonk halfway up if you don't have been eating and shit.

(53:40):
Ethan MorfLike, that's such such a big part of it, for sure. I mean, you guys just chatted with, like, Laura and, um, what's the other name?
Ari GrodeOkay.
RobertKate Kate kate
Ethan Morfkate Yeah, Laura and Kate. I mean, they did that like insane... They did the triple like insane, and like basically ultra-marathon endurance feat, plus this strength feat. But like I haven't listened to it yet, but I'm sure they... I would imagine they talked a bit about like that, like the fueling and... like I don't know, it's less to me, climbing out cap in a day, with less of like a strength beat and more of like, it felt like a marathon. And I'm sure that they would say similar. Like, I'm sure they had like, the nutrition shit pretty dialed in how they were eating.

(54:31):
RobertYeah, yeah. So that episode with Laura and Kate came out today, like the day we're recording, obviously. So if you haven't listened to it, by the time this comes out, what are you doing?
Ethan MorfOh, sick.
RobertGo back and listen to episode 23. But they certainly had a quite the feat. And then also like Tanner Wanish, also him and his partner did the quad that we interviewed as well and a while back.
Ethan Morfdude yeah

(54:51):
Roberti just Yeah, the... As you mentioned, like the logistics side of like the Sufferfest really can be a bigger crux than the actual climbing. Obviously, it depends on where the climbing is in relation to your level as a climber.
RobertSo it sounds like for you, you are in a comfortable zone of like, yeah, all of these pitches on their own, I can certainly put them down. And I think that that probably does change the game a bit for sure, where it's like if someone's a little closer to their limit, it definitely like, yeah, feels super important at that point.

(55:25):
RobertBut also like making sure they don't botch beta so that they're not having to redo a pitch that's like pretty difficult for them can like really take its toll.
Ethan MorfI
RobertWhat was like your... ah you're like quick food, like happy food of choice up there. Like, do you have any like little treats or anything like that? Or were just like sticking the chicken and rice with a little bit of broccoli because your boys had shown you some veggies in the valley?

(55:49):
Ethan Morfmean, we had like, I basically, guess I like ah my only actual food was like an actual thing that wasn't just, like, some heinous ultra, like, bar was, like, a sandwich, which was really nice, but I ate, like, a million of these, like, Clif Bar energy gels and, like, thankfully did not shit my pants, which was nice because I, like, never eat them, but that was nice, was having, like, that very consistently, um and there's, like, the coat, like, Kodiak, the pancake brand or whatever, I had, like, this, um,
RobertOh, yeah, yeah. Yeah,

(56:19):
Robertyeah.
Ethan Morflike this little protein ball thing they gave me that like it's like no big protein balls and I guess at this massive box of like like peanut butter and chocolate balls and they were so good.
Ethan Morfbut I mean it really helped I thought with the carbs.

(56:40):
Ari GrodeNice. Yeah, that's important. You got to have, you got to have the right fuel and, uh, you know, something you're kind of psyched to eat too. Cause then, then very easy to get on that slippery slope of, nah, I'll just skip it this pitch or this bitch.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari GrodeAnd all a sudden you're bonking.
Ethan MorfYeah, definitely a lot of candy as well. I love sugar so much.
Ari GrodeYeah. Oh yeah.
RobertYeah, for sure.
Ari GrodeOh yeah. So you mind like talking us through the day? Like, how did it go? You know, when you finally decided to kind of step up and and try to take it down 24

(57:09):
Ethan MorfYeah, ah it was... Yeah, i mean, it started out very smooth.
Ari GrodeThank
Ethan Morflike i'd um I'd done the Free Blast twice, but I hadn't done it in like a while, in like a week and a half before the day we went up. And it was amazing. Like, the free blast felt, like, so chill when I did it.
Ethan MorfAnd, i don't know, all the way up to... It was just going so smooth all the way into the roundtable. Like, we just, like... there was I didn't fall until the roundtable traverse.

(57:40):
Ethan MorfSo were just, like... We stopped at Heart for a bit. We stopped the Spire. We stopped at the Block. And, like, the whole time up, like, were just, like...
Ari GrodeThank
Ethan Morfi was I had a friend supporting me, jugging. So I'd just climb the pitch, fix it, chill. He'd pull up, I'd eat a snack, keep going. like Very short turnaround on every pitch.

(58:02):
Ethan MorfIt went super smooth for the first while. um Yes, and everything first try. And then got to... the Enduro corners and that's when I was like, I'm getting kind of tired.
Ethan MorfLike I screamed my way up the second Enduro, it was like the 12B. remember was a really sick moment. I was like up there and Jordan Cannon was with Mark Udon and Jordan was like sending the Salafé and Mark was like hanging in the Salafé roof when I was climbing the Enduro.

(58:34):
Ethan MorfAnd was just like screaming way, way up. And Mark like yells down. He's like, you're a fucking stud. Like get it, dude. And ah it was like crazy moment.
Ethan MorfLike fought up that, got to the blade of the round table to rest. And I was like, okay, like I'm so tired. And then Zavi pulls up to the blade. And at that point, like I had been going very fast. Like he was like hustling on the jug.

(59:02):
Ethan MorfAnd then like, um that point And he would get to the play and I'd be like, off? Then he would get to the play at that point and I was just like, oh, I don't want to go, dude. Like, I'm so tired. He's like, you have to go. Like, it's time. Like, here's your rack.
Ethan MorfAnd so my first fall was on the round table. was just climbing on the corner. It was the only pitch I hadn't rehearsed on the route. And it showed because I had it got up there and it felt like I was like re-onsighting it from when I was in the fall.

(59:29):
Ethan MorfI was just like, where the fuck do I go? And then, yeah, fell on it. And it's a really heinous pitch to me do because it's literally like a 20-meter horizontal traverse around the corner.
Ethan MorfSo I, like, kind of back whipped a bit and had to do some shenanigans, ticked some feet, got back to the belay, fell asleep on Zavi's lap at, like, this hanging belay, like, very, very heinous belay.

(59:53):
Ethan MorfFell asleep in his lap. And then... Yeah, voca woke up like 20 minutes later, tied back in, and then did the pitch, and then did the next pitch, like, fought my way up some 11-minus, and then got to the Scotty Burke, which is, like, was also so hard for me in the fall, and I had laid-backed it. And the Scotty is, like, to give context, it's, like, ah it's, like, this 10, it's an 11-D finger crack,

(01:00:23):
Ethan MorfIt splits up very well. It's like an 11d finger crack right at the top of El Cap. And then there's like this big horizontal break. And so you can like get into this alcove and like go no hands and then like pull this onto this like ledge and then go no hands there.
Ethan MorfIt's like you just like chill there. And then it's this 10d off with boulder thing. It's like super, super flaring like five.

(01:00:48):
Ethan MorfBut you and it's like threes in the back, but it's too deep. So you can't fish jam. And you can't do knee locks, so it's too flaring. But you're using a five. So you end up doing this, like, double fist stack above your head through this, like, bulge.
Ethan MorfAnd in the fall, I could not do it. I could not off with it. So I laybacked it. And it's probably, like, felt like a 5-12 layback. Like, it's, like, heinous sloper crystal thing.

(01:01:18):
Ethan MorfIt's so hard. And I had planned to do that for the inner day. I had like beta, I had tick marked all these crystals and i was like, I'm just gonna lay back it. It'll be chill.
Ethan MorfAnd then, yeah, I get down the inner day and I like, like every move on the 11 D fingers was like the fight of my life. Like I was like scratching at the crack, like yelling, like someone was murdering me.

(01:01:45):
Ethan MorfAnd then I get to but like no hands and I'm just like stand there for a super long time. And I'm like, dude, I feel fucked. Like, I don't know if I can do this. And I was like, dude, you got it.
Ethan MorfAnd I get up to, the bulge part of the Scotty, and I, like, start to do my Layback Beta, and I can feel that it, like, does not feel good.

(01:02:09):
Ethan MorfAnd I get, like, one move from finishing it. I'm, like, one move away, and I just take this, like, massive whip out of it. Like, I just slide out, and then, yeah, I guess, like, take this massive whip, and I'm like, fuck, dude, like, I do not think I'm gonna be able to do this. Like, I can't, I can't do the Layback Beta. It's way too...

(01:02:30):
Ethan MorfIt's just way too hard for me.
Ari GrodeThank you.
Ethan MorfAnd so this is like, this is where I'd say like my asterisk is of the scent. So it's pretty tame, I'd say, but I basically like, Stance the pitch.
Ethan Morfum It has happened quite a few with other people on this. And basically it's like this 45 meter pitch. But like was saying in the middle, there's like this ledge basically you can like stand and chill on.

(01:02:56):
Ethan MorfAnd so instead of going all the way back down to the belay, I went back down to the ledge and then started from there and basically split the pitch into two. um yeah.
Ethan MorfOther people have done that. I feel pretty good about it. Like, I felt very tame. And so I started back up the off-width and I get up to the bulge again and I'm like, I get in the layback and like, this is not, it's not possible. Like, I can't do it.

(01:03:22):
Ethan MorfAnd I get back into the off-width and I'm just like, looking at the off-width, like, maybe I can, maybe I can do the off-width beta. And I had spent an hour like it's onto your solo trying to figure it out when I went top down, could not do a single move of the offward. Like it just didn't make sense to me. Like I could not do it.

(01:03:45):
Ethan MorfAnd then I get there on the end of the and I just like put both fists above my head and I just like start doing it. Like it, I just start moving upwards.
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan MorfAnd as I'm doing it, I'm like, za Zavi, like, I'm doing it, dude. Like, i'm doing the off-wind. And he's like, yeah, let's go. And then, yeah, I guess, like, did the off-wind, got to the next pitch.

(01:04:11):
Ethan MorfThen it was, like, a 10-D fingers, screamed my way up that. And then the last pitch, basically, there's a 10-D roof. It's, like, a one mover, like, so hard.
Ethan MorfI fell on that, like, five times, maybe. And then at some point, I just, like... I guess I took a breath and then did it. And it's like, I guess when fall, go back the play. Fall, go back to the play.

(01:04:34):
Ethan MorfAnd then I did it. And that was the day. Yeah.
Ari GrodeWow.
Ethan MorfIt was very nice.
Ari GrodeOkay.
Robertguys my
Ari GrodeThat's amazing.
Ethan Morf18 hours. Yeah, that was a long, that was a long, long spiel.
Ari GrodeThat's.
Ethan MorfSo I was, hey, no, yeah.
RobertI mean, you were climbing for 18 hours, so I think you did a pretty good job of of hitting the highlights. i
Ethan Morfand Yeah.
RobertLong days call for long explanations. Don't don't worry about that.

(01:04:56):
Ethan MorfThanks.
Ari GrodeYeah, that's, ah that's some amazing, uh, ending bits there. You know, it seems like you had to really unlock some, both some try hard and some like new techniques.
Ethan MorfDude, it was crazy. I just could not believe it.
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan MorfIt was
Ari GrodeWas there was there like moments up there where you were kind of like, well, is this is over. like'm I'm not going to be able to do this. like i can't The bait I had, like it's not going to work? Or...

(01:05:18):
Ari Grodeor
RobertYeah, was that was the nap like a strategic nap or was the nap like a, dude, I need a minute type of nap?
Ethan MorfIt was definitely like, I need a minute.
RobertYeah.
Ethan MorfI can't keep my eyes open right now. When I fell on the mount table, I was like, A lot of doubt started coming to my mind. i was like, oh, yeah, i I think I can do the roundtable. But, like, I know the Scotty's up there waiting for me. And, like, I have to lay back that. it's going to be fucked. And, like, I really was like, I don't know if I can do it. But my partner, Zavi, that i was supporting was, like, very much like, dude, you got it. Like, just take your time.

(01:05:53):
Ethan MorfLike, you can do it. I mean, until I was like on the 5-6 slab at the top, I like did not know if I would do it. like even Like the 10-D finger crack at the top was like, and like the whole head wall was like, every move was like the hardest move of my life.
Ethan MorfIt was like, I guess every time I clipped the chains on a pitch, like, ah holy shit, I can't believe I just did that. yeah. Yeah.

(01:06:23):
Ari GrodeOh, amazing.
RobertYeah. A thousand feet of max max effort head wall. Gotta love that.
Ethan MorfDude, yeah. It's like when... do you Have you guys ever like been to the gym, like a normal lifting side of the gym, and you hit a drop set on something? Are you familiar with that?
RobertYeah. Oh yeah.
Ethan MorfIt felt like i was hitting drop set on El Cap.
Ari GrodeYeah.
Robertbut
Ethan MorfI'd the 10D fingers, and it was a slightly easier pitch after. And then it was like just as hard, but like yeah, it was very fun.

(01:06:53):
RobertYou're like mentally preparing to power scream on the five, six finish. It's just like, i did right but they've all felt harder.
Ethan MorfDude, yeah.
RobertThis one's going to be brutal.
Ethan MorfYeah, there's like this 5'9 chimney at the top, I think.
Ari GrodeI don't know.
Ethan MorfAnd I, I guess like lay back it usually because it's like a squeeze chimney. And I i guess I got in it. i was like, this hurts too bad. And I was like, I'll just lay back it. And I was like, even that, like, it's like a 5'7 lay back probably. But it was like every move, like scream on it.

(01:07:20):
Ethan MorfAnd then Jordan commented on my post later. And he's like, I was... put in my caption that I was like, it sounded like I was like being murdered. And he's like, Oh, like, that's what I was hearing.
Ethan MorfBecause him and Mark were on the Salathay ledge.
Robertah
Ari Grodebut
Ethan MorfAnd I was up there with that. was like, dude, they definitely think I'm like, just like such a tweaker. Like i it was so it was the noises I was making were so bad.

(01:07:44):
Ari GrodeYo, Sar just starts rappelling in and like, go i check out what's going on.
Ethan MorfBut dude, yeah.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ari Grodeah amazing. What was the feeling like after you'd you'd kind of finished? Did you feel like you'd kind of had your Dawn wall moment?
Ethan MorfDude, like...
Ari GrodeLike I've made it.
Ethan MorfYeah, I mean, it was... It gets felt surreal. I mean, um um sure it's a very cliche moment that lots of people have talked about, but it's just like this goal that I did not think was possible...

(01:08:15):
Ethan MorfAnd I was standing on top having done it. And it was just so magical. Like it's felt like such a wave of relief. And then like Sam was up there as well because he was rapping in words and something on our cap.
Ethan MorfAnd he like, we run over to him and it was just like, yeah, such a magical moment. It was amazing.
Ari GrodeI feel like too, when you, when you've got to dig, really dig deep, like to a level that you kind of didn't feel like you, you necessarily knew you could get to, you know, it just makes those experiences like so much more special.
Ethan MorfYeah.

(01:08:43):
Ari GrodeSo that that's, you know, I'm sure your body would have felt better had you just cruised the whole thing and, and, you know, called it a day, but, you know, having to actually like really, really fucking fight for it, you know, that, that, that makes it all the more epic.
Ethan MorfYeah.
Ethan MorfDude, yeah. We really, we really earned that large food after. So if you could squeeze it, you'd be like, why am I even eating this burger right now? But after Friday, you're like, this is good.

(01:09:05):
Ari Grodeah
Ari GrodeYeah. Amazing.
RobertOh, that's ah that's incredible, man.
Ari Grodeamazing
RobertYeah, that's hats off to you. That sounds like an incredible effort, to say the least, but obviously it's such a monumental ah task to take off on on your own, regardless of whether you're trying hard or not.
RobertSo well done for sure. I mean, what was ah what was the come down like after that?
Ethan MorfThank

(01:09:26):
RobertI mean, like I got to imagine you probably didn't leave the Valley the next day. You're hanging around like As you mentioned, this was sort of in some ways like this large goal you'd set for a long time.
Robertor Is there any moment of like, all right, like what's next?
Ethan Morfyou. Mm-hmm.
RobertLike, am I done with climbing now? I did the thing. Or is it like immediately immediately thinking like, oh, what else do I want to get on tomorrow? Like what was that experience like once it was all said and done?

(01:09:57):
Ethan MorfIt was kind of like, I guess it was definitely this euphoric feeling the next few days because I'd been so like, not stressed, but just like very like focused the last like few weeks. And it's like, it was just like, I was on total vacation mode after like, i was like, I'm a cynico. I was just like, I definitely was like, I'm done climbing. But was like, I'm done with El Cap a little bit right now. and So like, I supported Davi on an attempt.

(01:10:25):
Ethan MorfAnd then like, After that, like, it's been bouldering. And then, like, we went to San Francisco and, like, saw a show. And I was, like, just really living it up. It was pretty fun. But it's definitely, like, it's time to – I felt very, like, cardio fit.
Ethan MorfBut after that effort, I felt pretty, like, physically weak. Like, I couldn't pull that hard. And it was definitely, like – I put a lot of stuff off in life. was, like, my finger was still kind of messed. Like, it felt weak. I had, like, photography things I wanted to do. And I was like,

(01:10:55):
Ethan MorfIt's time to, like, get strong and start, like, locking back into other parts. But I definitely was like, okay, I'm psyched to come back, climb on El Cap, and not on the west side.
Ethan MorfBecause, like, it is so busy over there, and I want to go look at other things that's not the Seerider in Saladay.

(01:11:16):
RobertOkay.
Ethan MorfSo, yeah. yeah
Ari GrodeMaybe this is a good moment to, ah you know, talk a little bit about the, the photography and and filmmaking side of your climbing. Uh, I mean, we haven't really dabbled on that at all, but, uh, you know, you, you've taken some really like awesome shots out there and, you know, you, you, you know, there's quite a bit of content out there on like your YouTube channel and on your website and stuff like that. You mind just talking a little bit about the, that side of, of, you know, how you interact with rock climbing.

(01:11:47):
Ethan MorfYeah. yeah um Yeah, I mean, I've always kind of played with cameras and stuff growing up. Like, I used to make skateboard videos and ski videos and stuff. And um When I was injured that season in Squamish, my friend Victoria, um Victoria Kona Flanagan, that how you pronounce her name? I don't know, but very like very much like a photographer of the time right now.

(01:12:12):
Ethan Morfwas hanging out with her a lot, and she's like, oh, if you used to play the camera, you should pick it back up. And I started shooting, and I guess, like I don't know, it's just such a amazing outlet to me, because I feel like...
Ethan MorfI don't know it's sick climbing and stuff, but it's also sick, like capturing the climbing in this like vision you have in your head. I mean, Robert, I know you do a lot of like creative work like that. It's just so sick having these artistic outlets in this sport that you're so connected to.

(01:12:42):
Ethan MorfAnd it feels like you can make such authentic work because you're so like close to it. And yeah, I mean, I loved taking photos. I love taking photos i'm like it just feels like this art to me in some way. And it's cool, like documenting the people of our time.
Ethan MorfAnd then with making the videos, like I like froth Sean Villamueva's videos and like ah Tyler Corro's videos. It's like very authentic, like we're out here doing a thing, like having a great time.

(01:13:14):
Ethan MorfAnd I'm really, i really want to bring that. I feel like we're kind of missing that a little bit in some climbing media and It's like, it's all, a lot of media is very beautiful and like well produced, but I also kind of like the things that are less produced and like feel more of like this journal in some way.

(01:13:34):
Ethan MorfLike, yeah. And that's what I kind of want to do with my videography and stuff. So yeah, I've been making a lot of like self-documented videos of us like climbing on La Popa or a stateship video and like climbing in Squamish. Yeah, it's a very, very fun.
RobertYeah, I mean, like Ari said, like your work, fantastic. I mean, there's some really cool photos on your Instagram at Ethan Morph. We'll put to all this in the show notes, but definitely definitely check out Ethan's work because he is, and from one photographer and videographer to another, like you know what you're doing.

(01:14:08):
RobertIt's like cool to see everything that you're doing, it's also really unique like because you do have this kind of different lens than what's out there, I guess I would say.
Ethan MorfUh-huh.
Robertlike And I think part of that is I think it's probably, I mean, there's probably a lot of factors, right?
Ethan MorfThank you.
RobertBut I think part of it is because like, you're so immersed in it as well, that like you said, you understand it to a different degree. But then also too, like you've just got the, the physical capability to get to some of these places that like, you know, such a comfortable manner that like probably allows you to set up for really cool shots. So yeah, if you, if you guys haven't seen Ethan's work, definitely go check it out. Cause it is awesome. Like I am curious kind of hearing you describe, I wouldn't say the lo-fi nature, but just more of like that raw documenting kind of style that you seem to be drawn to. Like, do you have any plans for,

(01:15:00):
Robertlike like special projects for anything like that? Like not necessarily like a ah film or anything, but whatever that capacity may be. Like, is there anything that you've like tried to test out a little bit and like, you're kind of curious, oh, this media might work pretty well.
Ari GrodeThank
RobertOr is there, is there anything like you that you're sort of starting to toy around with?
Ethan MorfI mean, i guess when it comes to like mediums of shooting, like...

(01:15:21):
RobertYeah. Yeah.
Ethan Morfmy contact video that I made that's like on my youtube was filmed all on like mini dv on like random camcorders and stuff and I love this like I did a lot of skateboarding growing up and I like consumed a lot of skate media and I love bringing that like that style of that like tape feel to climbing and stuff that skate style and
RobertYeah. yeah

(01:15:46):
Ethan Morfi I mean, I love shooting on like ran like its kind of random janky camcorder cameras and stuff and seeing like what you can do in camera. And then like, I don't know, they just give it this cool old feel to it.
Ethan MorfAnd when it comes to projects and stuff, like the contact video is very like, we'll just pick up a camera and film along the way. And it kind of opened my eyes. that Oh, like,

(01:16:09):
Ethan MorfI can make more things that feel like that are raw and documented and authentic, but like plan it a bit more and like have more of a story to it. I'm yeah, kind of like in the works of planning some projects like of climbing in South America and stuff and filming them hopefully on like tape.
Ethan MorfYeah, I'd be very psyched on that.

(01:16:31):
Ari GrodeYeah, I see you got the, is that is is the t-shirt the pusher?
Ethan MorfYeah, I got my pushers tee. Ethan Salvo gave this to me one night.
Ari Grodesick. Okay, yeah.
Ethan MorfShout out to him. He makes really good climbing videos.
Ari Grodeah Sick, sick. And and can can I ask, like is Dead Point Magazine, is that is that something you're a part of or associated with?

(01:16:52):
Ethan MorfSo Dead dead Point... um Dead Point Climbing is like a... It's... Yeah, I guess... They're not a magazine. yeah
Ari GrodeOkay.
Ethan MorfThey just make like...
RobertYeah, chalk, right?
Ethan Morfchalk and clothing and stuff.
RobertYeah. Yeah.
Ethan MorfYeah. And they're, yeah, i guess like one of the companies that supports me, but they're from the Okanagan, which is very cool. Like where I'm from and the super homies, like very skate style.

(01:17:12):
Robertah sick i It sounds like the media side might be the fact that Ethan's just pumping out beautiful content for them all the time.
Ethan MorfYeah. Shout out to them. They're lovely, lovely people over there.
Ari GrodeOkay. but But they do have a media side, right? Maybe it's not magazine. it's is it Is it just Dead Point? Or am i am I totally off about this?
Ethan Morfa

(01:17:33):
Ethan Morfi
RobertAnd so like, it's just, there's enough coming from you that it seems like they've got the whole all internal team.
Ethan MorfYeah, I've definitely some of the videos I've made. I've like put the look. I mean, yeah, they support me. So I put the logo in it and stuff. But um they I guess I wouldn't say they have very much like a big media site. I was a pretty small operation they got going, but it's so it's so core. It's awesome.

(01:18:01):
Ari GrodeOkay. Okay. Confusion on my end, I guess. Yeah. those Those, man, I love those types of videos. Like the, there's a small video that just came out about the, the new river gorge, which is a spot that Rob and I have climbed at a lot.
Ari GrodeIt's called seasons as S Z N S. And it's like, it was kind of a cool story, but it was, it was, you know, shot by basically show showcasing like what the new river gorge is like throughout the four seasons.
Ethan MorfYeah.

(01:18:29):
Ari GrodeAnd it's just very like, you know there's a lot of climbing footage in there but there's also a lot of like deep water soloing and white water rafting and like hanging out at the campground and like it's kind of shot more in that like yeah not more of that like that local feel i guess and and i yeah i thought of that when you were kind of talking about kind of what how you were trying to you know tell those types of stories so that's cool

(01:18:54):
Ethan Morfdick I have to check it out. That sounds sick.
RobertYeah, that was it with Steep South, right?
Ari Grodeyeah if you're ever
RobertOr Steep South was putting it out, I guess.
Ari Grodeah I think they shared i think they shared it but it's...
RobertYeah, yeah.
Ari Grodeah like i can i can always
RobertYeah, we'll throw it in the show notes and all that good stuff.
Ari Grodeyeah yeah yeah
RobertNo, it's cool. Ethan, you mentioned South America a little bit. And so I do want to ask, is there like certain objectives on on the mind for that? Like, are you trying to get down to Patagonia or is it just in general, you want to go check out what the scene is like down there and spend spend some months a little a little further south?

(01:19:28):
Ethan MorfYeah, I mean, ah me and a group of friends, like, yeah, yeah me and a bunch of my Squamish friends are planning a trip to Cochimo next winter.
RobertOh, cool. Yeah, yeah.
Ethan MorfAnd, like, yeah, I mean, it looks so sick out there. And, yeah, we want to go spend a few months in Cochimo and just go sesh and see what's up. Like, we don't have many objectives in mind We're kind of going with an open mind and, like, kind of see what we're able to do. Because it is, like, it is kind of well known now, but not, like, I don't know. guess...

(01:19:58):
Ethan Morfit seems like there's so much opportunity and it's so big that it still seems pretty loose. So we want to go out there, have a few months there, make a video and just like see what's up. And I mean, I definitely aspire to climb in Patagonia and stuff someday, but I think I want to do like another separate full trip to Lake Chalten sometime.
RobertYeah, fair.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertNo, it's interesting you bring up Coach Mo. You should chat with Chris at some point because Chris is working on some sort of project down there as well. He's tapped me into, so I don't have all the details yet.

(01:20:29):
Ethan MorfOkay, sick.
RobertBut we might also be down there in the winter, so maybe maybe we'll cross paths against.
Ethan MorfDude, it would be sick to see you guys down there.
RobertYeah, we shall see. Definitely bring the camera if that's the case. But we'll ah ah once I have more information on that, we'll we'll certainly circle back. Yeah. No, that's cool.
Ethan Morfyeah.
RobertI mean, I think one of the really rad things about it, like all of these climbing stories and like everything I can kind of gather from the couple weeks we got to spend together, but also your stories is like, it does seem like you just have this really like awesome crew that you guys have kind of locked in with.

(01:21:02):
RobertAnd I, like, I gotta imagine that's partially do like has led to some success on some levels. Like,
Robertbut like what's your favorite part about climbing with this crew? Cause it seems like you kind of go back and forth with these guys all the time. Like, is there, is there anything that stands out?
Ethan MorfDude, yeah. Like, we were just talking about this last night. um But, like, it's the... It seems kind of like it's a rare to me, but it's like... We're all was so tight. Like, we get along so insanely well. And on the wall, like, we feel so comfortable with each other. And it's like, feels like that perfect amount of, like, pushing each other.

(01:21:44):
Ethan MorfWhich I feel like... not a lot of people get to experience having climbing partners that you're that dialed with, but it's like, there's a group of us.
RobertFor sure.
Ethan MorfAnd like, the biggest thing to me is that everyone is really psyched to like try hard and push themselves all very like-minded, but we also all like want to have a good time. Like we all love to dance and love to like do other, like we all go skate together. Like it's just like the, the balance of like,

(01:22:15):
Ethan Morfclimbing to like other activities and like experiencing cultures and places is like so good that it keeps us like so psyched and like frothing all the time yeah it's just like such such a good crew and I don't know it's just I feel very lucky to have it because I like look at other people sometimes and they're like i mean a lot of people are always kind of looking for partners and having that kind of struggle but it's like I've just never had that problem because it's like I have this built-in group of friends that are like always psyched on the same things and yeah it's like that's also a big thing I think with like my progression it's like the community around me it's like we continuously push each other like it's not just you would have to be some like insane zen master to have the discipline of like

(01:23:06):
Ethan Morfkeep going all the time without like having ah group behind you to be like dude keep going so yeah it's awesome
RobertYeah, it's super special. I feel like the like the idea that there's like strength in numbers, I feel like it's certainly, it's like such an important thing. like I grew up playing team sports and I feel like that like doing it for like like competing for the team, it like brings out an extra level for you.

(01:23:34):
RobertSo I gotta imagine like the fact that you guys are all session together, working on projects and just like kind of yo-yoing together to figure out how to like climb and like hang draws and all that stuff and get to the top.
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
RobertIt's like ah probably like, gives you a little bit extra energy in some capacity and lets you dig a little deeper. So super rad.
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
RobertI mean, I think what you guys are doing is awesome. So it's it's cool to see some of this initial success you guys have had and like, It is also wild to think that you guys have basically, it sounds like a large part of your crew is probably in the same boat of like been climbing for four to five years.

(01:24:10):
RobertAnd it's like everything you've already done is incredible, but like just sort of still just scratching the surface on like what's to come. Like, do you, do you have any thoughts on like what the next four and a half years or five years of your climbing looks like?
Ethan MorfDude, like... I don't know. After this winter of, like, doing... and basically just, like, was able to go to the States and do everything. Most things that I've always, like, that dreamed of for the past few years since I started climbing.

(01:24:41):
Ethan MorfIt, like, my next few years, it's, like, hard to imagine because I'm feeling like I'm in a place where I'm, like... it feels more okay to dream big because it's like, it all feels more possible.
Ethan MorfI'm hoping that it's a lot more climbing on El Cap, a lot more in a day things. Like I love that. And I mean, hopefully like, yeah, I mean, it's like the session with the boys on El Cap.

(01:25:08):
Ethan MorfLike El Cap is just, I mean, to me, it's like all I think about most of the time and I can't wait to go up there more and then just like keep,
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan Morfbut becoming closer in the community in squamish like it's gets such i don't know i'm really excited for all of that and for objectives like it's hard to imagine but yeah okay dude it's all okay

(01:25:31):
Ari GrodeWell, we're certainly s stoked to to follow along as, ah you know, to see what you kind of kind of do and what you what kind of objectives you take on, on especially on El Cap, man. The climbing up there is just so rad.
Ari Grodeif If like listeners want to follow along with kind of what you're doing or check out some of your ah some of the the the work you've done from the photography and videography side, I mean, do you mind kind of plugging your stuff, telling people where they can kind of get more?

(01:25:57):
Ethan MorfYeah, for sure. um I guess like my Instagram, everything, like you search up my name, you'll find it all. like Ethan Morph, at Ethan Morph for Instagram, YouTube.com slash Ethan Morph, EthanMorphPhoto.com, all of these things. and like It all kind of intertwines and links into each other. And I kind of treat my YouTube as like this...

(01:26:21):
Ethan MorfYeah, I have all my projects there. My Instagram, I kind of treat it as like life's blog that I like. I don't know. ah like using the captions as like a place to do my writing and stuff. So if you want to hear more stories, look at that. But um yeah, all the socials is where you'll find what's going on.
Ethan MorfAnd in Squamish, come say what's up if anyone is around.

(01:26:45):
Ari GrodeYeah, rob Rob and I, we had kind of planned a trip. We were thinking about planning a trip like last fall to Squamish, or well, it was the end of last summer to Squamish, but we ended up kind of pivoting and going to Yosemite instead later in the year.
Ari GrodeBut I still want to go to Squamish so badly. Like, um I'm kind of like you, man. Like, I've seen all those, like the shadow and, you know, the Cobra crack and all these, like, I mean, routes that I won't get on, but like, you know, are like amazing to to, you know, draw you into an area like that that has so much like,
Ethan MorfYeah.

(01:27:15):
Ari Grodehistory and uh you know some of these amazing people that have come out of there so yeah stoked to get out there sometime yeah oh hell yeah
Ethan MorfMm-hmm.
Ethan Morfyeah If you guys make it out there, i'm make it out here, let me know.
RobertYeah.
Ethan MorfIt'd be sick to take you guys out. That'd be so fun.
RobertDude, it'd be a blast. It would be a blast. i I need to as well, too. my ah My sister-in-law lives in Vancouver, so really not far away at all.
Ethan MorfDude.

(01:27:35):
RobertSo, yeah, there's no excuse. Got to make it happen.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertBut, um, dude, this was amazing.
Ari Grodesweet
Ethan MorfSick.
RobertWe appreciate you taking the time. um let's, let's wrap this thing up. But I feel like this was, this was an absolute blast, dude. This was, this was so cool. Like getting to hear, I guess a deeper dive on everything we've been following along with.

(01:27:56):
RobertAnd, uh, it's like, It's kind of fun. Ari's brother was actually down in El Salto while we were down there too. So he heard a couple of stories from me and a couple of stories from Avi as well. So it's like kind of, kind of been a fun one just to like relive that little, that little period.
Ethan Morfyeah
RobertBut yeah, man, they just keep, keep getting after it, dude. It's been, it's been a blast to watch.
Ethan MorfYeah, for sure. Thank you guys so much for giving me the space to chat and reaching out. I mean, it was so fun. My first podcast, pretty cool.

(01:28:24):
Robertoh Oh, love that.
Ethan Morfah Yeah, it was a lovely chat.
Ari GrodeWell, yeah.
Ethan Morfand You guys are yeah, very fun and easy to talk to. So that was that was lovely.
Ari GrodeGood, good. Yeah, man. Some of your stories were just, there were they're so fun. Like, that's the shit I just love about climbing. Like, they're so relatable, like, wherever, you know they you know, they take place, whether it's at the top of El Cap or, you know, on the bottom of some Chaussee trad route.
Ethan Morfye

(01:28:48):
Ari GrodeYeah.
Ethan MorfYeah.
RobertLying next to the railroad tracks.
Ari Grodeand Yeah.
Ethan MorfYeah. Watch out, man.
Ari Grodeah

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