Ω POWERBAND PODCAST

Welcome to Episode 35 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with paddler, canyoneer, instructor, climber, father and lover of marine life, Keith Riley. Keith hails from Invercargill, one of four children in a 'typical' Kiwi outdoorsie family. Tramping, camping and riding inner-tubes on the local rivers led to a early passion for slalom kayaking. That gave way to 'free kayaking' (I just coined a new phrase) and other adventurous pursuits, including climbing. A stint in Dunedin as a 'year on, year off' university student led to more kayaking and climbing and, to fund those adventures, a move into outdoor instruction and guiding. He never really looked back.  In our conversation, we chat about a life of outdoor adventure, life working in the outdoor industry, building his own outdoorsie family and, no matter what the discipline or terrain, the endless search for that feeling of flow in the outdoors. Keith is a humble master of many trades, a man with a thirst for adventure (mostly of the 'prolonged suffering' type) and just an all-round good bugger. If you want to know more, just Google: 'Keith The Great'. Enjoy!  

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with route setter, raver and ultra-talented climber Alec McCallum. Alec is a third generation climber and possibly the most fizzed-for-climbing person you could ever hope to meet. Born and raised on the notorious slippery slopers of the Castle Hill Basin, it sometimes seems like Alec has evolved special powers of adhesion, such is his preternatural ability to cling to the featureless features that make the basin the best climbing basin on earth. To say that Alec has a talent for climbing is like saying that the Engine Room is the crucible of hard bouldering in Aotearoa - so true that it needs not be said. In our conversation, as I desperately try to sound hip with the youth, we cover everything from drum'n'bass to deadhangs to death solos masquerading as boulder problems. Plus I learned that Jonty Francis (fellow Dojo'er) is New Zealand's leading trad climber. And that Alec is the sweetest guy in climbing. Enjoy the fizz that oozes out of every corner of this one. And if you're interested, check out The Dojo on Insta or YouTube.

Welcome to Episode 33 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with biogeography professor, father, guidebook author and climber Len Gillman. Len was a leading protagonist in the golden years of Whanganui Bay and, in this interview, we (unapologetically) talk about very little else. Just the Bay in the 1970s, the Bay in the 1980s, the Bay in the 1990s, the Bay in......you get the picture. Growing up in Auckland, Len cut his teeth at the Quarry. It was there that he forged new skills and forged new and productive friendships with local hotshots Robbie McBirney and Rick McGregor. With Rick in particular, Len found a strong and competitive companion with whom to push development of climbing standards at the Bay. Initially, the focus was on crack climbing, and many of the cracks climbed by the trio remain classics to this day. After a visit to Yosemite in the late 1970s, Len returned with not one but two bolts (!), which he placed at the Bay thereby ushering in a new era of face climbing for the North Island's premier crag. And the rest, as they say, is history. Key Bay characters, Camp Hog, the Two Car Raid and more. Something for everyone. Enjoy.    

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with climber, photography and self-confessed 'climbing tragic' Eddie Fowke. Eddie was a young punk in the Auckland climbing scene in the early 1990s. Independent and keen to travel from a relatively early age, Eddie dived head first into the climbing lifestyle, pursuing performance both outdoors and at indoor climbing competitions. He was ambitious and "cocky", harbouring a desire to one day climb for New Zealand at a World Cup event. Unfortunately, a serious knee injury put paid to any prospect of realising that dream and, for a period, Eddie drifted away from climbing and from New Zealand. A passion for photography and a renewed enthusiasm for climbing found Eddie in the thick of a strong scene in Australia. A trip to Europe with Aussie strong man James Kassey resulted in a series of events and meetings that led to Eddie self-publishing a magazine dedicated to competition climbing (called The Circuit) and, later, a job as official World Cup photographer for the IFSC. In our conversation, we cover all of the above plus the unhappy demise of his connection with the IFSC. As you will hear, Eddie's had his fair share of ups and downs. We also talk about the Olympics, the state of competition climbing in New Zealand and about the future for the sport on a global scale. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 31 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with DJ, climbing wall magnate, 3 time father and 3 time national lead champion, Sefton Priestley. Yet another great climber born in Wellington (so many I have lost count...), Sefton is now based in Christchurch where many will know him as a co-founder of New Zealand's ground-breaking Uprising boulder gym and its sister company, Uprising Industries, a wall and hold design and manufacture business. But Sefton's climbing story is much deeper and richer than a corporate takeover of New Zealand's climbing gym world. In fact, his climbing roots were laid down on the granite cracks, slabs and faces of Tahquitz and Suicide Rock in southern California, as his parents moved to the USA when he was very young. Returning to New Zealand on the cusp of his teens, Sefton quickly found his groove at the old YMCA wall in Christchurch. In particular, he was drawn to the boulder room built in an old squash court, with its classic 45 and low ball horizontal roof. Despite his trad roots, it turns out that Sefton had an aptitude for plastic pulling, going on to have a very successful national competition climbing career, as well as some great experiences at international competitions. Sefton found his groove on "real" rock too, becoming the youngest Kiwi to climb a grade 30 (possibly still is?). Since then, he has climbed extensively around New Zealand and abroad. And he also found his groove outside of climbing; in his youth, embracing techno and house music, DJing and organising dance parties; and now, embracing life as a busy father of 3. In our conversation, we cover all of that and more. Enjoy!  

Welcome to Episode 30 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with rural doctor, snowboarder, surfer, mountain biker and bona fide climbing legend, Dave Fearnley. For those who have been living under a rock for the last decade or two, Dave is a mythical character in New Zealand climbing. In the 1980s and early 90s, Dave was at the forefront of climbing development, establishing a slew of hard and often committing routes from Whanganui Bay to Paines Ford to Castle Hill to the Port Hills to Hanging Rock to Long Beach and back again. He was one of the very best climbers in what many regard as the golden era of New Zealand rock climbing. The myth of Dave Fearnley is one of a bold, uncompromising climber, who valued commitment and style above all else and who had no time for closed projects! That myth was built on the many classic test pieces he established but, as myths tend to do, it really flourished after he vanished from the climbing scene in the mid 1990s; lured away by the charms of snowboarding, surfing and mountain biking. In our conversation, we go beyond that myth to discover (surprise, surprise!) that Dave was and is just another climber - albeit a particularly capable and well-accomplished climber. It's a rollicking chat covering everything from Dave's origins as a climber to his significant contribution to New Zealand rock climbing to his drift away from climbing and his reflections now on climbing, on who he was as a climber and what climbing meant to him.  Enjoy!   

Welcome to Episode 29 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with retired surfer, retired skier and very much unretired rock climber, Glen Einam. Like all great climbers, Glen grew up in Wellington, where he developed a passion for surfing and for killing possums. In 1984, he decided he would like to try skiing so, instead of joining his friends on a surf trip to Australia, he headed for the southern lakes. Glen pitched up to Treble Cone having never seen snow before, strapped some skis on, and let it rip. And, more or less, he never left. At the only pub in Wānaka at the time, Glen fell in with the small but enthusiastic local climbing scene, led by Guy Cotter. Initially with hand drills and later with the Wānaka Rock Climbing Club's very first power drill, Glen started to contribute to the development of sport climbing in and around Wānaka. And he hasn't stopped since. Just for context, there are probably 1000 routes in Wānaka and Glen has established over 200 of them. In our conversation, we cruise at a leisurely pace through Glen's experiences and perspectives on climbing. And we discuss his unabating passion for hunting and killing possums! Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 28 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with kayaker, rock climber, ice climber, motorbiker and expedition mountaineer, Patricia Deavoll. Patricia grew up on a sheep farm in North Canterbury. From a very early age, she wanted to be a mountaineer and, as soon as she completed secondary school, she set about making that happen. After 30 days of instruction courses based at Mt Cook village, she embarked on a rapid apprenticeship that saw her making early ascents of several notable climbs in the Southern Alps. Even at that stage, Patricia's focus was on pushing her limits on more and more challenging climbs. That pursuit of difficulty followed her on a five year foray into kayaking, which included making the second decent of New Zealand's then most difficult rapid. Kayaking gave way to rock climbing, which she also excelled at. Patricia climbed extensively in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and the United Kingdom. But her real passion was for the big mountains where, over a 20 year period, she went on 17 expeditions to the greater ranges of Alaska, India, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was there that she was able to bring together her rock and ice climbing prowess on bigger, more sustained objectives and was rewarded with several remote and committing first ascents. In our conversation, I do my best to ask intelligent questions about mountaineering while trying to get to the heart of what makes Patricia tick. I will leave you to decide how well I did that. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 27 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with the indefatigable crusher of all rocks (including choss), Jon Sedon. Originally from the North Island, Jon has been based in Wānaka for nearly 20 years. From there, he has climbed more rocks than you can poke a stick at, both around Wānaka and in Fiordland. His Wānaka rock guide is nothing but ticks. And that includes dozens of new routes, including area classics such as Huffer 27, Peking Man 27 and The Complete Bastard 27. So many 27s. And there are more, not just in Wānaka. Like the uber-classic Moses 27 at Little Babylon. But he's not just a craven sport climber. He boulders and big walls too. Jon established many classic boulders during the heyday of Quantum Field and Spittle Hill bouldering. And he has climbed a ton of multipitch, with first ascents at Babylon, out at Copper Point and in Pakistan. Add to that a staggering amount of mileage in places like Yosemite, Indian Creek, Zion and the Black Canyon and you start to get the picture that this quietly spoken builder from Mt Iron is quite possibly the most climbed person in the land. Go ahead, prove me wrong! In our conversation, we barely scratch the surface of Jon's deep climbing résumé. But somehow we still cover a lot. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 26 of the Ω Powerband Podcast - a podcast dedicated to rock climbing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this episode, I speak with 'crazy' skier, climber, family man and natural born leader, Ed Nepia. Ed hails from the East Coast (Ngāti Porou) and comes from impeccable sporting stock (Google: George Nepia). As a teenager, he moved with his family to Christchurch where a close encounter in the local library with a book containing photos of Gaston Rébuffat looking effortlessly cool on the granite aiguilles of the French Alps lit a fire for climbing that still burns hot several decades later. In the mid 1990s, Ed moved to Wanaka "for the skiing" and found acres of accessible unclimbed rock and a fledgling club of enthusiastic route developers. 25 years on, the sport climbing resource in Wanaka is second to none in Aotearoa and Ed played no small part in that. In our conversation, Ed reflects on the changes in Wanaka climbing (and in Wanaka itself) over his time there. We discuss some of the characters in the scene and a few of his more notable new routes, such as the mighty Taniwha at Hell's Gate. We talk about his time at the helm of New Zealand's oldest dedicated rock climbing organisation: the Wanaka Rock Climbing Club and the role that it has played in enabling the development of sport climbing areas in Wanaka and in managing access for climbers. Ed shares his perspective on Maori in New Zealand climbing, including why he believes Maori are under-represented in the demographic of our sport. And we chat about skiing and family and Fiordland and few other things besides. Enjoy!