Is The Triple Crown Of Hiking "Dumb"?
- colin7931
- 8 hours ago
- 41 min read
Today on The Rock Fight Colin & Shawnté discuss the following topics that have come out of the outdoor adventure community over the past week:
Fake summit selfies! Scandal breaks in the mountaineering world as a climber is accused of faking summits. (08:44)
Nepal pimps other peaks! Nepal is issuing free permits to 97 other mountains to try and relieve some of the traffic on Everest. Will it work? (17:32)
The Rock Fight Lightning Round! Today's topics: a bear kills Japanese hiker, a rattlesnake kills a Tennessee hiker, and SUPs are killing more people than ever before. (24:30)
Is completing the Triple Crown of Hiking 'dumb'? A recent blog post ponders the motivation of those who pursue thru hiking the PCT, CDT, and AT. Do we agree? (29:12)
For The Parting Shot, Shawnté reflects on Hurricane Katrina's 20 year anniversary while Colin follows up on Kilian Jornet's new venture.
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Episode Transcript:
Colin True
00:00:00.160 - 00:01:20.970
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Colin True
00:01:34.070 - 00:02:45.910
Don'T let our big time production value and celebrity names fool you.
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Chris Demakes
00:02:46.550 - 00:02:53.750
Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock flight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fl.
Colin True
00:02:55.170 - 00:03:09.090
Welcome to the rock fight where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree. This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head. I'm Colin True, and joining me today. She packs it out and she poos like a pro. It's Shantae Celebr.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:09.970 - 00:03:17.650
Wow. I just. I just have to say, for the record, Owen, again, I didn't say it. Do you notice I've been very scared lately?
Colin True
00:03:17.730 - 00:03:19.250
You sent the picture of it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:19.880 - 00:03:22.200
I didn't send you a picture of anything. What are you talking about?
Colin True
00:03:22.520 - 00:03:26.440
Pack it out like a pro. That was in the image you sent to our.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:26.520 - 00:03:27.440
I did not send that.
Colin True
00:03:27.440 - 00:03:28.200
Who said that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:28.360 - 00:03:37.360
That was a group chat. Doug sent that. I think I assumed it was you. Wow. Just throwing me under the bus left and right. They're like toilet bus. What is going on here?
Colin True
00:03:37.360 - 00:03:38.920
All right. Is it that like much?
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:39.080 - 00:03:42.200
I feel like the listeners need to know that there's more to me than just.
Colin True
00:03:42.440 - 00:03:44.200
Just wait till they hear gear. Abby.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:44.520 - 00:03:47.440
Oh, man. Wow. I'm getting a reputation here.
Colin True
00:03:47.440 - 00:03:49.400
I apologize. I really did think you sent that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:49.400 - 00:03:50.680
Because it wasn't me.
Colin True
00:03:50.680 - 00:03:52.660
You have to admit. That would be something you would send us.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:53.380 - 00:03:56.980
I think it was Doug. So sorry. Schnitzbahn. We're. We're throwing you under the poo bus.
Colin True
00:03:57.060 - 00:03:59.300
Should we. Should we rerecord the open?
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:00.580 - 00:04:02.100
No. Colin. Should we?
Colin True
00:04:02.260 - 00:04:06.420
No, it's all right. I could be. I could be wrong. It's okay. It's good. You know I was wrong.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:06.420 - 00:04:08.340
It's good practice for you. It is.
Colin True
00:04:09.060 - 00:04:15.460
I was wrong. It was Doug Schnitzman. Who? Schnitzman is the one who packs it out and poo like a pro. All right. It's not Shantae.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:16.500 - 00:04:19.290
I mean, I do. Colin.
Colin True
00:04:19.290 - 00:04:19.730
Yeah?
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:20.130 - 00:04:32.850
I feel like you and I saw a news story today. You know, we're recording this a few days before. We always record on Mondays. Our special time. It is. And do you see the Leadville. Leadville results?
We got some records smashed.
Colin True
00:04:33.170 - 00:04:33.730
I did.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:34.530 - 00:04:44.610
And I know you love. You love an outdoor feat. You love when people push to their limits. Colin. And achieve. So what did you think? We got some records here.
Colin True
00:04:44.690 - 00:05:02.990
I genuinely do love an outdoor feed. As much as maybe I sound like I don't. I think it's cool because these people who do these things, obviously it's important to them.
They put in the time they went out there. They worked really hard. And Ann Flower set a new course record for the women at leadville. Finishing in 1758. Broke a 31 year old course record.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:02.990 - 00:05:06.030
31, yeah. Amazing. Absolutely incredible.
Colin True
00:05:06.030 - 00:05:18.750
The legend Ann Tracin's record at Leadville. And then David Roach on the men's side finished in 1512 which was a 16 minute improvement over Matt Carpenter's 2005 record. 15.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:19.390 - 00:05:50.960
Like I'm trying to imagine, you know, I've, I've hiked over part of the course while I was on the CT and even then I remember seeing people just day like running, just running a little day run up to Hope Pass and I was just breathing heavy, sweating. Parts of my body were actively disintegrating on the trail. Like how are you guys doing this? And I'm a trail runner. I'm like there's no way.
I just mad credit to all these people because not only am I never breaking a record, uh, but I would probably die just trying to not break a record and run the whole hundred miles.
Colin True
00:05:52.160 - 00:06:29.410
It's impressive for sure. I mean I guess I, and I look at both of these and I don't know where we're going with the whole.
And we gotta get the programming reinders but like I, I just, I'm gonna pontificate for a second. Cause I don't know where we're going with the whole endurance thing because it's not like ultras aren't weird anymore.
Ultras were like the weird kind of like oh my God, those crazy people who are running so far and it's amazing, right? And that was what frankly one of the attractions to it that I had when I kind of got into them.
And now it's like every year it's like the, the, the, the times are getting faster. I mean David Roach ran, he wrote an average 907 minute mile in Leadville, Colorado. Like the course is over 10,000ft. All of it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:29.730 - 00:06:30.290
Yep.
Colin True
00:06:30.770 - 00:06:39.330
So I'm just, I'm not alleging anything. I don't know what's going on. I would say I think there's a PED scandal coming at some point in the ultra world. I just don't know how this happens.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:39.490 - 00:06:42.610
Continues. Lance Armstrong of Ultras. Oh no.
Colin True
00:06:43.130 - 00:06:54.050
But congrats to them.
But I do think even if you know and I don't know anything, but I think that man it just seems like the more and more competitive these gets, like wow. It's either people are getting real strong out there or something else going on.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:54.050 - 00:07:01.450
You know at some point AI is going to win the Ultras Chat GPT in the lead with a 14 hour finish.
Colin True
00:07:01.450 - 00:07:14.070
Well, hey, everybody. Today Shantae and I are going to be digging into some other headlines and stories that come out of the outdoor adventure community.
But first, I can mention a few programming reminders on Monday. Did you miss Monday's episode of the Rock Fight? Maybe you also missed Tuesday's newest open container.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:14.310 - 00:07:14.790
Rude.
Colin True
00:07:14.790 - 00:07:16.550
Did you know that we're launching a new show?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:17.030 - 00:07:17.550
I did.
Colin True
00:07:17.550 - 00:07:21.670
With Shantae Salibare? Like in a mat. Maybe even days away, Weeks away.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:21.750 - 00:07:23.590
Days a week, Two weeks a day.
Colin True
00:07:23.670 - 00:07:24.470
Something like that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:24.790 - 00:07:29.270
We're just going to thrust. Thrust it upon you. That is not. Not at all what I want.
Colin True
00:07:30.150 - 00:07:44.730
And you give me grief for the poo comment. All right, so the takeover of outdoor podcast here on the Rock Fight Podcast network is happening. Make sure you're listening to all of our shows and.
And Shantae, can you let our listeners know where they can reach out to us and follow along with all of our exploits?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:44.810 - 00:07:55.930
Oh, heck yeah. All right, so you know what you can do? You can sign up for our newsletter by heading to Rockfight Co. Colin works very hard on that every week.
I want to give him kudos for his excellent work on the newsletter.
Colin True
00:07:55.930 - 00:07:56.490
Thank you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:56.810 - 00:08:06.890
You're welcome.
Follow us on Instagram to get video clips from all of our podcast episodes, including one that I really love of Colin just railing against e bikes, in case you didn't hear that.
Colin True
00:08:07.050 - 00:08:07.930
Mountain bikes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:08.290 - 00:08:11.490
E. Mountain bikes. Sorry. E Mountain bikes. Very specific.
Colin True
00:08:11.650 - 00:08:12.130
Yes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:12.450 - 00:08:28.490
Yeah. Old man Colin yelling at the sky. And then email us@myrockfightmail.com with your thoughts, concerns, questions, questions for gear Abby and.
And your love letters and your venmos. You know, anything you want to send to us within reason, we're ready for it.
Colin True
00:08:28.490 - 00:08:42.590
Everything goes to myrockfightmail.com gear Abby. Questions. Send them in. We're already recording episodes, so you may as well send in some questions. If you want to talk to schnitzbahn, send it in.
You want to answer to. You want to say I'm a dick for saying that there might be doping in ultra running, Send it in. We want to hear it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:43.150 - 00:09:42.140
Definitely send that one in. The opening shot on today's episode of the Rock Fight is presented by Lem's shoes. As the summer season wraps up.
Oh, I don't even want to think about that. Now is a great time to get ready for fall with lems from easygoing slip ons and refined leather lace ups. Sounds saucy. To tough trail. Ready boots.
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But in the meantime, head to lemshoes.com right now to get your feet in the best fitting shoe you've ever worn. And I have to say, as someone who has started kicking around in some of the primal Zen, I actually I texted you about it because I liked him so much.
I was like, Colin, you know what? I'm going to give you this one. You were right. They are deeply comfortable.
Colin True
00:09:42.460 - 00:09:50.380
Look, they paid for the spot. I'm not going to tell you that they didn't pay for the spot, but I'm telling you, if you the fit of the primal Zen is special.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:51.020 - 00:09:53.900
It's amazing they didn't pay for Colin and I saying that part though this.
Colin True
00:09:53.900 - 00:09:54.620
Part is for free.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:54.620 - 00:10:01.790
Intrinsic. I'm not getting paid to say it. This is free. This is free. Free out of my mouth and my feet, apparently.
Colin True
00:10:01.790 - 00:10:05.310
And if they'd like to pay more, I'll tell you all about my refined leather Lace ups.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:06.110 - 00:10:09.910
Salty. When did Lem's get so sexy?
Colin True
00:10:09.910 - 00:10:10.350
I don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:10.350 - 00:10:13.430
I think that was the fall 2025 lineup from Lem's.
Colin True
00:10:13.430 - 00:11:14.040
That's right, the new teddy from Lem's Shoes. Okay, first story of the week.
Lots of big mountain and alpinism news this week, starting with a story in the Times about Italian climber Marco Confort. Confortolo Conforma Confortola. I was putting the accent in the wrong place.
Confortola, who is being accused of using Stolo and photoshopped images to fake a number of his climbs.
Confortola announced last month that he has ascended all 14 of the world's 8,000 meter peaks, a feat that was considered to be even more impressive considering he lost all of his toes after a climb on K2 in 2008. Another climan, Simone Moro, alleges that ConFrotolo made up six of his ascents by photoshopping himself into the summit photos of other climbers.
I'll link the article in the show notes so our listeners can see an example of which is. I mean, it's pretty damning if you look at the one that the example they gave. So what do you think here, Shantae?
I personally want to not care about big mountain accomplishments anymore.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:14.200 - 00:11:14.840
We know.
Colin True
00:11:15.640 - 00:11:20.600
Well, I think it's cool and it happens, but I also don't think someone should be lauded for something they didn't do.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:21.350 - 00:11:29.030
Well, sure. I mean, first I just want to know, Marco, did you use a Strava mule for these? It feels like this is the test case, Right?
Colin True
00:11:29.670 - 00:11:33.830
Can you imagine that phone call? Listen, here's what I need you to do. Have you heard of Kenchachanga?
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:35.670 - 00:11:36.869
Are you into ltse?
Colin True
00:11:36.869 - 00:11:38.790
Yeah. Are you willing to buy an international.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:38.950 - 00:11:44.150
Plane ticket for many of them? In fact, are you willing to lose at least one, if not three toes?
Colin True
00:11:44.710 - 00:11:45.990
Maybe die? We don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:46.400 - 00:13:39.510
Yeah, up to you, you know. Okay, so, so. So, jokes aside, I think it's pretty ballsy of Simone Moro, who is a very highly regarded alpinist himself. He is.
This isn't just some chump on the side of the street being like, that guy's a liar. Or, you know, he, you know, for him to make the accusations, I doubt he'd do it without feeling pretty sure of it.
You know, he kind of line lists some of the reasons why the photos, yada, yada, I don't know. But also, I honestly like what I get from this is that I hate that big mountains especially have become this so hissing match.
Yeah, I did it bigger, faster, better than you, and my style was more pure and blah, blah, blah, who gives a shit? Who cares? I mean, here I'm with you on this because where is the intrinsic motivation? Why is it always about men and their egos? Sorry.
That really is what a lot of this boils down to. I love the mountains. I love pushing my own limits out there, which are admittedly far, far lower than either of those guys limits.
But I have zero desire to turn my experiences in the mountains into some sort of competition. I don't.
You know, I'll post on Instagram some pretty shots with some very, like, vague, you know, wordy, you know, flowery thing that I've thought of.
But that's really just a log for me to be able to go back and see these places and to share it with the people who follow me and like, hey, you know, I don't even usually say where I'm at. It's just a vibe. But it's this whole idea of the mountains as a pissing match of like using them to boost your ego that really bothers me.
And I don't. I don't love that. And so it's like, I really hope this guy didn't make this up.
But if you look at the, that, that photo you're talking about, it's the cropped. The one right where it looks like he cropped off of the other guys. I mean, that's from a summit a couple years back, but, you know, it's.
It doesn't sound great. And it's like, come on, buddy, I really hope you didn't like make this up.
It's hard enough to do this stuff and to do any 8,000 meter peak, much less all of them. And I sure hope you're not. This is the whole idea of stolen valor. Right?
Colin True
00:13:39.670 - 00:13:40.070
Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:40.230 - 00:13:41.190
Don't be that guy.
Colin True
00:13:41.270 - 00:13:54.680
Yeah, I mean, like I say, I'm not. I'm. I'm trying to not care as much about this stuff. I think that's partly. That's a very us way of approaching it.
Because, you know, I prefer like my outdoor experiences to be for me. That's why I'm on a podcast every week talking about them clearly. Right. But the like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:55.000 - 00:13:57.080
Tell me more about your experiences, Colin.
Colin True
00:13:57.080 - 00:15:05.580
I need everyone to know about the hour long mountain bike ride that I did this weekend. Boy, was it epic. No, but the thing to remember here too, and I'm kind. I am kind of here for this in a lot of ways.
Nothing you said is wrong, but it is a competitive sport, especially in Europe. Right? They hand out the golden ice axe. I don't want to. Is it the Pla d'? Or? Yeah. Right. And so if you're. Simone. Simon Morrow.
God, I'm terrible at the name today. Sorry, everybody. But it's.
You might be pissed because like, what if you've done something really cool this year and this guy's like, hey, check me out. Here I am on Lozi. And it's like, no, man, that picture was taken by somebody else six years ago.
I see why it gets to this point because it does become a. It is a pissing match because it is competitive, because it is people taking things away from each other.
Now we have another conversation, if that's worth it. Because it's one thing when it's a sport in a controlled environment and there's trainers around to help people get hurt.
It's another thing where people are going up to 8,000 meters and potentially dying to accomplish these things, only to then argue about it based off of photographs that come out as well. But I do see why maybe this becomes a big deal for some folks.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:05.580 - 00:16:09.450
Oh, yeah, no, not at all to take away from Simone. Just saying, hey, man, I'm calling you out on this it's. Yeah, it is, it's just. It's not the way I enjoy the sport.
I think alpinism is an incredible pursuit. You know, I very lightly engaged in it myself, but not anywhere near that level. But I think that it's.
It's incredible to watch the things people do accomplish and that the way the human. I mean, I remember when Ed Visters did all those peaks without oxygen. I thought it's a pretty incredible feat. And.
But there was a bit of a humility to how he talked about it. And so, you know, even though it is this kind of of big groundbreaking thing, yada yada.
And you see, you know, the, there's people who go up these peaks every day. You've got the local Sherpa and other folks who are local in this region that are going up and climbing these peaks all the time with their clients.
They've barely get the glory.
I mean, we've seen a couple Sherpas sort of step into the spotlight, but it's really about these other people getting up there and being like, I did it better, I did it faster, I did it more. And I just.
Colin True
00:16:09.850 - 00:16:11.290
I know, I know what we're going to do.
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:11.610 - 00:16:13.770
Okay, we're going to start. Are we having a climb off?
Colin True
00:16:13.930 - 00:16:38.170
Yeah, basically we're going to do the World Mountaineering League, right. And there's going to be regional competitions and then every year you get. This will also help.
Our next story is going to be about, you know, reducing crowding on Everest.
And it's like, this is going to help with that because it's going to be like, all right, listen, you're going to get to the point where you're going to have two people that get through. We can do a men's and women's division, whatever we want to do. And we set them off at the same time.
And whoever gets to the summit, then you get the golden axe.
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:38.170 - 00:16:51.569
You know, I want to know who can do it the most stylishly, like who's out there wearing their. We were just talking about Owen, perhaps the stylish Owen.
Like maybe someone's out there dressed in business CAs and you know, they could show us something we don't know.
Colin True
00:16:51.570 - 00:17:15.949
Think about what Kai Lenny is doing in surfing.
When you see like these big wave surfers and they're going down the face of these monster waves that could like take out a city if they broke in the right place. And people are clinging to like, I just gotta get to the end of this wave. I don't wanna get dest. And then Kylani's.
Are they like doing aerials and like zipping around and stuff like that? It's like. So I think that we need a little that mountaineering, you know, what are you doing? Make it entertaining for the crowd.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:16.669 - 00:17:31.069
Yeah, I just, I'm just sick of seeing people like beat each other, beat each other up over these contrived things. I mean, yeah, move on, get on with your life. Do your thing. Don't let someone else's bullshit steal from your shine.
Colin True
00:17:32.109 - 00:18:10.980
Our next story.
According to an article on BBC.com in an effort to reduce the impact on Mount Everest, Nepal is making it free to climb 97 other mountains in their portion of the Himalaya range. Nepalese Everest permit will cost you $15,000 starting in September. And eight of the world's 10 highest mountains are in Nepal.
So this is an opportunity to lure some of that traffic away from the world's highest mountain. In the last two years, only 68 permits were issued for those 97 now free peaks. So, you know, obviously there wasn't a lot of demand.
But I think Nepal is hoping that the free permits will have an impact and lure some of those climbers off of Everest. You know, what do you think about Nepal pimping some of these other peaks? Should we go climb one of these mountains?
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:11.300 - 00:19:21.240
Like, hey, it's free, let's go. It's free. Yeah, we just have to fly over there and take some time off work and. No, I mean, we should have a mountain. Yeah, exactly.
Lims the shoe of the Himalaya. We'll work on it. Guys, I've got some ideas, but no, I mean, mountains are the best. You know what, I would love to.
I just watched some stuff set in Switzerland the other night and all I wanted to do is jump into my tv. So anyway. But I mean, honestly, I highly doubt this is going to relieve any of the pressure on Everest.
The only thing that's going to relieve the pressure on Everest is them shutting down Everest and saying, you cannot climb here right now from this side of the. You know. And both countries that have access would need to do that. Rich people, heavily sponsored athletes are going to just keep doing what they do.
It is a beacon, it is a magnet. And there's a reason people haven't really flocked to these other peaks.
And that's because, like, everybody is aiming for this big cookie that is Everest. So I don't know. I have to believe that any. I would love to go anywhere in the Himalayas. So I am, I am the target audience here.
I've always wanted to go. I would be happy to go to a peak that I can go visit for free and I wouldn't mind paying for it. Just not 15,000.
Colin True
00:19:21.240 - 00:19:23.360
And I can walk up and I can.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:23.840 - 00:19:28.840
Crucial difference. Yeah, you can. We could teach you how to swing some ice. No, no.
Colin True
00:19:28.840 - 00:19:39.780
And I've done.
I've climbed some big mountains, like, but it just, you know, I would rather, I want like, you know, Rainier, Shasta level, like, you know, you know, sort of mountaineering. I don't, I don't want middle aged.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:39.780 - 00:19:40.980
Mountaineering is what you mean.
Colin True
00:19:41.060 - 00:19:42.740
I love that. Let's start that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:42.900 - 00:20:18.110
Yeah, I think it's a great idea. I'm in. I mean, I've hiked, I've hiked Kilimanjaro. I would not call that mountaineering in any, any respect of the word.
But I did like the idea of climbing in another country. That was pretty fun.
But yeah, anyway, I mean, I am curious, like, my thought is what kind of infrastructure exists that may or may not exist in these less traveled areas? So if they're saying only 68 people in two years have even applied for a permit in these places, how remote is it?
And you can imagine the Himalaya are pretty remote. Can these places sustain a big increase in traffic?
Colin True
00:20:18.990 - 00:20:25.230
Are they just expecting like, no one to show up? Like someone goes to get like, oh, yeah, no, we weren't serious about that. Go climb Everest.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:25.630 - 00:20:30.090
Yeah, come for free. We'll give you all a free outfit. If, you know, no one's going to.
Colin True
00:20:30.090 - 00:20:32.810
Come see that half dead yak, you can, you can use that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:34.970 - 00:21:30.120
Yak. That's such a sad image. I don't know. But it does make me think about how people become really obsessed with climbing a particular peak.
You know, down here by us, I'd say Baldy is that way, Whitney a little further north. Or people who hike the same trail, you know, year after year. A lot of people do this on the John Muir Trail, New Mopo, for instance.
These are awesome places. But you know, in Everest, you know, the whole region is. I, like I said I would always. I've been wanting to go there since I was a kid.
But have you considered perhaps that there are other places that are amazing as well? And also, how about you stop hogging all the permits to these places? Not Everest, because there's nobody hogging a $15,000 permit.
But, but it's the same mindset. It's like, that's the one. I only want that one. I don't care about the rest of them. I must only get this one. You know what? There's pretty.
There's pretty incredible places in the same vicinity. You don't get a JMT permit. Oh, my gosh. Go hike. This is the High Sierra route. Go hike your own. Make your own loop. Even better.
It doesn't need to have a name.
Colin True
00:21:30.120 - 00:21:31.320
Way more fun too, by the way.
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:31.640 - 00:21:39.400
Yeah, way more fun. I've done it a million times. It's just go out there and seek beauty wherever it may be. And it may be a free mountain in the Himalaya.
Colin True
00:21:39.400 - 00:22:02.420
I don't want to spoil my parting shot, but there is. There is definitely some. There's just, There's.
There's a mindset, I guess, is that of people that the way they kind of approach these things and it's, you know, I think it takes visiting some of those kind of classic places after a while and then seeing. Seeing that like, oh, but actually I did this other thing, which was maybe not as hard, maybe it was harder, whatever.
But just for whatever reason, doesn't have the notoriety that the one thing that that other thing did.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:02.820 - 00:22:03.860
It's the notoriety.
Colin True
00:22:04.020 - 00:22:18.820
You get sucked in. I mean, it's funny. Like, I tell people there's a little tiny mountain behind my house in the wintertime.
I give them, look at Catalina island in one direction and then the other direction, I'm looking at, like, the San Bernardino is covered in snow and. And everything, and all the deserty kind of peaks in between. And it's like, that's great.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:19.220 - 00:22:20.740
It doesn't get much better than this.
Colin True
00:22:20.740 - 00:22:21.540
You know what I mean?
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:22.020 - 00:22:31.540
I agree 100%. I mean, there's. I went up just. I was up in Mammoth Lakes this weekend, and I went up one morning up the Duck Pass Trail and did a loop up there.
Colin True
00:22:31.540 - 00:22:35.420
It's like the only place I've been in the Sierra, by the way, that area. Yeah, great area.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:35.420 - 00:22:37.540
Wow. We have to expand your vision.
Colin True
00:22:37.540 - 00:22:37.940
Agree.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:38.020 - 00:23:06.440
There's some incredible stuff. But, yeah, just. I've been up there a million times.
I've done that trail a million times, but it doesn't, you know, I decided to do something off the beaten path. And I was like, I don't know, we'll see if I like. And I loved it. I was so glad that I did a different route this time.
And I was like, oh, all these times I've done the same old, same old when I could have had. It just triggers something in your brain, that idea of novelty, something you haven't seen before. Open. Open your minds.
Well, I think we Will come back to this a little bit, but I think people need to expand the way they view outdoor objectives.
Colin True
00:23:06.440 - 00:23:37.220
The classics are great for the classics. Like, I mean, that's why I hiked Baldy a few weeks ago.
I hadn't done it before, and it's like, I hadn't spent any time sort of in that area of the mountains. Like, all right, what am I going to do? I've never been there before. I'll go hike Baldy now.
It's like, okay, now I kind of see what this area is all about. And when you look on the map and you look at the different trip reports or whatever, you can start to kind of be like, oh, I see.
What's peak doing over here? Oh, the elevation gate's kind of the same as like, bal. Okay. I kind of know what to expect, but it looks like probably way fewer people.
People are going to this spot and it just like, yeah, go check it out. But then, anyway, I'm giving advice.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:37.780 - 00:24:28.490
Yeah, I mean, I'll. To wrap up the segment, I.
Years ago, I wrote a piece for Alpinist magazine when RJ Secor, who wrote the classic Sierra Peaks Passes Trails book that everybody. It's like the bible of the Sierra. When he passed, I wrote about him.
And I wrote about this concept of walking through the Sierra, hiking through, climbing up in the Sierra and looking at things and wondering, like, what is it like there? What is it like here? Looking at a map and wondering, what is it like?
And there was always this idea that RJ had said he liked knowing that there were peaks out there that he didn't know or that maybe people had never been on. And I came away feeling that same feeling. Like, I like that there's a little mystery, but I also like that I can continue expanding my experience.
Experience out there. So anyway, we know what that means. Yeah.
Colin True
00:24:29.530 - 00:24:49.640
It's time for the rock fight lightning round. All right, first story. According to a CBS News story, a Japanese hiker was found dead after a bear dragged him from the trail into the forest o'.
Shantae. Between bison, goring and this story, are the animals starting to turn against us?
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:50.200 - 00:25:03.880
I mean, maybe rightfully so. I mean, I feel awful for that guy. That had to have been so terrifying and how horrible for the people who love him.
But, yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, we're kind of screwing with their habitat and ours, so I get why they're a little saucy, you know?
Colin True
00:25:04.200 - 00:25:26.780
Well, it continues, right? We had a lot of animal interactions in the lightning round.
Because ABC News has reported that a hiker in Tennessee has died after picking up and being bitten by a rattlesnake. The operative part of that sentence is picking up the rattles. Rattlesnake.
Now the death was likely because of an allergic reaction to the snake's venom. So Shantae, are the some hikers just making this too easy for the animals?
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:27.500 - 00:25:34.460
Maybe we need to in order to get the point across, make a new rattlesnake emblazoned flag that just says don't pick me up.
Colin True
00:25:34.460 - 00:25:40.340
Like I have a dog that doesn't like people. We put a little handkerchief around his neck that's like don't pet me. You know, kind of like, hey, we need to put.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:40.340 - 00:25:45.860
I appreciate that when people do that. I don't touch the dog. I don't even say hi buddy. Hi little buddy. I want that.
Colin True
00:25:45.860 - 00:25:52.720
No, he doesn't want that. Then I'm telling you, he doesn't want that. So we need volunteers to go out and put little anchor shifts around all the rattlesnakes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:54.480 - 00:25:56.080
And on the bison, those can be bigger.
Colin True
00:25:56.080 - 00:26:22.250
Yes. All right, last lightning round story. According to the Coast Guard's 2024 recreational boating statistics, boating deaths are at a 50 year low.
However, not when it comes to stand up and paddling. In an article on paddlingmag.com about those coast Guard stats, stand up Paddleboarding saw a 164 increase in fatalities from 2023 to 2024.
Shantae, are animals using the sups to take us out?
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:22.570 - 00:26:36.090
It's the orcas. Oh my God. 164 increase in sub deaths basically just confirms what I felt like.
The one and only time I got on a paddle board and wobbled my way down the dish, which is. Oh God. This is how I die.
Colin True
00:26:36.810 - 00:26:37.210
Really?
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:37.770 - 00:26:38.250
Yeah.
Colin True
00:26:39.130 - 00:26:39.690
So fun.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:40.170 - 00:27:07.390
I. You know what? I think it would be fun if you're not me any other person.
I got up there and the entire time where you know, we're floating down and in my head I'm like, this is supposed to be fun, right? People love doing this. I could tell it's a good workout. I enjoyed that part of it.
But it took a good five minutes for my legs to stop feeling like jello. And then the whole time I just realized my butt was clenched. Like the next day. Weird muscles hurt because I was so clenchy.
I loved it when we just got on our knees to float back the rest the of.
Colin True
00:27:08.740 - 00:27:14.260
Well, by the way, that that 164%, it was literally like like 11 to 29. So it wasn't like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:14.420 - 00:27:40.310
Yeah, but it's not like 750 people are dying. But I think I would be number 12. So I feel like I'm glad I've given that ghost up.
Today's top stories on the rock fight are brought to you by Oboz, who wants to share their love of hiking. And we want to help them by uncovering all the different reasons we love to take the long walk, including the following.
Number one, you get to tell yourself it's all downhill from here. And be wrong.
Colin True
00:27:40.310 - 00:27:42.670
And be wrong. There's always one more uphill.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:42.990 - 00:27:48.750
Always. Number two, Campfire Smoke is the original cologne. Ah.
Colin True
00:27:50.190 - 00:27:52.830
Do you like that smell? You like coming and smelling like campfire smoke?
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:52.990 - 00:28:08.430
I love it. I love when I come back from a trip and all my stuff just still smells weak slightly. I honestly love it, but I'm a freak that way.
All right, number three, you enjoy the moment your boots officially smell like adventure. That I don't like.
Colin True
00:28:08.750 - 00:28:09.430
You don't like that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:09.430 - 00:28:09.990
Pass on.
Colin True
00:28:09.990 - 00:28:11.630
You don't want your boots to smell like adventure?
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:11.790 - 00:28:12.310
Nope.
Colin True
00:28:12.310 - 00:28:13.310
What should they smell like?
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:13.710 - 00:28:20.110
They should smell neutral. I want them to smell neutral. I don't want to smell them. I don't even wear boots, so I'm fine.
Colin True
00:28:20.110 - 00:28:23.990
There's a tip. Oboes work on the adventures. Normal neutral smell.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:23.990 - 00:28:31.690
I need neutral smelling oboes. That's next on your list. So anyway. But number four, I see where you've gone with this.
Colin True
00:28:31.690 - 00:28:32.250
You like this.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:32.650 - 00:28:38.930
Yeah. And your boots will definitely smell like adventure if they are a pair of Oboz highlight mid waterproof boots.
Colin True
00:28:38.930 - 00:28:39.290
What?
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:39.770 - 00:29:10.760
Yep. The Oboe's highlight is designed for lasting comfort and made with recycled and bio based materials.
The highlight collection is designed to support your stride. Whether that's out, I don't know why I said it like that. Your stride gotta have a little assassin's stride.
Whether that's out on rocky switchbacks or wandering closer to home. This hiking appreciation moment is brought to you by Oboz of Bozeman, Montana.
Oboz is the maker of premium quality footwear for the trail and the cupid to the outdoor world. Oboz love hiking.
Colin True
00:29:11.800 - 00:29:46.980
All right, main story today. A recent post on the website Halfwayanywhere poses the question for our main story today.
If you're not familiar with Halfway Anywhere, as I wasn't until just a few days ago. A few hours ago, actually. It's the website for thru hiker Tyler Fox.
And in a post that went up last month, Fox makes the case that the triple crown of hiking is Dumbledore Dumb Fox makes an interesting case that isn't really about the Triple Crown, but about the made up accolades that those of us in the adventure community tend to put an outsized importance on. I might fall into that camp, maybe.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:46.980 - 00:29:48.020
I believe you do.
Colin True
00:29:49.060 - 00:30:23.780
In this case, it's the bragging rights that some cling to, and I'm paraphrasing and kind of summarizing it, but basically the bragging rights that some cling to after they hike the at the CDT and the pct. So, Shantae, let's do a little quick test, right?
As someone who spent a lot of time in the PCT and has been on parts, if not all of these trails, you come across an Instagram profile of someone, maybe you know them, maybe you don't. But in the bio of this profile are the words Triple Crown backpacker or Triple Crown hiker.
Maybe it also has the year in which they completed each trail. What is your knee jerk reaction as a backpacker?
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:24.730 - 00:31:14.990
I mean, honestly, at this point I don't even notice it because so many hikers list out not just the Triple Crown, they'll list out any hike, like longer hike that they've done and the year that they completed it. So it's become sort of, and I don't mean this in a negative way, but it's become background noise.
So I'm not looking at somebody's profile and saying like, oh wow, it's just there.
And don't get me wrong, it is a huge accomplishment to cover thousands of miles of trail, especially for those people who somehow bang it out in a year doing what's called a calendar year Triple Crown. That requires crazy planning, endurance, and honestly, a little bit more than a bit of favor from the weather gods.
But I don't think more or less of you if you've hiked the AT ct, PCT or any other trail. I just think you've probably done a much better job than I have of prioritizing hiking over anything else in your life.
And honestly, I'm a little bit jealous of that.
Colin True
00:31:14.990 - 00:31:17.350
Well, that might be what they're going for, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:17.350 - 00:32:14.320
Yeah. Get it, buddy. Get it. I've got some bills to pay, but I mean, for me, what's special about hiking long trails? So yeah, you're right.
I have been on all three of those trails and others.
But what's special about them is being able to sort of be immersed in the outdoors and the simple act of walking, which is one of my favorite things to do has been since I was a kid. And it's it's an unusual experience to be able to spend weeks or even months on foot.
I really do think, and I know for me, I find a lot of camaraderie with other people who've done that. It's a very unique experience, does change you and shape you in ways that you couldn't comprehend beforehand.
But for like, I don't judge anyone based on that and for anybody who does, you know, judge people and there are many people who do on what you have or haven't hiked. Like, how many people, when they meet me and they know I hike, will be like, well, what long trails have you done?
It's, it's crazy how common that is in the through hiking community.
Colin True
00:32:14.320 - 00:32:33.980
I think that's what he's getting at, right? It's sort of like this sort of. Yeah, and that part.
And that's, listen, in terms of the take it itself, like far be it for me to look down my nose at a hot take because like, I'm the guy who said that, you know, mountain bike suspension is pointless and skiing at a resort is not an outdoor activity. So I am definitely a. Yeah, you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:33.980 - 00:32:34.900
Are the king of hot take.
Colin True
00:32:34.900 - 00:33:12.010
I like the hot take.
I like, I like putting a controversial topic out there into the outdoor community and receiving back both the laughs, high fives and the hate that comes with it.
Where I have maybe it's a bit of a sort of a half baked hot take in a lot of ways because I think the, you know, the triple crown of it all, like, and he kind of defends like doing the triple crown of calendar year. Like that's okay. Like, look at the end of the day, all of these things, it's all arbitrary. It's all the same, right? It's.
This is the backpacking through hiking equivalent of the 13.1, 26.2, you know, sticker on the back of a car. I hate those too. I mean, do you really? Well, okay, that sounds terrible.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:12.010 - 00:33:14.730
Such a hater. I feel like I say that once an episode now.
Colin True
00:33:14.730 - 00:33:51.810
This is great. It's working. The.
No, but it's not that I hate it and I appreciate the urge and the want to celebrate the accomplishment, but I think there are just too many people out there who kind of have that sort of this sort of implication that you are a lesser than backpacker unless you can answer that question.
And there's enough for every sort of, you know, single mom who's working and has a job and kids and everything else, who does a marathon and is so proud of that and they put the sticker in the car, which is like. That is like, yes, good for you. Made that Time to make that happen.
In the face of all these challenges, there is absolutely some douchebag who probably leaves his kid in the VIP tent.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:52.050 - 00:33:53.930
Of the Iron man for 10 hours.
Colin True
00:33:53.930 - 00:33:56.890
Possibly who's prioritizing that 26.2.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:56.890 - 00:33:57.250
Right.
Colin True
00:33:57.330 - 00:34:19.490
And I just, generally speaking, I don't really know what stickers like that, or even kind of takes like this are supposed to sort of elicit from me. Like, what's the reaction you want me to have? Cuz it's like a political sticker.
Like if I see the opposing campaign sticker on a car, am I supposed to go, man, you know, kind of like that guy now? Like, no, like, what are you trying to do with this info? What am I supposed to do with the information?
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:20.590 - 00:35:51.210
All right. In some people's defense, I don't have these things listed in my bio, but I think that some people do this because it does.
You become part of a community. And so if you think about the ways we exist in this world, people really do. Most people want to belong to something. Totally.
I mean, it's why people join gangs. That is the honest truth. It is, it's sense of belonging, protection, things like that.
But it's this idea of being a part of something larger than yourself. So I do think that when people, you know, have these achievements and they choose to list them out, that's.
That's a beacon for other people who either have done them or want to, that you are. We're like kind of, there's some overlap for us in this world. We somehow cross paths.
And so I think it's the same with those 26.2 stickers and things like that. It's. It's the same concept. So I think for some people it really is about that. It's about broadcasting to other people.
Like, hey, I think we might be like the same kind of people. Do you see me? I see you. And then, yeah, there's gonna be the douchebags. And so like, for me, it doesn't, I don't ever.
I've had people say they don't want to go backpacking with me because they're like, oh, well, you've done long trails and you know, you're so accomplished as a backpacker, blah, blah, blah, whatever that means. I'm like, but I want to spend time with you. That's why I'm asking you. It reminds me of when, when I very first met Liz Thomas. Liz Snorkel.
Thomas, who's a very accomplished through hiker, a book author, and she's the co founder and runs Treeline Review.
Colin True
00:35:51.290 - 00:35:52.330
Shout out, Liz Thomas.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:52.650 - 00:36:37.170
Shout out to Liz, one of my. My favorite hiking buddies. But when Liz and I first met, it was. I was interviewing her for. I don't remember if it was for outside or somebody.
And she wanted to go hiking. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I can't hike with you.
You've set fast, you've set fkts, like on the Appalachian Trail, you've created routes, and I can't keep up with that. And she convinced me.
We went on a waterfall hike after we became friends, and I was kind of huffing to keep up with her, and I could see her slow down this, like, casual lope and I'm just like, mouth breathing behind her. And I said, hey, if you want to go ahead, I'll meet you up there. And she's like, no, the whole point is that I want to walk with you.
Like, yeah, sure, I can do all these badass things, but the point is being together.
Colin True
00:36:37.250 - 00:36:41.330
I could totally smoke you on this trail, but I don't want to right now.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:41.890 - 00:36:55.730
Know she could. And then. Yeah. And then I eventually. Then we eventually started doing like, crazy long shit together and. And I got on her. I got on her speed.
I could never set enough kt, but I finally was able to crack the code and hike long days with Liz.
Colin True
00:36:55.730 - 00:37:35.950
But what I find fascinating about this topic is I feel like the more you do outdoors and the more you sort of get into this, because I. I was that guy. I've talked about this in the podcast before. If I.
You go back and look at my, like, Facebook memories from like 2008, and 98% of them are my, you know, quote unquote humble rags about like, oh, I'm gonna go do this mountain. And I'm just sitting there reading them now going, oh, Colin, you were such a douchebag. What were you thinking? And it was exactly what you're saying.
It was the. I want the people who don't do this stuff to think, wow, that guy's a badass. And the people who do that stuff to be like, ah, he's one of us.
And what I feel like I've learned from continuing to live and do these sports is actually the more confident you get, the less you feel like you have to say anything.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:36.030 - 00:37:36.550
Yep.
Colin True
00:37:36.550 - 00:38:13.690
And I think that's.
I think that's part of the point that Tyler's trying to make here is a little bit of that kind of like, yeah, this may be for some people, this doesn't quite, to your point, doesn't really mean what you think it means or should be, maybe have such an outsized importance that it does.
And I just, and I don't really know what the so what of this is because I think there is a. I think that's sort of like the next evolution of like, hey, this is. I'm doing this for me and it betters my life. And if it comes up, I'm happy to talk with you about it.
But for the most part, I don't need to sort of like meet you and say, oh, so you have not hiked the triple crown as I have. Yeah. You think by the end of the third trail you'd be like, hey, cool man, I'm good now, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:13.690 - 00:38:25.430
Yeah. I have nothing to prove.
Well, that's the thing is that I think I've talked, talked about this a lot when I do a lot of presentations and education and, and I say to people, like, if you're going to go off on, you know, for instance, a long trail.
Colin True
00:38:25.670 - 00:38:26.150
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:26.230 - 00:39:36.530
Think about before you head out there. Yeah, you've got logistics and prep and physical prep and everything to do before you go out there.
But do a little bit of soul searching as well, because you have to understand why you're doing this. Are you doing this to prove a point to somebody? Are you doing this to show off? Are you doing this for a feather in your cap?
Then you're going to hit some real issues.
If you start to have problems on the trail, if you have to leave early, that can really screw somebody if they have to leave an endeavor, whether it's a through hike or bike packing or whatever it is, early.
If you're not firmly rooted in why you're out there, and if the only reason you're out there is for the carrot at the end of the trail, that's gonna be. You're gonna feel the sting of that at the end. Like there wasn't anything deeper.
And I think for most people there is something deeper, but some people just don't go there. They don't understand, like, what is my real motivation for doing this?
You know, it goes back even to that whole like conquering the mountain business that you and I have talked about. Like, I, I hate that language. You're not conquering the mountain. Doesn't care that you're there. It's something inside of you.
So I just say like, you know, know why you're going to do these things and have a deeper meaning than just because somebody said I should do it or because I want to be better than other people. Like, there's got to be something deeper motivating you.
Colin True
00:39:37.250 - 00:39:45.330
Yeah. And then eventually just end up paying $15,000 for a Everest permit to go stand in line at 8200 meters or whatever it is. So.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:46.780 - 00:39:47.500
Sounds like fun.
Colin True
00:39:47.580 - 00:39:48.300
Good times.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:48.540 - 00:39:49.580
Very expensive fun.
Colin True
00:39:55.580 - 00:40:00.060
All right, time for the parting shot. Do you want to. You want to go first? Yours is a little bit more serious than mine.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:00.060 - 00:40:24.600
Mine is more serious. Yeah. No, it's just so. Yeah, I love. I love ending on a Colin. A Colin rant. So I can't wait to hear what you have to say. I know the topic. I didn't.
Didn't read your notes on it, but here. My.
My little parting note is the other day I got a message from writer, podcaster, TV host Bharatunde Thurston, who is an awesome dude if you don't follow him on social media. At the very least, you should.
Colin True
00:40:24.680 - 00:40:28.440
Yeah, I got this update too, from him, and it's. His stuff is always amazing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:28.680 - 00:40:42.440
He's always spot on. And that's why, like, I. I'll always listen when he says something. So he was telling me about the upcoming Katrina 20 impact ride.
So I met Bharatunde a couple years ago when I was on the very first episode of his PBS show, America.
Colin True
00:40:42.440 - 00:40:46.260
Speaking of humble br. Name drop a little bit here.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:46.740 - 00:43:21.300
No, no, I'm gonna. I'm gonna come back to it, but not to me, but to it as a concept. But anyway, since, I mean, he's always impressed me as a thinker and. And a doer.
He's like the big idea guy that actually gets shit done.
And he really does believe, and I believe him, that we can all do better by ourselves in the planet, especially if we find these sort of commonalities and work together.
Anyway, so what he was reaching out to us about, he said, you know, it's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, which is wild to think about, really is.
And in observance of that anniversary, Taproot Earth, which is a climate justice nonprofit based in the Southern US Is organizing a collective action that asks people to join up with others.
They especially encourage this to be a collective thing, a community thing, to bike, paddle, run, walk, roll, otherwise move 7 miles sometime during the week of August 24th to the 31st, which is next week. 7. The 7 miles represents the 144 miles swath of destruction that Katrina caused, divided by the 20 years of its aftermath.
Now and you can also donate to Taproot if you want to support their community based work where they're creating solutions to issues brought by climate change.
It's a pretty cool organization and it really feels like human, like on a human level, people led, which I think is what we need to see, especially as the, you know, systems around us are kind of failing us. Anyway.
That's all to say it's fun to do things like climb peaks and participate in races and hike long trails for their own sake, but I always appreciate it when people use these efforts to kind of amplify and, and fund some sort of greater good.
So I'm going to encourage people to head over to Taproot Earth, that is their website, learn a bit more about what they do in the Katrina 20 impact ride. And if you haven't, I'm bringing it back.
If you have not watched either season of America Outdoors with Baratunde, it is honestly such a fantastic show. I loved it so much. I was probably the weakest link.
I mean, he basically travels around the country and meets with people who have various connections to the land along with honestly very diverse perspectives that might not agree with your own. But he manages to find the connective tissue that sort of binds us all together in ways that I think are surprising sometimes.
My episode was the first one in the first season set in Death Valley and I took him to Darwin Falls to talk about water in the desert. But also this idea of Death Valley being a dead place, it's not really. And it was probably one of my favorite outdoor experiences in my entire life.
He is such a lovely person. It was such a lovely thing to do. So yeah, go watch that. Even if you don't watch my episode. It's an amazing show.
Colin True
00:43:22.020 - 00:43:25.380
Well, unfortunately can't see it anymore because we've defunded pbs. So.
Shawnté Salabert
00:43:26.340 - 00:43:28.700
Yeah, also speaking of funding things we care about.
Colin True
00:43:28.700 - 00:43:39.430
Yeah. All right, well, I'm going to bring us back down to Earth now because my parting shot is not nearly as good as your parting shot.
So last week we talked about Killian Jornay's new 14 or link up project.
Shawnté Salabert
00:43:39.430 - 00:43:42.030
Here in the US which you're so excited about.
Colin True
00:43:42.110 - 00:44:47.210
So excited about it. And also was excited to learn that also last week Killian Jornay hosted a Reddit AMA chante. Coincidence? Not at all, actually.
But during the ama, someone asked Killian the following question. Question was, hey, Killian Coloradan here. Which 14ers do you plan to do or are the most excited about?
To which Killian answered, I'm excited about all of them. No, seriously. Probably the most technical or the most exciting because there's always some more spice and fun to it.
So in Colorado, probably around Longs, Sangre de Cristo, elks, and in California, the High Sierra is the most technical of all. But then the daily adventures make them all special. But there you have it, Colorado people.
Your endurance, Lord and savior, declared California the most technical of all. Oh, how this must burn for the Colorado 14er obsessives.
And by the way, I do want to say the whole column, the whole fourteener phenomena is completely arbitrary and weird and no one else cares about something that they have zero control over. Like 14 or obsessives do. But anyway.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:47.290 - 00:44:49.370
Wait, wait. What do they have zero control over?
Colin True
00:44:49.370 - 00:44:50.970
It's just. They're just mountains.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:51.130 - 00:44:59.010
Oh, you mean their height. It just is what it is, people like a list, man. It gives you something to frame your objectives around. It's like. I don't know.
Colin True
00:44:59.010 - 00:44:59.530
You're right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:59.530 - 00:45:34.010
Listen, I spent a year. My friend brooke found a 1947 Girl Scout handbook. And yeah, it was so incredible. A hundred different badges listed in there.
We decided to spend a year trying to earn as many as we could on our. You know, following the directions in the book. Harder than you'd think, I bet. But very hard. We blogged about it. It was called Year of the Scout.
It's actually still on the Internet. If you. Maybe that should be your next book. That's what my publisher would like me to write about. But that's actually how I got my.
My book deal was they. My. Casey sent them my book and. Or my blog or blog about it.
Colin True
00:45:34.010 - 00:45:34.610
Oh, it's amazing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:34.610 - 00:45:43.250
Anyway. But that was a. That's a totally arbitrary thing to do. I love. I don't know. I'm not. I can't slag on.
For framing their objectives around concrete things.
Colin True
00:45:43.990 - 00:45:48.950
You are 100% right. But I do find it funny because the only people who really care about 14ers are people in Colorado.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:49.590 - 00:45:53.750
I think you're right. Yeah. There's not. It's not the same here. We have a lot of them, but it's not the same here.
Colin True
00:45:53.750 - 00:46:00.790
No one's in Washington going like, oh, Rainier, that 14,000 foot volcano. They're like, no, it's the big freaking volcano. People climb it, you know?
Shawnté Salabert
00:46:00.790 - 00:46:16.880
Yeah, Whitney, People just climb. Because it's. Whitney, they don't even think of it. Barely. People use the term fourteener in California. I think it really is a Colorado thing.
I remember being out there and climbing fourteeners. And having to say the word fourteener a lot. And I was like, man, we just don't say this much, us Mount Langley. That 14.
Colin True
00:46:17.120 - 00:46:33.600
No, I mean, there's 58 of them. Right? I mean, that's why. And it's like. I mean, and that's why in the northeast, there's the 4,000 foot. I get it.
But just remember, though, when Killian is speeding through Colorado, it's because he's biding his time before arriving where he truly wants to be, which is California.
Shawnté Salabert
00:46:33.840 - 00:46:38.240
Oh, burn. I love you, Colorado.
Colin True
00:46:38.240 - 00:47:04.890
I love you too, Colorado. I genuinely do. I just love. I love poking Colorado because they think they're so cool. Anyway, so that's the show for today. Hey, we want your emails.
Send us. Send it to us. Colorado people. Send us your emails. Myrockfightmail.com TheRockfight's a production of Rock Fight LLC.
For Shante Salavera, I'm Colin True. Thank you for listening. I don't think he's climbing 14ers. Maybe he is. Chris Demaikz is here to sing the Rock Fight Fight song.
We'll see you next time, rock fighters.
Chris Demakes
00:47:04.890 - 00:48:00.700
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