The Broad Beta Podcast
The Broad Beta Podcast and BroadBeta.com are spaces to share experiences of climbing, skiing, and other mountain adventures, from the ordinary to the heroic. Our contributors tell stories that foster wildness within, and outside, ourselves. Through these stories, we hope to inspire and empower anyone who listens.
Cover photo by @nathannorby of co-founder Jeannie Wall.
Episodes
46 episodes
Jeannie Wall: Climbing's Unspooling - A Story
Tune in to get reacquainted with Jeannie Wall, co-founder of Broad Beta. Jeannie epitomizes the term mountain athlete, with high-level accomplishments in a m...
Amber Smith: Getting Consent on El Cap - A Story
Getting Consent on El Cap was written by Amber Smith and originally published on the Broad Beta website in June of 2026 (visit the link to see photos!). Amber shares her past hesitations ab...
Jenny Abegg: Born of the Mountains - An Interview
Our guest, mountain runner, climber, and mountaineer Jenny Abegg, tells the story of how wild places became her venue for finding agency and learning to live from the heart after leaving a religious community. We talk about the shift from hard ...
Andrea Hamilton Davis: Risk Tolerance as a Leadership Skill - An Interview
She broke a legendary New Zealand endurance race record. She completed Eco Challenges in places like Australia, Patagonia, and Borneo. Then she walked into an even tougher arena: environmental governance. We’re joined by Andrea Hamilton Davis, ...
Lyra Pierotti: Training for the Female Physiology - An Interview
We sit down with IFMGA-certified mountain guide Lyra Pierotti, a rare blend of international guide, avalanche professional, and strength and conditioning specialist, to unpack what it actually takes to build a long career in the mountains. Lyra...
Anna Pfaff: For the Joy of Climbing - An Interview
Our guest is Anna Pfaff - an alpinist and expedition climber, and a critical care nurse. Anna has completed numerous expeditions and put up first ascents all over the world. Her resume includes the Great Trango Tower and The Nameless Tower in P...
Jeannie Wall: Dancing On Ice - Chasing the 'In-Nick' Climb - A Story
Frost bites the air at minus 28, the Lamar Valley glows with steam from bison herds, and we shoulder packs toward a line that might vanish tomorrow. Dancing on Ice is Jeannie Wall's love letter to Montana’s winter: Hyalite Canyon’s storied wall...
Arlene Blum: Breaking Trail, Building A Healthier World - An Interview
A moonlit push up Mount Hood lit a lifelong fire—and it didn’t stop at the summit. Arlene Blum opens up about how a strict, postwar childhood, overprotective grandparents, and one ecstatic first climb shaped her habit of choosing new routes whe...
BONUS: Amity Warme on Sending the PreMuir Wall
Amity Warme joined a short list of climbers when she free climbed the PreMuir Wall (33 pitches, 5.13c/d) on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park this November. She joins us as a follow up to her full length interview and tells us all about it. ...
Amity Warme: Climbing as a Metaphor for Life - An Interview
Does anyone know how to give'r more than Amity Warme? For a lesson in try-hard, search Book of Hate, Amity Warme on Youtube...right after you listen to this inspiring interview. Amity oozes with love for climbing and love for her fellow climber...
Cheyenne Stirling: The Bear's Tooth and the Weight of Becoming - A Story
Cheyenne grew up in Shelby, Montana, and found climbing in Bozeman. She now calls Truckee home and spends her time chasing big linkups, trail running, skiing, and pursuing any adventure that asks her to dig deep. With roots in conservation and ...
Roswitha McIntosh: From Hitler's Germany to Squaw Valley Ski Patrol - A Story
In this episode you'll hear 93-year-old Roswitha "Ros" McIntosh read her story, which was originally published on the Broad Beta website in May of 2025 (check it out h...
Kate Kelleghan: Triple Crown Queens - An Interview
Kate Kelleghan is on the cutting edge of big wall speed climbing, and this spring she and Laura Pineau became the first female team to complete the Triple Crown in Yosemite. The Triple Crown consists of climbing El Capitan, Mt. Watkins, and Hal...
Jenna Malone: Hara Hachi Bu - A Story
The story on today's episode was written and read by Jenna Malone and published on the Broad Beta website in February of 2025 (originally published in The Avalanche Review 43.3). Check i...
Steph Abegg: Information Sharing in the Climbing World - An Interview
Steph Abegg has become well known in the alpine climbing world for her detailed trip reports
Szu-ting Yi: Redefining Ambition - An Interview
Szu-ting Ye, known as Ting Ting in the climbing community, moved to the US from Taiwan to attend grad school in computer science in Philadelphia. During grad school, she discovered trad climbing at the Gunks, which changed the trajectory of her...
Jan McDonald Bradley: Patent Leather Shoes Reflect Your Underwear - An Interview
Jan McDonald Bradley grew up in New York and ran away to Jackson, Wyoming, as a young adult. She shares her deeply personal journey as a woman in a man's world in the 1970's. She worked as the first female river guide in the Tetons and backcoun...
Brette Harrington: Don't Let the Winter End - An Interview
Brette Harrington does it all…extremely well. Her resume includes groundbreaking solos, 13+ trad climbs, and mind-boggling alpine and winter climbs, not to mention ski descents, big walls, and hard sport climbs. Only her heart and dedication to...
Brittany Goris: There Is No Finish Line - An Interview
Brittany has dedicated her life to climbing ever since the first time she walked into a climbing gym in Fort Collins, CO, at 9 years old. She went on to become a competition climber and podiumed at a number of comps, including a Canadian Tour d...
Tory Dille: Landforms Have Memories - A Story
This story was written by Tory Dille and originally published on the Broad Beta website in September of 2024. It is a beautiful and vulnerable recollection of when Tory lost her mother to cancer. She later climbed Mount Olympus with two dear fr...
Kelly Halpin: FKTs, Snacks, and Dorking Out on Natural History - An Interview
Kelly Halpin is a professional mountain ultra runner and adventure athlete. She has a background in climbing, hiking, and snowboarding in the Tetons and surrounding wilderness. For the last 10 years, Kelly has merged her passions for running, c...
Kimber Cross: Still A Ways To Go - A Story
The story on today's episode was written by Kimber Cross and originally published on the Broad Beta website in May of 2024. Check it out to see photos of Kimber's mountain...
Barb Eastman: Treat Your Injuries, Go To Therapy, & Show Up For Others - An Interview
The one and only, the legend: Barb Eastman joins us on this episode. We're thrilled to hear her life story - and what a story it is. She began working in outdoor education at a young age, experienced trauma shortly into that career, and went on...
Alta Clark: What It Means To Be An Athlete - A Story
In this story, originally published on the Broad Beta website in March of 2024, Alta Clark shares what it means to be an athlete - and what that means at mealtime. She articulates what so many women struggle with in sports: the impossible expec...
