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The Curious Climber Podcast: Chatting with Hazel and Mina

The Curious Climber Podcast: Chatting with Hazel and Mina

By Mina and Hazel

No rules. Just long-form conversation about topics that interest us.
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Anyssa Lucena: Climbing Out

The Curious Climber Podcast: Chatting with Hazel and MinaAug 22, 2022

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53:41
Anyssa Lucena: Climbing Out
Aug 22, 202253:41
Nina Caprez: No Fear

Nina Caprez: No Fear

This episode is with Swiss machine Nina Caprez. Nina is known for her hard, adventurous ascents including Sibergier, Wogu, Merci La Vie, Never Ending Story…the list goes on. She has a really interesting attitude towards the mental side of climbing and an unusual relationship with fear. We talk about her experiences on hard routes and what she learnt from them; both successes and failures. We also discuss a new phase in her life that includes a social project close to her heart and a journey into parenthood. Enjoy!

Jul 03, 202201:15:23
Andrew Bisherat: Toxic Discourse
May 29, 202201:36:27
Reflections: Collaboration with The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Reflections: Collaboration with The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Recently, we have entered into a collaboration with Steven Dimmitt of The Nugget Climbing Podcast who is helping us with the editing, sound and production of our podcast. Steven's podcast is great, with loads of fantastic episodes to choose from. He is also a whizz at all the technical things. As part of this collaboration we are producing some mini-episodes together in pairs called "Reflections". These 10-15 min episodes are discussions around various different topics with the focus on learning, reflection and insights we may have had. They will be available to those who support The Nugget Podcast via Patreon, but we have included one here as a taster - enjoy!

May 05, 202217:46
Hamish McArthur: Going for Gold

Hamish McArthur: Going for Gold

This episode is a conversation between Mina and British climber Hamish McArthur. Hamish is 20 years old and current World Youth Champion in both Bouldering and Lead climbing....a pretty impressive feat. But he isn't planning to stop there, Hamish has big goals and isn't afraid to name them. This conversation is both interesting and empowering. Hamish has a depth of perspective on performance and mindset that is both interesting and useful to hear. As an athlete who is still emerging and finding his rhythm, it'll be exciting to see where his journey takes him. 

Apr 27, 202201:00:41
Mina chats to The Nugget Climbing Podcast
Feb 15, 202202:23:10
Hazel talks to Alex Honnold
Jan 22, 202201:11:44
Andy Cave: Learning to Breathe
Nov 12, 202101:05:25
What recovery looks like, with Mina and Steven

What recovery looks like, with Mina and Steven

In this episode Hazel talks with Mina and Steven Dimmitt of the The Nugget Climbing Podcast about their respective recoveries from under-eating/over-training. Although their stories look a little different they both managed to get into a position of poor health in the bid to get stronger and lighter for climbing. Both have since made a full recovery and are in great shape mentally and physically. In this conversation they talk about each of their uniquely difficult journeys back to full health. The emergence of stories like theirs are part of a growing trend in climbing that reprioritises strength gains over weight loss and uses practices that better reflect latest research. Thanks to Mina and Steven for being open to talk about this because conversations like this do a lot to improve the health of our community! Go here for the previous episode on Mina's diagnosis of RED-S. Go here to hear about Steven's story.  

Oct 04, 202101:16:26
Hazel chats to The Nugget Climbing Podcast
Aug 12, 202101:28:47
Katy Whittaker: Grit Kid

Katy Whittaker: Grit Kid

This episode is a conversation with Katy Whittaker aka The Grit Kid. Katy is a life long climber. She started young in a family of climbers and outdoor enthusiasts living in the picturesque village of Edale in the Peak District, UK.

Katy became known on the UK scene for a number of things; her stand out achievements on hard, scary gritstone trad routes make an impressive CV alone but she has also bouldered hard outside, competed for the British team and excelled in sport climbing.

But what makes this conversation interesting isn’t her list of achievements. It’s Katy’s honesty, reflection and her insights into her climbing that are the gold. We talk about risk, motivation to try dangerous routes, her relationship with “hard climbing” and her identity as someone who since so young has been entrenched in climbing culture.

Aug 10, 202101:09:53
John Kettle - How to move well

John Kettle - How to move well

John Kettle is a movement coach based in the UK. He's been the teaching climbing for 20 years. We talk about: his story with his own climbing and what led him to be a coach and interested in movement, why don’t we focus more of movement and technique, what are the many climbers missing, elite climbers versus beginners, what drills can people do, the role of mind and attention in movement efficiency, the role of stress, the ego, breathing exercises and much more. Enjoy! *The first upload of this podcast was cut short. If you listened to that - listen to the other half here. 


Jul 12, 202101:00:57
Marisa Michael: What's your gut feeling?

Marisa Michael: What's your gut feeling?

This episode is with Mina and Sports Dietitian and climber Marisa Michael and we actually recorded it back in November (sorry for the delay Marisa!!). We cover a bunch of different areas in this podcast, from her academic and clinical background to her work and research in climbing as well as busting some common nutrient based myths that commonly circulate. We then move on to a more detailed discussion around the framework of Intuitive Eating which is a particular interest of mine. I actually recently finished my certification as an IE counsellor and it’s great to have had this chat with Marisa on the subject given her clinical and sports background. Context is key and I hope this conversation helps to expand and explain what can be a misconstrued framework.
We have been a bit slower on producing episodes lately - Hazel has been studying more with her masters and I’ve (Mina) been making and now caring for a new baby (2 weeks old as I post this)! Suffice to say, life has gotten a bit busier but we are still very psyched on producing podcasts, albeit at a slower rate!
Jun 13, 202101:20:01
Madeleine Cope Part 2

Madeleine Cope Part 2

Maddy and Hazel talk about topics that interest them including women's training, body weight and body image, diet and nutrition, hormonal contraceptives, optimising performance in the menstruation cycle, menstruation and psychology/stress tolerance. 

Jun 04, 202101:32:56
The life and times of Madeleine Cope - part 1

The life and times of Madeleine Cope - part 1

Maddy just turned 30! We know that's not old but it's a good enough excuse to have her on the podcast to talk about her life (so far). This is the first part of a two part chat. The first part focuses on Maddy and her climbing the second part we talk more about issues that interest us. 

May 08, 202101:18:38
Stacy Sims: Training and Exercise in Pregnancy

Stacy Sims: Training and Exercise in Pregnancy

In this episode Mina (18 weeks pregnant at time of recording) chats to Stacy Sims about all things about training and exercise in pregnancy. Pregnancy can be a confusing time in one’s body and experiences of pregnancy also vary hugely. Stacy specialises in exercise physiology and human performance with a particular interest in female athletes through all life stages - one of which for many women will be pregnancy - so it's great to get her take on this tricky area. It's worth mentioning that neither of us are medically doctors and we are discussing medically uncomplicated pregnancies in this context - if you are unsure of anything, please seek advice from your doctor or healthcare provider.

At the time of recording I (Mina) was 18 weeks pregnant....I’m now (at the time of publishing) 32 weeks pregnant and it’s interesting for me to notice what has changed and not changed since Stacy and I had this chat. I stopped doing pull ups of any sort (even assisted) around 20 weeks due to the doming of my abdominals and stopped finger boarding soon after for the same reason. But, I’m still climbing with no issues, lifting some weights, doing finger holds by my side, and plenty of walking! Oh and endless pelvic floor exercises....

That won’t be the same for everyone of course and could change again rapidly for me too - each week now it feels like my body is different and has different likes/dislikes and needs. Constantly adapting and modifying. To be honest, I think mental flexibility has got to be a core theme of pregnancy in athletes.

Mar 19, 202101:03:38
Anna Foo - Climbing Blind

Anna Foo - Climbing Blind

In this episode Hazel speaks with paraclimber Anna Foo and psychologist Doreen Hoerold who is Anna's friend and sight-guide. We talk about climbing blind, living blind, the relationship between climber and sight-guide, politics of disability and 'blind activism', what sighted people should know about blind people, paraclimbing competitions and much more... Enjoy! 


Feb 09, 202101:09:45
Dave MacLeod: Calculated risks and personal experiments.

Dave MacLeod: Calculated risks and personal experiments.

This episode is a a conversation between Mina and Dave MacLeod. Dave is a Scottish professional rock climber and mountaineer who is known for his systematic and scientific approach to training that helped him become a high level all round climber, climbing F9a sport routes, V15 boulders, Scottish XII mixed routes and E11 trad. Dave has authored two popular books on training for climbing and has been blogging and filmmaking since 2006. He has a BSc in Physiology, and MSc in exercise science and and MSc in Human Nutrition and has published sports science research in academic journals.

Our conversation is really a two in one. In the first half we discuss his climbing achievements, how to become an all rounder, some of his harder/more dangerous routes, attitudes to risk and consequence and some unusual ways he has prepared for climbs. The second half of the conversation moves to his thoughts on nutrition and nutrition for climbers. Dave has been quite outspoken on this topic, and is well read to support it. We discuss his formal studies as well as his n=1 personal experiments, the relevance of evidence based advice and what is really going on in the body when you manipulate what you eat. Enjoy!

Dave's website
Dave's YouTube Channel
Dave's Instagram
Jan 05, 202101:33:43
Rosie Watson - How to Build a Sustainable Outdoor Community Post-Covid
Nov 30, 202001:22:33
Dhillan Chandramowli: Realising Potential.
Nov 13, 202001:16:49
Paul Pritchard - On Acceptance

Paul Pritchard - On Acceptance

Paul was a pro climber in the 80’s putting up or repeating many serious routes on sea cliffs, big mountains and scrappy little quarries in Lancashire. In 1997 he won the Boardman Tasker award for his book Deep Play. With the money he went on a trip that took him to the Totem Pole, a sea stack in Tasmania. It was here that he almost lost his life after a rock hit him in the head. The accident left Paul partially paralysed and yet Paul describes this event as the best thing that ever happened to him. We talk about what he means by that, the lessons in acceptance that inevitably come with trauma like this, his experiences with meditation, the adventures he’s had post-accident and his new book! Paul is an amazing human with a lot of wisdom and little ego. Enjoy! This episode was recorded on the 3rd July. 

Oct 18, 202001:09:59
Mina talks to Hazel about the mind and mental training.

Mina talks to Hazel about the mind and mental training.

How much of what we do in life and climbing, is controlled by the mind? When you fall on a route do you blame your physical strength/endurance or do you look to your mindset and thoughts? How much does your mind affect your experience and enjoyment?

This episode is a chat between Mina and Hazel about Hazel's work as a mental training coach. Hazel has a vast amount of personal experience in climbing and she is a deep thinking person who’s mind is always ready to explore and ask questions, even the difficult ones. Hazel has coupled this experience with studying; a degree in philosophy, a diploma in transformational coaching and a level 3 coach with The Flow Centre.
Oct 07, 202001:14:02
Lynn Hill - Legend

Lynn Hill - Legend

Lynn and Hazel talk about Lynn's climbing career and what she has learnt along the way. They hit these topics among others: how she started, nature and nurture question when it comes to talent and passion, is there an ‘adventure gene’, climbing as a male dominated sport - especially when she started, taking responsibility for our climbing experiences, trad ethics, cultural differences between USA and EU, mental training, gender issues and women empowerment.

Sep 07, 202001:39:02
Natalie Brown: Periods. A bloody nuisance or bloody brilliant?
Aug 17, 202001:01:37
Arno Ilgner - The ‘Godfather’ of Mental Training in Climbing

Arno Ilgner - The ‘Godfather’ of Mental Training in Climbing

In this episode Hazel and Arno Ilgner geek out about Mental Training. They talk about lots of things including: fear of failure, fear of falling, awareness, mindfulness, following your passion is, process versus outcome, trusting the process, goal seeking, attention, connection, positive psychology, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, motivation, beliefs, imposter syndrome, politics, achievement versus learning, mental training beyond climbing - even beyond the individual, trauma. Enjoy!
Aug 05, 202002:00:41
Tom Herbert: Being Useful
Jul 16, 202001:36:47
Black in ‘65 - Trevor Eugine Masiah

Black in ‘65 - Trevor Eugine Masiah

Hazel speaks with Trev about racism. She’s known Trev all her life but they’ve never really spoken like this about racism. It is eye opening to sit down with Trev and hear all the personal stories one needs to hear to be convinced or reminded that racism is still a thing. Trev has climbed for 35 years all over the world and has taught climbing for almost his entire working life. They could have talked about anything, but being black in 65 and most likely the first British black climber gives Trev the kind of perspective few have. They talk about: what it’s like growing up in a racist white environment, what it’s like to literally be the only climber that looks like you, living with racism today, lack of racism in the climbing community, the concept of race as a convenient construct, why intentions matter, the ignorance of the white person to racism, the burden/responsibility being a member of a minority, the difference between racism and prejudice, compassion towards the racist, white washing of history/removal of black history, tribalism, class and racism, ‘we’ve had enough’, the current movement, yes there has been progress but it’s no where near good enough. This is a sobering and honest conversation that hopefully cuts through all the hashtags and small bites of info we're seeing scattered all over social media. This is only one black voice Trev is certainly one to listen to.  He asked to share these resources along side the podcast:  https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2017/09/08/my-white-friend-asked-me-on-facebook-to-explain-white-privilege-i-decided-to-be-honest/?fbclid=IwAR171K6DEfA-nDVaH9Fs-5fydbd3U4k8fpoC5aK9v05xZ4rEw6nSiQTiKJM https://youtu.be/atfVUgyEIOI https://youtu.be/v4amCfVbA_c https://www.google.com/search?q=black+and+british+tv+series&oq=black+and+british&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j46j0l3.16529j1j8&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Jul 01, 202001:47:19
Anoushé Husain - Not your average climber

Anoushé Husain - Not your average climber

Anoushé Husain is a civil servant and paraclimber in the UK and a champion for all those experiencing barriers and self-limiting beliefs. Born missing her right arm below the elbow, living with multiple health conditions, a cancer survivor, a Muslim and coming from an ethnic minority, Anoushé has never let what society or culture thinks she should do limit her or dictate the direction of her life.  She spends her time sharing her journey to help others realise they shouldn’t be limited by how society or culture  might see them. Anoushé is the 2017 Asian Women of Achievement Award winner for Sport and the 2017 recipient of the Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration at The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards. She was also named on the 2018 Sunday Times Alternative Richlist, has received a Points of Light from the Prime Minister and is currently in the Top 100 most influential people with a disability Shaw Trust Powerlist. She is an Ambassador for Limbpower (leading amputee and limb different charity in the UK),  Ehlers Danlos Support UK and a patron for the Grit&Rock foundation helping girls from deprived backgrounds reach their potential through Climbing.

She co-founded Paraclimbing London in 2018 to reduce the barriers to climbing for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.

In this podcast we take a deep dive into the following issues: what lock down is like for someone with health problems and a disability, the politics and language of disability, what needs to change in our culture around disability, the idea of inspiration porn in the disability world, the difference between vulnerability and victimhood, how para climbing works and what the scene is like, climbing as a BAME muslim and how welcoming climbing has been for her, body image and facial hair as a woman from an ethnic minority, the headscarf, how to make climbing more diverse and why it isn't very diverse already.

Jun 16, 202001:44:07
Jen Randall: A Director's Cut
May 29, 202050:44
Emma Wood - The Mind in Climbing

Emma Wood - The Mind in Climbing

Hazel talks to Emma Wood about the mind in climbing. Emma is a cognitive hypnotherapist based in Sheffield, UK. Find her website here

They talk about a lot of things including: fear of falling, fear of failing, coaching, what is cognitive hypnotherapy, therapist/coach relationship, social validation, emotions, meditation. 

Support our podcast here 

May 19, 202001:08:29
Stacy Sims: Women are not small men.

Stacy Sims: Women are not small men.

This episode is a conversation between Mina and Dr Stacy Sims. Stacy is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand where she specialises in exercise physiology and human performance, specifically looking at sex differences in training and nutrition.
Stacy really stands behind a motto of #womenarenotsmallmen and she is actively pushing to understand and do further research into female physiology so that we can really begin to better understand the differences that women may need to consider in sport. After all, we have this thing called the menstrual cycle for a big period (pun intended) of our lives, a completely different (and more complex) hormonal environment to men and our bodies will react differently to some stimuli because of this.
In this chat we cover a lot! We discuss the current state of research, why there isn’t much research done in women, conflicting opinions within the current evidence, why young girls drop out of sport, the menstrual cycle, it’s phases and how we can optimise our experience through training and nutrition, PMS symptoms including increased fear, the pill, future research and much more.
May 04, 202001:08:39
Sky Yardeni - Let's Talk About Grief

Sky Yardeni - Let's Talk About Grief

In this episode Hazel speaks with Sky Yardeni about grief. Sky is a therapist and social change maker, originally from Israel but is based in Santa Fe, NM. He is currently the Therapeutic Director of the Climbing Grief Fund with the American Alpine Club. https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund

They talk about his work with the Grief Fund, his own personal experience of grief, the need for better communication and support around grief, taking risks in the mountains, dialogue facilitation between Israelis and Palestinians, climbing as a means to deal with trauma.

Apr 23, 202001:16:30
Charlotte Gibbs: Running into trouble.
Apr 13, 202001:36:29
Nasim Eshqi - Defying Convention
Apr 06, 202001:21:39
Prerna Dangi: Moving Mountains
Mar 26, 202001:20:18
What does Covid - 19 mean for climbers with Levi Yant (Virologist)

What does Covid - 19 mean for climbers with Levi Yant (Virologist)

In this episode virologist Levi Yant walks us through the science of Covid - 19. We discuss what a virus is, what makes Covid 19 different, why we're in a global pandemic and what we can do about it. If you're feeling confused by all the information out there and you're unsure of what is right and wrong in this mad new world we live in, take a listen. Our behaviour has never been so important. 

Levi Yant has a postgraduate degree in Virology in HIV vaccine development. After forming a research group in evolutionary biology at Harvard, he moved to the University of Nottingham and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Mar 22, 202001:08:30
Cameron Norsworthy - The Path to Flow
Mar 21, 202001:01:53
Madeleine Crane: The Mind Detective
Mar 12, 202001:09:23
Hazel talks to Mina about the divergence of health and performance
Mar 04, 202001:19:43
Gilly McArthur: Cold water swimming, don't say the C word

Gilly McArthur: Cold water swimming, don't say the C word

In this episode, Mina talks to Gilly McArthur, a life long climber, who has in recent years found a love for cold-water swimming. Gilly swam every day in January in the lakes and tarns of the UK to raise money for Mind Charity. In this episode we talk about the physiological and psychological experiences and benefits of cold-water swimming, parallels to climbing, mental health and mindfulness, performance vs. non-striving, body image and much more.
Links:
RED January giving page
Gilly's Instagram
Floe State film
Feb 08, 202001:11:01
Nikki Smith - 'Dancing Saved My Life'
Jan 27, 202001:25:30
Nina Williams: A Baller at Height

Nina Williams: A Baller at Height

In this episode Mina talks to US-based climber Nina Williams. Nina is well known for her ascents of highball boulder problems such as Evolution Direct (V11), Ambrosia (V11) and the absolutely massive Too Big to Flail (V10) as well as many other hard boulders up to V13. They discuss a bunch of interesting things including Nina's brave Rock and Ice Article published a few years ago where she talked about her experience of cheating as a young climber, her process with highballs, her attitudes around danger and risk, thoughts on the notion of the first female ascent and how she has found her recent transition back to studying and the necessary adjustment to her climbing and identity.
Jan 10, 202050:30
Beth: She did her best

Beth: She did her best

In this episode Hazel talks to professional climber Beth Rodden about: - looking back; what she'd do differently  - body image and eating disorders  - achievement versus learning  - happiness versus success  - compatibility of good health and high performance  - social media, including ethics of sharing stuff about her boy  - motherhood  - her book that she's writing at the moment - the responsibility she feels to be honest and vulnerable in her writing and speaking

Dec 31, 201901:19:18
Chatting with Hazel and Mina, what's all this about?

Chatting with Hazel and Mina, what's all this about?

What's this podcast shizzle about? Who are we? Why are we doing it? What kind conversations will be on it? How are we doing it? When will episodes come out? 

A somewhat haphazard into to our podcast plans. Stay tuned for the first proper episode soon (ish).

Dec 31, 201902:59