
EP 296: Dave Thompson — Early FAs in Leavenworth, Applying Your Strength on the Wall, and Personal Agency
The Nugget Climbing PodcastShow Notes
Dave Thompson is a 5.14 and V14 first ascentionist, alpinist, and coach for Evoke Endurance. We talked about his early climbing in the North Cascade mountains of Washington State, doing the first ascent of some of the best hard boulders in Leavenworth (Beautification, God is in the Details, The Teacup), how he got so strong, how to apply your strength on the wall, the challenges of endurance training in climbing, and more.
More from The Nugget Climbing Podcast
New interview featuring Steven on The Climbing Majority podcast. I really enjoyed this chat with Kyle Broxterman. We talked about what I’ve learned from over 300 interviews with top climbers, the root of why I climb, my pivot to coaching, podcasting in 2026, and more. Kyle asked insightful questions and did a great job. Check out his podcast if you’ve run out of Nugget episodes—I highly recommend it.
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Justen Sjong (The Climbing Sensei) returns to the podcast to discuss the unique challenges of being tall or short in climbing. We talk about the disadvantages tall climbers face, how injury risk and training volume change with size, mindset shifts for both tall and short climbers, why climbing is inherently unfair, practical tips, and much more.
Adam Ondra is back on the podcast to discuss his incredible winter bouldering season, including four V15 (8C) flashes. We talked about why the best sport climbers can keep up with the bouldering specialists, his winter training in Arco, boards vs. spray walls, go-to bouldering circuits, tactics for hard flash attempts, catching the moment, and much more.