In this podcast, I talk with Charlie Boscoe and Danaan Markey about the Pro Climbing League.

We chat about how it all started, why they wanted to create it, and convince investors to invest in a climbing league.

We also talk A LOT about their new format, which pits athletes head-to-head on identical boulders.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:52) - Origin of PCL
• (06:18) - Moment (of lack of) when they thought it would work
• (10:49) - Understanding the Finances
• (13:41) - Selling Climbing to investors
• (19:52) - Vision for the League
• (22:38) - First event in London
• (24:00) - Origins of the format
• (31:55) - Athlete vs Athlete instead of the wall
• (41:03) - Routesetting in PCL
• (47:37) - Most challenging aspect for routesetters
• (48:58) - Breaking ties
• (53:01) - Similarities with Lead climbing
• (59:08) - How they making both boulders identical
• (01:03:01) - Final words
• (01:04:41) - Outro

Links:
Pro Climbing League Website
Instagram
YouTube
Charlie's Instagram
Danaan's Instagram

Supprt
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Para Climbing athletes Eva Mol, Sebastian Depke, and Anita Aggarwal l join me to talk about the 2025 Para Climbing World Championship in Seoul, South Korea.

For more coverage of the Para Climbing World Championship, follow Inside Climbing on Instagram.

Chapters

• (00:00) - Intros
• (01:24) - World Cup vs World Championship
• (06:42) - Para Classes
• (18:45) - Paralympic Classes for Para Climbing
• (22:26) - Seoul
• (00:40) - Who to watch out for
• (01:04:48) - Future of Para Climbing
• (01:15:11) - Final Words

Trailer for coverage of the Seoul 2025 Para Climbing and Climbing World Championship.