The Lay Back Jackson Allan

Recently while in Nowra I had the privilege of sitting down with NSW South Coast Climber - Sabine Pratt Hunziker, to record this episode.

Sabine came to climbing from a background in surfing, and we talk about the crags and the climbing community on the south coast before getting into the main focus of the podcast - that is, the story of her recovery from a climbing accident that she had while Climbing in New Zealand a few years ago.

It’s the story of how Sabine suffers a total loss of control through injuries sustained from the accident. She shares her experience candidly and honestly, taking us to the depths of a Coma and the mental and physical struggle that she endures as she emerges from it. Over the months that follow through sheer grit and determination, Sabine takes back control of her mind, and her body, to return to her children, to her profession, teaching, and to her passion, climbing.

It's Brisbane based climber Alex Mougenot up in Episode 12 - an all-round climber who started climbing in South-East Queensland in 2013.

In the podcast we talk about how his climbing started and progressed, we go into his motivations and what gets him psyched - he's very psyched! We talk about his head game on mentally challenging terrain and training that has more recently included a crack climbing dungeon under the house. After that we get into adventure climbing, and in particular the first adventure climb he aspired to - The Governor on Mount Barney, and an epic he got into on the same mountain climbing the East Face of Mount Barney route. We finish off on some of his aspirations for the near future.

I really enjoyed getting to know Alex through this recording and bouldering with him in Toohey forest - his psyche is infectious and has a really positive impact on the Queensland climbing scene.

Alex is an Athlete, and Maker for Awesome Woody's and an ambassador for Pinnacle Sports.

Thanks to Ryan Siacci for his help in my research process for the podcast, as well as Kwan Goddard Lee. Ryan produces the Zen and the Art of Climbing blog and he is working on a great series on 50 classic climbs of Australia that you should head over and check out.

In Episode 11 I interview the team from theCrag - the global climbing information site that originated in Australia more than two decades ago. As many Australian climbers use theCrag I felt it was important to capture not just the story of theCrag, but also the insights that theCrag team could bring to us about Australian climbers and Australian climbing culture. Joining me for this podcast is Simon Dale - CEO and Co-founder of the Crag, Nicky Hochmuth - Chief Data Officer, and Ulf Fuchslueger - Head of Business Development.

We go in depth on the history of theCrag from how it started in 1999 and developed over the past two decades. That takes the podcast up to the present where we talk about the Crag today and the mission and vision for the future. Woven into this we talk about how theCrag having it's roots in Australia has influenced the site - which will give listeners some insights into Australian climbing culture. We delve into the data and what it can tell us about Australian climbing - in that we cover most popular route names and also the top rated, most popular climbs at each grade from 10-30 in Australia. There is also some great discussion about artificial intelligence, how theCrag plans to use it and the potential it has to improve climbing grading.

Head over to the podcast site www.thelayback.com for all the goodies referenced in the podcast.

In Episode 10 I interview Christopher Glastonbury, a Queensland climber and mechanical engineer, that describes himself as a trad climber that likes to boulder between rests. He lived, worked and climbed in Norway for 5 years, and has spent the past 2 years travelling around Australia and the US with his partner, a previous Lay Back guest - Ashlee Hendy.


Chris spent his formative years in Townsville, climbing with his two close friends Steve Ioannou and Chris Beric. Together they form ‘The Three Monkeys’ and their combined psyche pushed climbing in Townsville through a burst of development. Over their school and university years they put up over 300 new lines in a range of styles, pushing the hardest grades of the area up in the process. 

When Chris moved to Norway to study and work, his climbing didn’t slow down. We touch on the climbing scene there but mostly we dive into a story of an epic he got into climbing in the Lofoten Islands, where he describes himself as having ‘got away with murder’. It’s a tense experience that had a big impact on Chris, and the story had me on the edge of my seat.

We finish off the remainder of the podcast with a few anecdotes from Chris most recent travel around Australia and the US, including getting stuck in a hail storm on Freerider, and his knack for bumping into famous climbers.

Head over to www.thelayback.com for photos and links to other media mentioned in the podcast.

In episode 9 of the Lay Back Podcast we feature Simon ‘Arnie’ Weill, a Victorian based climber known for his contributions to the development of bouldering in the Grampians. I had originally pegged Simon as a Boulderer that dabbles in a bit of Sport climbing, but Simon’s origins in climbing go back to early days climbing bluestone walls in Melbourne, followed by much time spent trad climbing in Arapiles. He has seen climbing change and evolve over the past two decades, and we discuss his origins in climbing, and the development of the bouldering scene in the Grampians over time.

In interviewing climbers, there is always the common thread of climbing, but I’m also interested in their lives around climbing. Simon tells us about running a restaurant, his other passion - Brazillian Ju Jitsu, and recently becoming a father.

In Episode 8 I sit down with Andy Pollitt, originally from Wales, Andy emigrated to Australia in the early 90s after numerous trips down here for long stints at Arapiles. 

Andy grew up in North Wales and was the Rock Star of British climbing in the eighties, pushing standards with other climbers you may have heard of like Jerry Moffat and Martin ‘Basher’ Andersen. Andy’s climbing epitomised the bold British climbing ethic.

It would be impossible to cover all of Andy’s exploits in one podcast and we focus on a few in depth stories of him soloing the Great Wall, and his experience on the Bells, the Bells where his skin, as he puts it, emitted the ‘pungent smell of death’.

I wanted to understand what it was like coming to Australia as a foreign climber back in that time, and Andy drops us into his first experiences landing in Natimuk, competitive drinking with the locals and heading out to try Tapian routes with Malcolm Matheson. Andy went on to put up first ascents on Taipan including Rage - an alternate start to Serpentine, and that most popular route World Party - Andy gives us the inside as to why the bolts on that route might feel a little spacey.

Finally we get into Punks in the Gym, that iconic Australian route that Andy put 44 days of effort into in his pursuit for the first true redpoint ascent. Andy details his battle with the route, and why he restored the hold which is now possibly the most well known hold in Australian climbing - the Birdbath! Immediately after sending the route, Andy gave away his climbing gear and left climbing behind.

These days Andy lives not far from me in Melbourne, and has built out a career in rope access work. We caught up a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning - so you’ll notice a little bit of noise in the background at times as his neighbor get stuck into a bit of yard work.

The podcast picks up where Andy has hit the road with Jerry Moffat - for those of you who may not know, Jerry Moffat was a dominating force in climbing in the 80s and early 90s - when they both finished school, they hit the road for a crag called Tremadoc and ‘dossed’ or as we might call it, dirtbagged in a barn, living on 50 pence a day, and climbing as much as possible.

Head over to www.thelayback.com to find links to watch the interview on youtube, and pick up a copy of Andy's book.