The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Author: Steven Dimmitt

Welcome to a podcast about performance climbing, self-improvement, and being a human being. 5M downloads. "One of the best long-form interview podcasts in the outdoor space." - Climbing Magazine
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Language: en

Genres: Education, Fitness, Health & Fitness, Self-Improvement

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EP 290: Chris Schulte — Developing Your Own Style, Age-Proof Motivation, and Redefining Progress Beyond Grades
Monday, 12 January, 2026

Chris Schulte is an elite boulderer known for bold first ascents, compression mastery, and a thoughtful approach that prioritizes style over grades. We talked about his evolution as a climber, developing his own style, how Fred Nicole inspired him, redefining progress with age, tips for compression problems and wide cracks, and the state of elite bouldering and cutting-edge grades.Increase Your Finger Strength by 10% 👉 http://training.thenuggetclimbing.comDownload My Finger Training PDF 👉 http://thenuggetclimbing.com/grindsSupport on Patreon 👉 http://patreon.com/thenuggetclimbingShow Notes: thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/chris-schulteNuggets:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:01:13) – Being an introvert(00:13:49) – Becoming a boulderer(00:24:56) – First ascents vs. repeating(00:37:09) – Climbing in Yosemite(00:47:00) – How Chris developed his climbing style(00:51:28) – Fred Nichol's inspiration(01:11:25) – Putting brakes on grades(01:33:02) – What drives Chris & what progress looks like(01:40:20) – How climbing has changed with age(01:50:37) – The Big Island(01:51:56) – Pairing projects(01:55:31) – Compression climbs(01:59:16) – Elbow tendonitis(02:03:08) – What makes for a beautiful line(02:08:51) – Best V10+ compression in the Front Range(02:14:28) – Tips on wide cracks(02:18:43) – Where Chris would like to climb next