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The Duffel Shuffle PodcastAuthor: The Duffel Shuffle Podcast
A new podcast covering the world of climbing and skiing in all its forms, through the eyes of mountain guides. In each episode we'll unpack exhilarating stories, share invaluable insights, and get up close and personal with some of the most experienced and passionate guides and athletes in the industry. Language: en-us Genres: Sports, Wilderness Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Cody Townsend and Tommy Caldwell: When Elite Climbers and Skiers Team Up
Episode 62
Wednesday, 26 August, 2026
Episode 62 opens with quick hits on T-Mobile's satellite phone service and a run of Alps headlines — climbers requesting paid rescue after ignoring a Mont Blanc closure, a family of 36 rescued in the Austrian high country, and Kilian Jornet's viral post on the range's fast-changing climate — before Sam and Adrian sit down with Cody Townsend and Tommy Caldwell to talk through their spring traverse of Norman's 13.Norman's 13 links the Sierra's thirteen 14,000-foot peaks from Mt. Langley to North Palisade, a route of over 100 miles and 40,000 vertical feet that had never been done in winter. Townsend, a self-described "5.9 climber and 5.14 skier," recruited Caldwell — the inverse — after cold-emailing him with the idea; a day of simul-climbing at Lover's Leap and some recon skiing on Mt. Sill convinced them their risk tolerances matched well enough to commit. Traveling south to north over eight days with cameraman Bjarne Salén, they broke the route into three distinct stretches: a technical run through the Whitney-area peaks, a 50-mile bushwhack and river-forge through John Muir Trail sequoia groves, and a final rope-and-crampons push across the notoriously exposed Palisades Traverse.The trip nearly broke both of them. Townsend fought a lung infection and food poisoning through the early days, and a 25-hour closing push through isothermic snow — on a catastrophically failed ski boot — tested everyone's limits. The two talk candidly about reading the line between suffering and real danger, the odd role reversal of a rock climber staying calm on exposed skiing while a skier plunge-steps nervously on rock, and how the trip changed the way Townsend plans traverses going forward. A film on the expedition, shot largely on iPhone after their camera batteries mysteriously died, is due out this fall.Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about us and our guests. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list.The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit https://alpenglowexpeditions.com/ or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.
