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Climbing Gold

Uplifted: Sonnie Trotter

Climbing Gold

Duct Tape Then Beer

Sports, Wilderness

4.8849 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sonnie Trotter would never admit to being Canada’s best rock climber, but his multi-decade career of cutting-edge trad climbs and nails-hard sport routes certainly puts him in that conversation. In his new book, Sonnie looks back to the people, experiences and community that defined his path into professional climbing. Just don’t take financial advice from him. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com  Kodiak Cakes Find Kodiak products at your local grocery store, they're the ones with the bear on the box or learn more at Kodiakcakes.com LMNT  Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/climbinggold. Try the new LMNT Sparkling — a bold, 16-ounce can of sparkling electrolyte water. Music by:  Brendan O’Connell   •   Tracks provided with permission from the artists or Track Club

Transcript

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0:00.0

Anybody who's done anything that's like maybe above, slightly above or above average,

0:06.6

I think you just have to embrace or like loving the suck.

0:10.2

Because you're like, oh, it sucks so much.

0:12.4

But you're like, but that's what moves the needle.

0:14.4

And that's what was fun for you that day.

0:15.9

And I used to live for that pain.

0:17.9

Like, I loved that pain.

0:21.9

Alex, what do you think the short list of the most vicious single-pitched

0:28.1

single-pitched traditional lines in North America is?

0:32.5

I don't know about vicious, but I think some of the most iconic hard trad lines in North America are maybe

0:40.0

magic line and meltdown in Yosemite, maybe The Path in Canada, maybe stranger than fiction

0:49.1

for Splitter Sandstone. That's the one you have to take your shoe off, right, in the middle of the pitch, supposedly.

0:57.0

Well, that's how it's been called, yeah, yeah, in theory.

1:02.2

And then, yeah.

1:03.4

And try not to rip your toes off.

1:05.5

And then Cobra Crag is probably the most iconic single pitch hard trad line.

1:09.8

Why do you think Cobra Crack has ended up kind of the most well-known, the most iconic single pitch hard trad line. Why do you think cobra crack has ended up

1:12.4

kind of the most well-known, the most iconic? I mean, I think part of it just has to do with media.

1:18.1

I mean, it's beautiful, it's striking, it's hard, you know, it's all the things that it takes

1:22.8

for a route to be classic. But also, I think it has a great story around it, and it was documented in the film First Ascent.

1:30.9

And so there's a whole story around the attempts on it.

1:35.1

And I don't know, it just became a moment.

...

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