The Nugget Climbing Podcast EP 125: Zofia Reych — The Heritage of Climbing, Breaking Down Gender Roles, and What It’s Like to Be Autistic
Zofia Reych is a Polish climber and anthropologist and author of Born to Climb. We talked about renovating their mid-18th century house in Fontainebleau, researching the book, identifying as non-binary and directing the Women’s Bouldering Festival, what it’s like to be autistic, key chapters in climbing’s history, losing friends in the mountains, and much more.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/zofia-reych
Nuggets:
0:06:05 – Getting back from bouldering
0:08:19 – Zofia’s 240+-year-old house in Fontainebleau, and fixing the leaking toilet
0:11:31 – 12th-century castles, and what will be left of our civilization in 700 years
0:12:45 – Growing up in Poland, and living and bouldering in Fontainebleau
0:16:30 – Expecting to get better at climbing by living in Font, and my (Steven’s) experience with the 9-5 grind
0:18:27 – Our education system in the US, having direction, and Zofia’s fascination with people who start things very young
0:20:09 – Zofia’s mom, piano, and romanticizing about having a single focus in life
0:22:02 – The immersive process of writing a book, and the impact on Zofia’s climbing
0:25:26 – Negative vs. positive motivation
0:28:27 – The cycle of falling in love with climbing, feeling drive, pushing hard, and forgetting why we fell in love with it in the first place
0:30:05 – “Don’t push it.”
0:30:53 – Why Zofia felt like they needed to write Born to Climb
0:32:00 – An overview of the book
0:36:14 – Doing research for the book
0:40:38 – Zofia’s master’s thesis, and why it feels outdated
0:44:15 – Zofia’s gender identity (they/them), and being the director of a women’s bouldering festival
0:48:13 – Zofia’s Instagram post about gender identity (see show notes for link)
0:51:01 – “There shouldn’t be one recipe for how to be a human.”
0:53:21 – Autism, and using an inner formula to have conversations like this one
0:55:35 – Acting
0:58:31 – What Zofia is like when they are alone or with their mom, being childlike without filters, and dancing in public
1:01:35 – Stimming (stimulating)
1:02:18 – Being diagnosed with autism at age 31, and how that has changed Zofia’s life experience
1:04:43 – Being introverted in a society that rewards extroversion, and telling your life story to someone you meet in an elevator
1:11:16 – What Zofia does to recharge
1:12:35 – Climbing alone vs. with a group
1:17:58 – The scope of Born to Climb, stories from the mid-14th century hill walking, how polar exploration influenced climbing in the Alps, and climbing’s elitist roots
1:24:35 – On Stolen Land, and the uncomfortable history of Yosemite
1:33:21 – Loss in climbing, the fragility of being human, and exposing ourselves to risk
1:43:40 – Being responsible for your own safety, and feeling empowered
1:45:55 – TrueBlue
1:46:57 – Why writing the last chapter of the book was the most difficult part
1:49:56 – What Zofia hopes readers take away from Born to Climb, and being a tiny spec on the timeline
1:53:00 – The existential sandwich
1:54:32 – Who should read Born to Climb, and where to buy it (see links in show notes)
1:58:21 – Time for a nap