
Circle Up!
Come Circle Up with Allison Vest and Kyra Condie. This podcast is the perfect length to get you psyched on your way to the gym or during a 30 min workout. Listen to some light hearted and deep diving talks into climbing, motivation, body image, mindset, and more! Great for climbers and non-climbers alike!
Latest episodes

Sep 9, 2024 • 54min
E35 Beck on Top: Talking with Mo Beck about Paraclimbing’s Paralympic Inclusion and More!
In this episode Kyra and Allison dive into the exciting world of paraclimbing and its growth into becoming a Paralympic sport. Special guest Mo Beck, a 2X World Champion Paraclimber and 10 time AU2 Paraclimbing National Champion, shares her experiences and insights on the growth of adaptive climbing, the challenges and triumphs of competing at the highest level, and her professional climbing career. Mo discusses her journey, the incredible athletes in the sport, and how the paraclimbing community continues to grow.

4 snips
Aug 26, 2024 • 1h 3min
E34 Post Paris Perspectives with Olympian Campbell Harrison
In this episode, Kyra is joined once again by her good friend and fellow pro climber, now an Olympian, Campbell Harrison. Together, they dive into Campbell's unforgettable experience at the Paris 2024 Olympics. They discuss everything from what Australia did best in the Olympic Village to Campbell's reflections on his performance on the world’s biggest stage. Looking ahead, they explore what the future holds and how training might evolve as the countdown to the 2028 Games begins.

Aug 11, 2024 • 59min
E33 Commentary Queens: Men's and Women's Combined Finals in Paris
Allison and Kyra give their unfiltered thoughts and feelings about the Men's and Women's Combined Finals at the Olympics in Paris. From whether their predictions were corrects, to heartbreaking moments and dealing with performance pressure, hear their recap and insights into what the athletes might have been feeling on the biggest sports stage in the world!

Aug 8, 2024 • 44min
E32 Commentary Queens: The First 4 Days of Sport Climbing in Paris
Allison and Kyra give their thoughts on the first 4 days of the Paris 2024 Olympic Sport Climbing events. From heartbreaks to broken world records, there was so much excitement in the first 4 days that everyone is excited to see what the next two days has in store. From their own predictions of who will be on the podium to Kyra's insights on the emotional toll of the olympics; here are their unfiltered thoughts!

7 snips
Jul 8, 2024 • 42min
E31 Beta & Banter: Your Questions Our Answers
In this first episode of “Beta & Banter” Kyra and Allison answer questions from the listeners! This will likely become a regular segment or work in as stand alone episodes of the podcast. From how to avoid burnout as a youth climber to how to deal with being the “worst” climber of your group of friends, we try our best to answer your climbing queries with practical and personal advice.

Jul 3, 2024 • 43min
E30 World Cup Rambles and Olympic Realizations
This week’s episode is Kyra and Allison’s first attempt at recording with each other online instead of in person, so sorry for any audio quality differences!
Allison and Kyra start by chatting about the impact route setting has on injuries we see at competitions and the challenging job of route setters, specifically in relation to recent World Cups and Olympic Qualifying Series. They talk about dangerous moves, resent fails and wins, and who clinched their Olympic berth in Budapest! Let us know what you think!

Jun 14, 2024 • 35min
E29 Like Mother Like Daughter
In this week's episode, Kyra and her mom, Cathy, talk about Cathy's career as an electrical engineer in the biomedical space. Cathy shares some personal stories from when she was in school, the challenges of raising two kids while getting her Master's Degree from the University of Minnesota, and some words of wisdom from her years in a male-dominated industry (much like the climbing world is, or has been). Kyra speaks on some of her experiences and ways she tries to fight the patriarchy with "micro-feminisms".

Jun 3, 2024 • 34min
E28 Are you ready for some hot takes?
Welcome to our first episode of Hot Takes! Wondering about socks in your climbing shoes? If climbing a harder grade makes you immune to being a "gumby"? Or have you ever wondered if climbing v15 or getting a sub 5 second time on the speed wall is more impressive? Kyra and Allison share all their personal opinions on lister requested topics!

May 27, 2024 • 44min
E27 The Down Under Lowdown with Campbell Harrison
In this episode Campbell Harrison, future Olympian and World Cup climber from Australia, takes Allison's place alongside Kyra. They talk about competition stresses, imposter syndrome, mental health, training far from home, the trials and tribulations of addressing RED-s in climbing, and their time spent together on the IFSC Athlete commission. They banter about ways they hope to make change as well as their want to be a role model for the future generation.
*TW*: mental health and eating disorders (second half of the episode).

May 13, 2024 • 29min
E26 Pushing Past Plateaus
Allison and Kyra tackle the subject of mental and physical plateaus in this week's episode. From how to turn mentally "weak" days into successful sessions and tricks to switch up your training (or when to back off) when you're in a rut.