This week on Jam Crack Climbing Podcast, friend of the show reads the opening chapter rom his classic book, The Totem Pole. Paul has updated and republished this book. Find out how to get a copy here.

This seek, you lovely people, we have MLW (god, I'm so tired typing out her big massive and desperately hard name) telling us loads of things from the inside of her head. I think you'll like it a lot.

Bad news: if the image led you to click on the link in the hope of hearing a podcast from the amazing climber in the photo. I'm afraid this week's episode of Jam Crack Climbing Podcast is all about Nick Bullock. Nick is one of the UK's most committed alpinists and has spent many years pushing his limits in the mountains as well as pushing his writing back home.

First off we have Britain's best climber, Steve McClure - although James McHaffie keeps telling me he's the best but if he's so good how come he doesn't have more sponsors, eh? It was fab sitting down with this gnarly old character and look backwards and forwards, inside and out. He's a chilled and thoughtful dude. Check it out.

This time around Andi Turner (remember him from episode 38?) reads his own yarn, The Magic Flute. Listen below on the player on via iTunes.

This sweek Katherine Schirrmacher and I wag on about: chatting; The School; Broomgroove Wall; female climbing; freedom; the future; Stevie Wonder. Check her out on Love to Climb.

Staffordshire local Andi Turner wags his chin with Niall Grimes about black dogs, fairies, stars, sandstone, Staffordshire Nose and many other things.

Crackanory. It’s a story episode. Maddy Cope reads her account of her ascent of El Capitan’s Freerider. Badass.

Mark Pretty has spent three decades at the heart of British climbing. Hear his tales of: Himalayan epics; Stoney woodshed; the 1970s;  the birth of sport climbing; the great climbers; the birth of sport climbing; coaching; Raven Tor; surviving.

A portrait of British mountaineer and rock climber, Andy Cave. This episode was produced by UK-based outdoor film-makers, Hotaches Productions. That's what it sounds better than your usual Jam Crack Podcast.

Buenos Dias muchachas, welcome to Jam Crack Podcast. This sweek we have one of the young stars of the British competition scene, Molly Thompson-Smith coming atcha both barrels. Molly takes you inside the game of comps and we get to see what climbing looks like to a nineteen-year-old London plastic puller. And loads more besides. 

Niall Grimes has a chat with Russian / Crimean climber, Yuri Kruglov, about life and climbing in Yuri's himeland. In this interview the interviewer reveals his lack of any real knowledge of Russia beyond its space ships and the odd battle in WW2.

The Boss. John Allen put up most of the best routes on gritstone. In the 1970s, as a teenager, he sizzled up most of grit's coolest lines and led the charge in what was later called the Gritstone Renaissance. Then in the 1980s he upped the technical standards of the day by styling what are today's prized ticks for any boulderer and high baller. 

She smashed it in the mid-90s, one of the first UK women to climb the magical 8a, when not that many women in the world did that. Then she pioneered 8a+ and 8b in the UK. Her ascent of Zeke the Freak, Ben Moon's 8b at Rubicon, was not bettered for many many years. Hear her crack on.

In this episode I read a couple of my own stiories: first there's my account of Seb Grieve doing the second ascent of Parthian Shot at Burbage South, as featured in the film Hard Grit, then I read my short story, The Medium.

This sweek, US bouldering badass Chris Schulte reads Bernard Amy's The Greatest Climber in the World. This is frequently cited as people's favourite piece of climbing literature. Hope you like it.

This week we have for you the life and times of Maddy Cope. With a free ascent of El Capitan via the notorious Freerider, sport redpoints up to 8b, Maddy is among the most accomplished all rounders in the land. Yet you don’t hear much about this young gun. Perhaps this young gun has a silencer fitted? Let's hear her story.

Joe Healey relates the arc of his life, from his Mersey childhood, early climbs on Pex Hill, early repeats of Ron Fawcett desperates, gettinging into the pub, party and rave scenes, then the impacts that these would later have. A touching story full of hope and humanity.

This week we have a whole a-whooping and a-hollerin bunch of silly fun brought to you from the depths of the Wideboyz training cellar. The two gents in question, Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, allowed me full access to the cellar of doom where to talked nonsense for days. I've whittled this down to a downloadable length, which is what you have ahead of you. Enjoy.

Top 1980s sport climber, author of some of the hardest sport climbs anywhere at the time, recalls Lancashire, Malham, Sheffield, the Peak, France and Lycra.