EP 290: Chris Schulte — Developing Your Own Style, Age-Proof Motivation, and Redefining Progress Beyond Grades

About this episode

Chris Schulte discusses his evolution as a climber, focusing on developing personal style and redefining progress in bouldering.

Chris Schulte is an elite boulderer known for bold first ascents, compression mastery, and a thoughtful approach that prioritizes style over grades. We talked about his evolution as a climber, developing his own style, how Fred Nicole inspired him, redefining progress with age, tips for compression problems and wide cracks, and the state of elite bouldering and cutting-edge grades.

People in this episode

Host: Steven Dimmitt

Guest: Chris Schulte

Topics covered

• climbing style
• motivation
• progress in climbing
• bouldering
• compression problems
• elite climbing

Keywords

• bouldering
• climbing style
• motivation
• compression mastery
• first ascents
• elite climbing
• progress
• wide cracks

More episodes of The Nugget Climbing Podcast

• EP 301: Matt Samet — Escaping Benzo Addiction, Rifle in the Early ‘90s, and Embracing the Moonboard in His 40s · June 8, 2026 · 2h 11m
• EP 300: Jeff Patterson — What Climbers Can Learn from Martial Arts (and How 20 Minutes of Meditation Could Change Your Life) · May 25, 2026 · 1h 1m
• EP 299: Herm Feissner — A Unique Training Philosophy at Age 53, Understanding Hard Moves, and Balancing an Engineering Career with Travel & Climbing · May 14, 2026 · 2h 10m
• EP 298: Sonnie Trotter — Gunning for 5.15, How He Trained as a Teen, and Stamina vs. Strength · April 27, 2026 · 2h 8m
• EP 297: Peter Mortimer (filmmaker) — Dean Potter’s Rivalry with Alex Honnold, His Inner Demons, and The Dark Wizard · April 14, 2026 · 54 min
• EP 296: Dave Thompson — Early FAs in Leavenworth, Applying Your Strength on the Wall, and Personal Agency · April 7, 2026 · 1h 47m