Parvin shares stories of Iran’s Climbing Scene and her recent move to Halifax to become the Head Route Setter and coach at East Peak climbing gym. She has an impressive resume as a climber - competing with Iran's national team, judging climbing comps internationally, and bagging the first female ascents of a number of 5.13s just outside of Tehran.

She is now focussed on sharing her stoke and experience with a new generation of climbers in Nova Scotia - and promoting the benefits of projecting and finding our own beta to solve puzzles and strengthen our minds.

Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes

Icebox Sessions - All Links

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Icebox Sessions

04:21 East Peak Community Vibe

07:27 War Trauma and Healing Through Sport

10:49 Life in Iran

11:52 It Began in the Mountains

13:17 International Judging

16:24 First Female 5.13 Ascents

22:21 Finding Your Own Beta

34:15 Training the Mental Game

36:41 Gender Rules and Segregation in Iran

40:57 Female Spirit

44:55 Breaking Stereotypes

46:40 A Home Wall to Rival The Icebox

47:59 Route Setting and Coaching

50:56 Coaching Kids and Adults

55:45 Trusting Your Body

01:05:44 Travel and Sponsorship

01:08:15 Sketchy Big Wall Climbing

01:15:35 Climbing as Therapy

Meet the "infectiously stoked” Henry Morrow - a climber equally comfortable on plastic holds in the gym or climbing without a rope over the ocean in the middle of the night. Henry describes what it was like learning to climb outdoors by trial and error and the recent growth of Nova Scotia’s climbing community over the last few years. We talk about his DWS (deep water soloing) explorations, development of a new climbing crag, international travel and various homegrown epics - mostly in Cape Breton.

Icebox Sessions - Episode Notes⁠

Icebox Sessions - All Links

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:37 Why Are You So Stoked?

06:02 Stepping Outside

09:08 Deep Water Soloing

12:46 Blue Island Ocean Epic

16:44 Night Sessions

18:58 Climbing and Addiction

22:14 Training

25:11 Cape Clear Epic #1

28:41 Is Parkouring the New Alpinism?

31:47 Hola Argentina

34:26 The Beauty of Trad Cimbing

42:15 Favourite Lines

46:18 New Crags

51:27 Climbing Events

54:10 Cape Clear Epic #2

59:10 Shared Experiences

1:02:08 DWS Health Benefits

In this episode, longtime Nova Scotia climber Todd "The Bod" Foster (aka "Toddles") exposes ALL. He talks about his 25-year impact on the local scene through guidebooks, route and boulder development, and his award-winning film Eastern Tide. Foster explains how partnerships helped him produce multiple guides (rope climbing, Digby Neck, Halifax Region) and why he’s working on an Eastern Shore volume now, emphasizing knowledge transfer and community succession. He recounts learning to climb in the 1990s through top-roping at Eagles Nest, the Dal wall, and self-teaching from books, and later being inspired by early bouldering at Duncan’s Cove on homemade pads. We discuss the tradeoffs of beta videos, his preference for moderate climbing, an injury-averse approach focused on climbing rather than training. We also delve into his motivations for bolting accessible sport routes and his aversion to trad climbing - while also getting excited about the indoor gym scene and a growing generation of outdoor-focused climbers.

More Show Notes

⁠Icebox Sessions - All Links

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Icebox

01:58 Writing Guidebooks

10:01 Eagles Nest

16:34 Bouldering With Homemade Pads

21:46 Projecting and Beta Videos

34:24 Eastern Tide World Tour

41:37 Is V5 Harder Than V15?

46:18 Choose Easy

50:30 Training and Injury

56:40 Bouldering vs Roped Climbing

59:39 Lessons for Todd 2.0

01:05:18 Toddles Wants to Sport Climb

01:13:36 Is Trad a Thing Anymore?

01:20:52 Route Development

01:26:05 The Community