In this episode, I sit down with Shaun Parent. Shaun has been climbing (and more often developing) rock and ice climbs in Northern Ontario since the '80s. He is the OG in Northern Ontario climbing. In his time, Shaun has put up thousands of routes. Yes, that’s right, thousands. Odds are, basically any Thunder Bay climber has climbed on Shauns routes (and more than likely cursed him for his old school sandbaggery).

I should also note that when I visited Shaun to do this interview, he sent me home with a big bag of bolts for use in development in the Thunder Bay area - those bolts have now been whacked into new moderates at The Outbreak Wall and Lost Falls.

The interview is rather long, since there were so many things I wanted to ask Shaun about, from climbing with Conrad Anker in Kama Bay to putting up first ascents on massive alpine faces in Peru – but I highly recommend you hang on until the end – the gems just keep coming.

If you want to get in touch with Shaun, you can find him on Instagram @superiorexploration, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/northofsuperior.climbingcompany or through his website https://www.superior-exploration.ca

Also, check out some neat articles about Shaun at:

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-man-who-brought-ice-climbing-to-northern-ontario/

https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2009/01/08/a_superior_location_toscale_the_heights.html

https://www.ontarioclimbing.com/News/Superior-Exploration/

https://www.sootoday.com/bold/shaun-wants-to-show-you-his-favourite-ice-climbs-8-photos-1880387

https://www.lakesuperior.com/lifestyle/recreation/216parent/