Episode 11 - theCrag - Building An Enduring Resource

The Lay Back

In Episode 11 I interview the team from theCrag - the global climbing information site that originated in Australia more than two decades ago. As many Australian climbers use theCrag I felt it was important to capture not just the story of theCrag, but also the insights that theCrag team could bring to us about Australian climbers and Australian climbing culture. Joining me for this podcast is Simon Dale - CEO and Co-founder of the Crag, Nicky Hochmuth - Chief Data Officer, and Ulf Fuchslueger - Head of Business Development. We go in depth on the history of theCrag from how it started in 1999 and developed over the past two decades. That takes the podcast up to the present where we talk about the Crag today and the mission and vision for the future. Woven into this we talk about how theCrag having it's roots in Australia has influenced the site - which will give listeners some insights into Australian climbing culture. We delve into the data and what it can tell us about Australian climbing - in that we cover most popular route names and also the top rated, most popular climbs at each grade from 10-30 in Australia. There is also some great discussion about artificial intelligence, how theCrag plans to use it and the potential it has to improve climbing grading. Head over to the podcast site www.thelayback.com for all the goodies referenced in the podcast.