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Cruising Altitude: Todd Offenbacher relaxes and enjoys a beer 10,000 feet off the ground on El Capitan. Photo courtesy of Todd Offenbacher. |
Comments (3)Offenbacher Tours World in Single Slide Show
Adventure Slide Show Series
By Olivia DwyerPublished: January 13, 2010
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Truckee/North Tahoe locals can see Todd Offenbacher on their television sets every day, playing host on “Tahoe Today” on the Resort Sports Network. But the audience at the Adventure Slide Show Series on Wednesday night got the unedited version of Offenbacher’s view of the world, as he shared an “attention deficit/time travel disorder” tour of his rock climbing adventures in Pakistan, China, Peru, Thailand, and the U.S. in the last decade.
Offenbacher got even more colorful with Moonshine Ink before the show, as he reflected on his body-building past and lessons learned in the outdoor world. He and event organizer Dave Nettle waxed poetic about topics ranging from the joys of introducing friends to the outdoors to how to go number two while sharing a small bivy high on a cliff.
Moonshine Ink: As a TV personality and a bodybuilder, it seems you’ve lived out two major male fantasies and experienced life as Ron Burgundy and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Which gig is more fun?
Offenbacher: In the ’80s, the bodybuilding thing worked really well with the ladies. But as we moved towards the millennium, adventure sports work better. You’ve got to BASE jump now and risk your life — back then you could hit the tanning beds and lift some dumbbells.
My wife says [the TV gig] is great because I like people, I like meeting people — I love people! I’m always telling tourist, Thanks for visiting Tahoe. I’ve met so many cool people and had a been with them or whatever, that’s the coolest part The TV part of it I don’t take seriously. I’m not someone pursuing Matt Lauer’s position.
MI: How did you get into bodybuilding?
Offenbacher: I played football and wrestled in high school — my dad was a two-time NCAA champion in wrestling for the University of Maryland. I was a small guy and I wanted to get bigger.
MI: What’s your workout regimen like now?
Offenbacher: I roller-blade about 30 miles a week. For weight lifting this week, I pushed 4,250 pounds and pulled 2,252 pounds. It’s supplemental training now. I can bench 525 pounds, that’s free weights, and 630 pounds on a universal gym.
MI: What adventures have you and Dave taken together lately?
Offenbacher: I’ve known Dave for a while but [this summer] was the first time we climbed together.
Nettle: With all the weightlifting, I was intimidated.
Offenbacher: I was intimidated! I didn’t know if I could keep up with Dave Nettle.
Nettle: Turns out we’re both just a bunch of fun-loving slackers.
MI: Which is more exciting in your outdoor pursuits: introducing a complete beginner to something and seeing them fall in love with it, or pushing yourself and achieving a new personal best?
Offenbacher: Both are great. Certainly now as I’m older it has to be turning someone else on to it. That comes with growing up a bit.
Nettle: What does that feel like?
Offenbacher: Weird. It’s not as bad as you think.
Nettle: But the great thing is both of those feed off each other.
MI: Todd, the promotion for this slide show says you’re going to share the secrets of going to the bathroom when you’re spending days living off a bivy strapped to a cliff. How do you do it?
Nettle: The only thing different is the vertical drop.
Offenbacher: What you’re trying to do is avoid the other person, who’s closer than we are now. [Indicating width of a four-person table in Fireside Pizza.]
Nettle: There’s three things to consider: proximity, visuals, and sound.
Offenbacher: And scent! That’s the hardest to deal with.
Nettle: When you’re on the ledge, to cut down on sight, you can hang a bunch of junk up and give yourself a screen. For sound, as the non-doer, you get out that little iPod, crank up Led Zeppelin, and gaze out into the distance.
Offenbacher: It’s a lot about timing.
Nettle: You’ve got to train the system to be morning or night. There’s a way to assist that — it’s an espresso shot.
MI: How do you deal with living that close to someone for days at a time?
Offenbacher: For me, personally, the most important thing is absolutely recognizing close quarters and time spent with people going on these trips and respecting each other. It’s so easy to fight, bitch, bicker, complain. You have to keep it inside no matter what it takes. When you’re out in the sun and the rope’s running, it’s easy, but in the down times it’s really critical.
Nettle: Some good advice to young climbers in their teens and 20s would be have as many wild dating and sexual encounters as you can — then you have something to talk about.
MI: Todd, how did you make the transition from body-building to climbing?
Offenbacher: When I got turned on to climbing I was instantly hooked. It was the closest thing I’ve felt to an addictive drug. I stood on top of the rock and had this surge to learn more. As a little kid, I read about Lewis and Clark and other explorers and always felt like I had been born too late. I wanted to go somewhere no one else had been. It wasn’t an ego thing, I just wanted to touch something no one else had touched.
Nettle: The explorer’s heart.
Offenbacher: At the same time, I like sitting on a ledge while I’m climbing and thinking about the history and knowing only a select tribe has been here.
Catch up with Offenbacher when he hosts the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno on January 23, complete with go-go dancers and drag queens. The Adventure Slide Show Series happens every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Bar One at Squaw Valley. See the full schedule of upcoming slide shows here. Read interviews from past presenters, including Kip Garre, John Morrison, Dave Vuono, and Mike Schwartz.
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