EP 294: Melissa Strong — Dying and Coming Back to Life, Having Her Arms Sewn Together, and Returning to Climbing with 7 ¾ Fingers

Melissa Strong is a boulderer and restaurateur based in Estes Park, CO, who nearly lost her life in an electrocution accident in April 2017. We talked about her accident, what she experienced on the other side of the veil, having her arms sewn together, what climbing was like before and after the accident, skin graft DNA, the healing process of writing Climbing Through , and much more. You can learn more about Melissa at melissaistrong.com Buy Her Book: Climbing Through: A Courageous Story of Grit, Healing, and Second Chances by Melissa Strong Show Notes: Nuggets: (00:00:00) – Intro (00:01:40) – Melissa’s hands (00:04:54) – Life before her accident (00:09:05) – The accident (00:14:56) – The Forest & The Tunnel (00:30:55) – Arms sewn together (00:47:25) – Climbing before & after the accident (00:58:29) – Skin graft DNA (01:00:20) – The expiration date of climbing (01:08:34) – What comes after climbing (01:14:40) – Writing her book (01:21:03) – What’s next (01:24:46) – Where to buy the book (01:26:13) – How Bird & Jim got its name

You can listen to EP 294: Melissa Strong — Dying and Coming Back to Life, Having Her Arms Sewn Together, and Returning to Climbing with 7 ¾ Fingers online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

EP 294: Melissa Strong — Dying and Coming Back to Life, Having Her Arms Sewn Together, and Returning to Climbing with 7 ¾ Fingers is an episode from The Nugget Climbing Podcast by Steven Dimmitt.

This episode is 01:30:45 long.

This episode was published on Mar 9, 2026.

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