Rock climbing superstar Alex Honnold has a new adventure coming up, but this one doesn’t involve scaling cliffs. Instead, he’s launching a podcast, Climbing Gold. According to Deadline, the 10-part series will dive into the history of rock climbing, chronicling its rise from obscurity into a full-blown Olympic sport, and it will profile some of today’s greatest climbers.
Honnold will co-host the show with Fitz Cahall, who created The Dirtbag Diaries, an outdoors-focused podcast that launched in 2007. In this new show, Honnold and Cahall will chart the rise of rock climbing by focusing on individual climbers who broke with tradition and helped push the boundaries of the sport. There’s no word yet on who will be profiled, but with climbing more popular than ever, the show has plenty of stories to cover.
The show also comes at an interesting time for the sport. Just a few decades ago, rock climbing was the domain of zealots and self-proclaimed “dirtbags,” and it had nowhere near the recognition it does today. Fast forward to 2021, and the sport is more popular than ever, with climbing gyms sprouting up across the country and the first ever group of Olympic rock climbers heading to Tokyo this summer.
“Climbing is an incredible mix of adventure and athleticism and it’s interesting to see how that ratio has changed over the years,” Honnold told Deadline. “As climbing enters the Olympics this year the focus is mainly on the athleticism of the athletes, but I think it’s important for us to remember that climbing has its roots in mountaineering and exploration.”
Honnold and Cahall plan to explore the sport’s roots, and where it’s headed, by speaking with notable climbers from multiple generations and sharing their stories. Whether you’re a veteran climber or you’ve never considered scrambling a rock face, Climbing Gold should be an informative look at what first drew people to the rock—and why it continues to draw so many today.
A release date for the show hasn’t been announced yet, but check here for updates in the coming weeks.
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