The internet is talking. Why is Alex so psyched to climb a skyscraper on live TV? How hard is Taipei 101? Is this a gimmick? The answers go deeper than you might expect. Fitz sat down with Alex to break it down before he left for Taipei. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Maui Nui Get a free pack of 6 jerky sticks on your first order of $79 or more. Kodiak Cakes Find Kodiak products at your local grocery store, they're...
Jan 21, 2026•28 min•Season 9Ep. 2
Later this month, Alex will set out to climb the Taipei 101 skyscraper, but he certainly won’t be the first. For the last three decades, Alain Robert has been the living legend of the underground scene of climbing buildings. Arrested more than 170 times, his passion for buildings stemmed out of his passion for cutting edge free soloing. His tick list featured routes Alex wouldn’t dare to touch today. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at ...
Jan 09, 2026•43 min•Season 9Ep. 1
2025 – what a year in climbing. Jonathan Siegrist and Leici Hendrix join us to break down the highlights. First woman to climb 5.15c. V17 in a session. El Cap flashed in a day. The next generation is now firmly in the driver seat and ready to carry climbing into its next chapter. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com LMNT Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/climbinggold . Try the new LMNT...
Dec 26, 2025•40 min•Season 8Ep. 20
In 2001, Chris Sharma ushered in 5.15a when he completed Biographie after pouring years into the long standing project. Its position, aesthetic, history and heartbreaking sequences that have spit off the best climbers cemented the route into climbing’s memory. Today, we dive into Biographie with Chris, cinematographer Brett Lowell, Margo Hayes and Jonathan Siegrist to understand what makes the route so special. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit...
Dec 12, 2025•41 min•Season 8Ep. 19
As climbers, are we powerless in the face of what’s happening to our public lands? We sat down with retired Senator Mark Udall and Heather Thorne, Executive Director of Access Fund , to talk about what we can do to help the future of American climbing and our public lands. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Kodiak Cakes Find Kodiak products at your local grocery store, they're the ones with the bear on the box or learn...
Nov 28, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 18
Alex has climbed all over the world, but he’s never visited some of our country’s best climbing areas. Today, three devoted southern climbers – Andrew Kornylak , Karen Lane and Colette McInerney – lay out the case for why the Southeast should be on his tick list. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com LMNT Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/climbinggold . Try the new LMNT Sparkling — a bo...
Nov 14, 2025•44 min•Season 8Ep. 17
Last year, Alex sat down with legendary comedian and interviewer David Letterman in front of a live audience in New York City. Buckle up for a hilarious ride down memory lane. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Kodiak Cakes Find Kodiak products at your local grocery store, they're the ones with the bear on the box or learn more at Kodiakcakes.com LMNT Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.co...
Oct 31, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 16
If there is a common thread between the greatest rock climbing achievements of the last few decades, it’s that cinematographer Brett Lowell was probably filming it. In high school, Brett found himself pulled into the world of climbing creativity and has never looked back. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com LMNT Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/climbinggold . Try the new LMNT Sparkli...
Oct 17, 2025•44 min•Season 8Ep. 15
Nearly unknown to the greater climbing world, Hamish McArthur walked on the mats at the Paris Olympics the epitome of an underdog. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to be there. When the dust settled, he’d placed fifth, ahead of legends and rising stars. Since then, Hamish upended the climbing world by casually dispatching the world's hardest boulder problems in lightning speed. How’d he do it? The solution was inside his mind. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Che...
Oct 03, 2025•53 min•Season 8Ep. 14
Climber Melissa Arnot Reid blazed her way into the elite circle of high altitude guides, but her ascent into rarified air came amidst deep personal struggles that no amount of Everest summits or accolades could fix. Today, we talk about the state of Everest, Ueli Steck and Melissa’s new book Enough . Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Factor Meals Eat smart at FactorMeals.com/CLIMBINGGOLD50OFF and use code CLIMBINGG...
Sep 19, 2025•58 min•Season 8Ep. 13
John Bachar may have been the Stonemasters brightest star. His audacious free climbs and even more audacious free solos turned heads around the globe. Sadly, John fell while free soloing in 2009. Last winter, longtime climber and author Mark Kroese approached us with a tape marked Bachar, a remnant of the research he did for his book Fifty Favorite Climbs . Time to hit play. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Kodiak Ca...
Sep 05, 2025•1 hr•Season 8Ep. 12
El Cap. Free. In a day. It's an accomplishment that puts a climber in lofty company. In 2020, Emily Harrington succeeded on Golden Gate. It was a multi-year effort that required finding her outermost limits and letting go of perfectionism. Now, that journey comes to the big screen with Louder Than Eleven’s new film, Girl Climber . Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Turtlebox Take your music anywhere turtleboxaudio.com ...
Aug 22, 2025•57 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Katie Lamb has been cutting her teeth on a steady diet of some of the country’s hardest boulders. When she became the first woman to climb V16, she was surprised by the spotlight that came with that breakthrough and the ensuing online drama after the problem was downgraded. Today, Katie has climbed V16 again and her motivation has never been more in focus. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com David Buy 4 cartons and get...
Aug 08, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Together, Jesse and Molly Dufton create one of the most unique partnerships in rock climbing. Jesse knew two things from a young age. The feeling that traditional climbing gave him was something that he wanted to pursue through life and that a genetic disorder would eventually rob him of his sight. Through the years Jesse and Molly figured a path forward through a shared life of adventure climbing and first ascents. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out S...
Jul 25, 2025•41 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Sonnie Trotter would never admit to being Canada’s best rock climber, but his multi-decade career of cutting-edge trad climbs and nails-hard sport routes certainly puts him in that conversation. In his new book, Sonnie looks back to the people, experiences and community that defined his path into professional climbing. Just don’t take financial advice from him. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Kodiak Cakes Find Kodia...
Jul 11, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 7
Writer Cassidy Randall’s new book Thirty Below unearths the story of the first all-female ascent of Denali in 1970 and reveals a deeper story of ambition and teamwork. It’s an incredible story with complex characters. In a sport obsessed with legends and heroics, why did the Denali Damsels nearly fade into history? Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com LMNT Get your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt...
Jun 27, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 7
Elite competition is a young person's game, but when 44-year-old legend Chris Sharma witnessed climbing on the Olympic stage last summer, it lit a fire in him, or at least a small flame. Chris undeniably changed climbing bringing the sport into its modern era, establishing the 5.15 grade, winning World Cups and World Championships as a teen, but an Olympics appearance is the one thing missing. LA 2028 is definitely on his mind. First stop– New Jersey. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our...
Jun 13, 2025•55 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Amity Warme first showed up in Yosemite Valley in 2019 young, scrappy and in love with the adventurous side of our sport. What’s followed since is a meteoric rise through the discipline of traditional and big wall free climbing. What’s taken some of the world’s best to do over decades, Amity has squeezed into five years. What makes Amity so special? We dig in. Book of Hate Video Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com David...
May 30, 2025•49 min•Season 8Ep. 5
In 2021, Vitaliy Musiyenko closed the chapter on a years-long obsession with a 32-mile-ridge line featuring 60 summits in the heart of the Sierra. The Goliath Traverse is likely the longest ridge traverse ever completed on the planet. For Vitaliy, it was part of a much larger journey that began with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Yeti See all their products at yeti.com Kodiak Cakes Find...
May 16, 2025•56 min•Season 8Ep. 4
In 2024, Michaela Kiersch became the first woman to climb both V15 and 5.15 putting her on climbing’s global radar. To midwest climbers and those in the know, she was already a legend for her incredible training sessions and ability to balance a career outside climbing. Alex and Michaela chat about what it’s like to become a part of history, the lessons learned from losing a parent at a young age and her incredible 2024. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check ...
May 02, 2025•56 min•Season 8Ep. 3
After rising to the highest echelon of professional skiing, Cody Townsend took a step back and embraced climbing to take him to the next chapter of his career. Today, Cody sits on the cusp of completing an all-time goal – climbing and skiing the 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com David Buy 4 cartons and get the 5th one for free at davidprotein.com/climbinggold LMNT Get your fre...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 2
We are back with the Greatest of All Time – Janja Garnbret. For the last decade, Janja has dominated competitive climbing, capping it off with her second gold medal at the Olympics last summer. Where does she find the motivation to keep improving when she’s won everything there is to win? Watch Climbing Gold on YouTube Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Check out Summit Series at thenorthface.com Kodiak Cakes Find Kodiak products at your local grocery store, they're the ones with the bear on ...
Apr 04, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Ben Mayforth’s strength is a sight to behold. The professional paraclimber’s social clips of campusing double digit boulder problems may have made it into your social feed, but his story runs much deeper than any grade or route. It’s a story of hard work, belonging and finding a path in the world. Forerunner features Alex Johnson Adapted Part 1 and Part 2 features Mo Beck Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Henson Shaving Use link and enter CLIMBINGGOLD at checkout to get 100 free blades with ...
Nov 01, 2024•52 min•Season 7Ep. 26
Last summer, Alex and Tommy Caldwell rode bikes from Estes Park, Colorado to SE Alaska where they boarded a sailboat which dropped them beneath the fabled Devil’s Thumb. Their adventure is now a film on Disney+, but a lot of the experience got left on the cutting room floor. We sat down with Tommy and their photographer/wingman, Taylor Shaffer, to dive deeper into the journey. The Devil's Climb trailer Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Altitude Climbing Learn the three key elements needed to...
Oct 25, 2024•52 min•Season 7Ep. 25
Tucked away in a corner of Chilean Patagonia, Valle Cochamó wasn’t going to stay hidden forever. The soaring unclimbed granite walls instilled dreams of first ascents in climbers. Industrialists eyed its free flowing rivers with their potential for hydroelectric power. Conservationists hoped it could provide a final puzzle piece of an incredible protected wildlife corridor. To the families who live there, it was simply home where they ranched amidst the 3,000-year-old Alerce trees. This is the s...
Oct 18, 2024•56 min•Season 7Ep. 24
5.13 at 78. That’s staggering, but the numbers don’t capture the breadth of Jamie Logan’s climbing career, which now spans seven decades. Through every chapter of our sport, Jamie has been a contributor from pioneering free climbing in the 1960’s to leading design trends of the modern gym. The risk she took in her 70’s may ultimately prove to be the most lasting pillar of her legacy. Never be afraid of who you are. Watch Jamie film at bit.ly/JamieLogan Thanks to our sponsors The North Face COROS...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 7Ep. 23
Alpinist and photographer Cory Richards was living at full speed. A steady stream of Himalayan expeditions and assignments from National Geographic kept him relentlessly moving around the world. Meanwhile, his long struggle with bi-polar disorder, PTSD, alcoholism, and sex addiction hit new lows until Cory’s world came undone. Today, Cory’s stepped away from both climbing and photography, has written two books and in a lot of ways, is happier than he’s ever been. Thanks to our sponsors The North...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 7Ep. 22
El Cap. Free. In a day. Putting those words on your resume puts you in the league of legends. How did that become the bar? Lynn Hill. A singular athlete who stepped up to the biggest stage in climbing, Lynn redefined what was athletically possible not just for her generation, but generations to come. Emily Harrington and Beth Rodden add their perspective on the momentous achievement. “It Goes Boys” poster Thanks to our sponsors The North Face Henson Shaving Use link and enter CLIMBINGGOLD at che...
Sep 27, 2024•43 min•Season 7Ep. 21
Ms. 5.15 – that was the moniker the climbing world bestowed on Margo Hayes after she became the first woman to climb the grade. Two more 5.15’s followed and Margo seemed poised to be a defining climber of her generation. Yet, in the background, Margo was quietly struggling with Lyme disease and exploring other interests when she wasn’t healthy enough to give climbing her all. What does a professional climber owe their sport, their community, and what do they owe themselves? Thanks to our sponsor...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 7Ep. 20
While most of the elite climbing world has turned its attention to raw difficulty in sport and bouldering, Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher have been carrying the torch for hard, sometimes dangerous, traditional climbing. We talk about Eternal Flame, managing risk and getting sandbagged in Yosemite. Thanks to our sponsors The North Face COROS Use code CLIMBINGGOLD to get a free watch carabiner with the purchase of a VERTIX 2s watch when both items are in your cart. LMNT Use link to get a free LM...
Sep 13, 2024•47 min•Season 7Ep. 19
