5 Times The Mainstream Media Completely Failed At Understanding Climbing

Every now and then something really groundbreaking happens in climbing. Sometimes those feats of athleticism or bravery are so extraordinary they can fire up the imagination of non-climbers. At such times the editors of national newspapers are faced with the difficult task of talking about something they completely don’t understand. Luckily for climbers, the outcomes of their endeavours are usually hilarious.

Here’s a list of our favourite climbing topics discussed with relish but no merit by the mainstream media. 

1. Alex Honnold

Honnold? Excuse me. I meant Honnlove. 

Even before the Dawn Wall, things were already a little bit awkward between Alex and the mainstream press.

'Can I see your hands, Alex?' Don’t show anything to that strange lady Alex, it's clearly a trap! 

4. Extreme mountaineering 

In case you had any doubts, in the age of Google Maps the spirit of one-upmanship, adventure and exploration mean nothing. Why would you climb a mountain when you can stare at a satellite image of it online? Mountain climbing is the height of empty egotism, and Everest is just a high-altitude lunatic asylum. Guess that’s why Hollywood are making one helluva crazy movie about it. 

3. Sasha DiGiulian

This chick is a daredevil changing the rules of rock climbing! Hopefully she's not changing too many while on the 'Murder Wall'… 

2. Adam Ondra

Here at EpicTV we never address our Team Climber by any name other than ‘Rock God’. All hail the Rock God.

1. The Dawn Wall

An extraordinary achievement by two climbers on the wall, and one climber on the ground. John Long nimbly shifted from being a middle aged dirt-bag to an expert PR professional and ensured that Caldwell and Jorgeson got all (can I stress this again? *ALL*) the media attention they could possibly get. DPM already combined some of the best quotes from that media storm, so let’s just briefly marvel over the fact that ‘apart from the ropes that they bolt to the rock as they go, and their smartphones, [the climbers are] alone’. To add to their predicament, Jorgeson dropped his phone and National Geographic ran a very newsworthy feature on this loss. 

Can you think of any other media moments that made you chuckle? Let us know your favorites in the comments!