• High Drama

  • The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Competition Climbing and an American Obsession
  • By: John Burgman
  • Narrated by: Kyle Tait
  • Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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High Drama  By  cover art

High Drama

By: John Burgman
Narrated by: Kyle Tait
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Publisher's summary

One afternoon in 1987, two renegade climbers in Berkeley, California, hatched an ambitious plan: under the cover of darkness, they would rappel down from a carefully scouted highway on-ramp, gluing artificial handholds onto the load-bearing concrete pillars underneath. Equipped with ingenuity, strong adhesive, and an urban guerilla attitude, Jim Thornburg and Scott Frye created a serviceable climbing wall. But what they were part of was a greater development: the expansion and reimagining of a sport now slated for a highly anticipated Olympic debut in 2020.

High Drama explores rock climbing's transformation from a pursuit of select anti-establishment vagabonds to a sport embraced by competitors of all ages, social classes, and backgrounds. Climbing magazine's John Burgman weaves a multi-layered story of traditionalists and opportunists, grassroots organizers and business-minded developers, free-spirited rebels and rigorously coached athletes. Deeply reported and compellingly told, this is a celebration of climbing and the pivotal figures who made its growth possible, from the rock faces of Yosemite to urban bouldering gyms and beyond.

©2020 John Burgman (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

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Certainly very in depth and compelling

Must read for competitors and climbing industry veterans. I’d even go as far to say people not already invested in climbing will enjoy this story.

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