Behind the Veil: Inside Climbing 

People like to know what’s behind the veil. Take as proof all those exposés — “Kitchen Confidential”, “Behind the Music”, inside-the-beltway political tomes, uhm… “Inside the Actor’s Studio”… you get the picture. Well, I’m going to let you in, with a special VIP pass, to the high-stakes, no-holds-barred, chalky, duplicitous, and spray-saturated world of climbing media. Today I’m lifting the red velour rope to our very own office. Please, come in.

Welcome to Climbing, in sunny Boulder, Colorado. It’s likely something you’ve been dreaming about. Let’s have a little tour, shall we? That’s our receptionist, Hanna. She speaks eight languages (a must when dealing with climbers and contribs from the four corners). And here, in this climate-controlled case, we have a biner from Lynn Hill’s first free ascent of The Nose. Notice the unusual scarring just above the gate… What’s that? Why, yes, I agree, the vaulted ceilings do lend a sense of space and decorum… it took my breath away the first time, too. Now I’m used to it.

Moving on, here’s the intern’s office — we only give interns one 30-inch, high-def, flat panel display… I know it seems tough, but character is best forged in the smithy of adversity, I always say. And this is our assistant editor’s office — notice the parquet floors, they were installed by an Italian mountaineer and craftsman who’s lived off the radar in a hidden cave in the Dolemites for the past six years. In that frame you’ll notice a route map; do you recognize it? That’s right! It was actually drawn by Heinrich Harrer, as he pondered his treacherous line up the Eigernordwand. It’s the original (see the doodle of a spider in the margins there?).