High Drama: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of American Competition Climbing

A gripping account of American competition climbing's unlikely journey to the world stage.

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. For climbing enthusiasts, sports historians, and anyone curious about American sports culture.

John Burgman has been reporting on competition climbing for the better part of a decade. He writes regularly for Climbing and Climbing Business Journal. He is a Fulbright grant recipient and the author of two previous books, Why We Climb: A Dirtbag’s Quest for Vertical Reason and Island Solitaire.
 

Kynan Waggoner is the former CEO of USA Climbing, the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States.