The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has ravaged the world, halting mass gatherings, shutting down schools and quarantining millions of people in their homes. From a sporting perspective, this also means that there are no live sports until further notice, due to COVID-19 and people are understandably worried as to how they will get their sporting fixes. We have developed comprehensive guides for all you sports fans. We have developed a comprehensive guide for climbing lovers and fans on all things climbing.

Before we kick-off though, for all the latest accurate, fact-based and critical updates on COVID-19, visit the website of the World Health Organization (WHO). You can also visit other fact-based websites such as The Conversation and John Hopkins University’s Coronavirus map to read and stay up-to-date on the latest regarding the pandemic.

In an attempt to make a positive situation out of the negative during the COVID-19 crisis, we bring you a list of things to fill your days, be it in self-isolation, quarantine or more time at home, without live climbing. So, even though you may not be able to grab your chalk and shoes and head over to the local gym, or tune into some IFSC live streams, the Sportageous Editorial team brings you a range of climbing books, movies, documentaries, games, podcasts and YouTube and Social media channels to satisfy your climbing cravings.

Books

Here are our favourite climbing books:

Jerry Moffatt Revelations (Recommended by Duncan Brown, Australia’s Olympic Climbing coach)

This is the story of Jerry Moffatt’s rise to becoming a star, and how he overcame an injury to stay at the top for over twenty years. Inspirational, engaging and a great insight into the life of a climber. When it is recommended by Duncan Brown, you just can’t say no!

Vertical Mind: Psychological Approaches for Optimal Rock Climbing, Don McGrath and Jeff Elison

This is all about the mind, and how you can utilise your thinking and mental capacity to appreciate, get better at and enjoy climbing!

Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World, Lynn Hill

The story of Lyn Hill, the first woman to complete. a”free ascent” of the Nose on Yosemite’s El Capitan. This takes us through her early days as a Hollywood stunt artist, her friendships with other climbers, and her near-fatal eighty-foot drop! A must read!

Sixty Meters to Anywhere: Brendan Leonard (Recommended by Duncan Brown, Australia’s Olympic Climbing Coach)

Another book recommended by Duncan Brown. This is a memoir of Brendan Leonard and his climbing story. He was struggling with sobriety, only six months after his last drink had landed him in jail once again.

Cold Wars Andy Kirkpatrick (Recommended by Duncan Brown, Australia’s Olympic Climbing Coach)

Andy is one of Britain’s funniest top climbers and represents what is the best in modern British climbing. A must-read for all climbing and mountaineering fans. Once again, if Duncan says go for it, we always agree!

Documentaries

Looking for something just as insightful but without the commitment? Well, we have the finest documentaries for you:

Free Solo

This Academy Award-winning documentary about Alex Honnold is what has truly put climbing on the map. Most climbers may already have seen it, but we think a re-run is definitely worth it! Plus with Jimmy Chin directing, why haven’t you seen it again?

The Dawn Wall

Another documentary on Yosemite, but well worth your time. Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan and boy is it worth it!

Meru (2015)

In the other corner of the world, we have Meru. Where three elite climbers struggle to find their way through obsession and loss as they attempt to climb Mount Meru, one of the most sought-after prizes in Himalayan big wall climbing.

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey

Fred Beckey is the legendary American “Dirtbag” mountaineer whose story has influenced, inspired and motivated millions around the world, as it continues to do so!

Reel Rock Series

This visually stunning series follows the world’s top climbers, alpinists and mountaineers to the wildest places on earth in their pursuit of the next big adventure! You can spend hours watching this, because we sure do!

Movies

You might feel like watching something fictional on the sport you love. Here’s a set of movies that will surely keep you busy and entertained:

127 Hours

A classic and Oscar-nominated film that tackles the issues of accidents in the mountains. James Franco and the team do a phenomenal job in making this movie. In fact, the ‘shrieking’ sounds still give us jitters!

Mission Impossible 2

This movie is on this list for one reason, and one reason only. That first scene, it’s Dead Horse Point in Utah, Ethan Hawke (Tom Cruise) leaps across a crag, in what is obviously an unrealistic shot, but the influence of this introductory scene first put our beautiful sport on the map and for that alone it gets a nod in this guide.

Touching The Void

The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

Vertical Limit

A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world’s biggest mountains. If you can ignore the climbing scenes, and some of the other ridiculousness, this movie is enjoyable to watch, when not taken too seriously.

North Face

Based on a true story, North Face is a survival drama film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps

Games

When it comes to games, climbing is one of those fortunate sports with a range of console/PC and phone games to help you feel like you’re in it to win it:

GIRP

GIRP is the sequel to QWOP. It’s a game about climbing a cliff using all the letter keys on your keyboard, and a classic in climbing games!

The Climb (Add trailer)

The Climb is a first-person virtual reality video game, developed for the PC by Crytek in partnership with Oculus VR. In the game, the player’s objective is to climb stone walls to the top of each of the stages that are presented. If you have an Oculus Rift or can get your hands one, this is the way to go, for the visuals alone!

Rocky Climb!

A fun phone game, where you help a rock climber reach new heights by swinging left and right and grabbing onto the next rock.

Climb! A Mountain in your Pocket

Climb! A Mountain in Your Pocket is similar to the last game on our list, but it is a lot more challenging game with an easy to learn, hard to master control.

Crazy Climber!

An arcade game, The player assumes the role of a climber attempting to reach the top of four skyscrapers.

YouTube Channels

Of course, watching highlights, short videos and compilations of some of the best climbing content, from training to techniques and tactics can be found on our friendly neighbourhood video service, YouTube:

International Federation of Sport Climbing

Official YouTube channel of the International Federation of Sport Climbing. Find events calendar, all past and future results, rankings, IFSC news, photos, videos

Nate Murphy

His YouTube description reads “Just a rock climber trying to do cool stuff”

EpicTV Climbing Daily

A great place for climbing news, tips and tricks. Check-in every day for all the latest in sport, trad, ice climbing, bouldering and mountaineering

Eric Karlsson Bouldering

Creating more climbing videos so they don’t run out, that was the concept behind eric’s climbing venture on youtube

Petzl Sport

Social Media Channels

They may not be providing you with live updates (for obvious reasons), but here are some awesome Social media channels to check out on climbing:

Climbageous

IFSClimbing

Athlete By Choice (Duncan Brown, Australia’s Olympic Climbing coach)

Adam Ondra

Alex Honnold

Shauna Coxsey

Please stay safe and follow the appropriate health and hygiene standards during the COVID-19 crisis.

You can also donate to support the response to COVID-19 through the WHO’s COVID-19 response fund. Additionally, you can download [email protected] which utilises your computer power to fund research into COVID-19.

For more on Climbing, visit Sportageous

Click on the sport, to check out our other comprehensive guides; cricket, tennis, football, squash.