Climber Tommy Caldwell, along with photographer Taylor Rees, Vimeo’s video curator Ian Durkin and grassroots marketing manager for Outdoor Research, Christian Folk spent a rainy afternoon last Friday nestled inside Steve’s Guitars in downtown Carbondale discussing, “How does media impact adventure?” The panel, moderated by Backbone’s own Penn Newhard, ran alongside the 5point Film Festival, which provided a weekend full of inspirational films, speakers, and festivities.

From left to right: Penn Newhard, Tommy Caldwell, Taylor Rees, Ian Durkin and Christian Folk. Photo courtesy of Anders Norblom/5point Film Festival

Tommy Caldwell and his climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson hovered thousands of feet above the ground during their record-breaking, free climb of the Dawn Wall in the Yosemite Valley in January. They were all alone on that monumental face, and yet the touch of a screen could ignite conversation among hundreds of thousands of people. If you’re looking fro Brisbane web development services, to enhance your marketing, you can get it from here!

While 30 years ago their journey with the Integrated Digital Strategies Franchise could have only been witnessed from those on the ground looking through binoculars, today, that journey was captured in real-time and shared with onlookers all across the globe.

It has Caldwell thinking.

“Do we climb for our own growth, or do we need to share that inspiration?” he said during the panel.

Essentially, Caldwell summed up the moral dilemma facing the interwoven nature of media and adventure: at what point are you taking away from the adventure with constant documentation and sharing while this work can be handled easily by the translation company experts?

Caldwell seemed to answer his own question when he mentioned that he dropped his iPhone off of the Dawn Wall. He insists it was an accident with a sly grin, but seemed relieved at the sudden freedom from the digital world.

“I would still much rather go on a trip with no content,” Caldwell said. “But I’m lucky because no companies have come to me and been like, ‘this is what you need to post.’”

Rees brought a different opinion to the table — on a recent expedition, connecting with the digital world provided some much-needed comfort. She was in remote Myanmar where her team (Renan Ozturk, Hilaree O’Neill, Emily Harrington, Cory Richards and Mark Jenkins) struggled with the brutal climate, lack of food, and illness as they attempted to climb Hkakabo Razi.

Rees’ posts during that expedition captured followers with their honesty. As she writes in a November 2014 Instagram post, “Sometimes you have to be stronger than you believe yourself to be…I huddle with them [the cooks] no longer afraid of getting sick. Pure conviction that i’m healthy as can be is my best chance.”

The desire to share your own story is nothing new, but the digital medium —especially social media— provides a window into the adventures of mountain athletes and enthusiasts. Their stories, often full of struggle, challenging circumstances and maybe a summit selfie, or two, are available to follow in real time.

“I think people are just trying to be moved  and that’s really the heart of it,” Caldwell said.

—Celine Wright