It doesn't matter if you're a fanatic who never leaves home without your chalk bag or someone for whom scaling stairs is the limit of your climbing experience, the people, places and achievements featured in Red Bull TV's show Reel Rock will leave you glued to your screen. With nine seasons already in the bag, we thought it was time to take a look back at some highlights and see why it's a must-watch show for anyone with a sense of adventure.
01
Fighting for titles with a smile
23 min
Smile and fight
Can big wall climber Natalia Grossman handle the pressure of defending her IFSC World Cup Champion title?
After a breakthrough competition season in 2021, Natalia Grossman became the first American in 20 years to win an overall IFSC World Cup title as she became the Boulder World Cup champion overall. In 2022, she was in the unfamiliar position of having to defend her title. Can Grossman handle the pressure of defending her World Cup Boulder title? Find out in Season 9's Smile & Fight. 02
Know any nine-year-old climbing legends?
21 min
Obe and Ashima
A former child climbing star finds new purpose by coaching a nine-year-old bouldering prodigy.
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch unmissable action on all your devices! Get the app here. Clambering over a neighbour's fence to get your football back is as far as climbing goes for most nine-year-olds. Not the amazing Ashima Shiraishi. She was already one of the world's best female climbers when Reel Rock met her in Season 1 and you'll be truly humbled when you see her in action a few years later in Season 3. You have our permission to feel a tad underachieving. 20 min
The perfect season part 1
Janja Garnbret has been dominating the climbing competition scene. Can she complete the perfect season?
From 2016 to 2018, Slovenian sensation Janja Garnbret dominated the climbing competition scene, taking gold in nearly every World Cup or Championship she entered. In Season 7 of Reel Rock, we travel along with Garnbret to try and learn her secrets as she attempts to make history and complete a perfect season. 23 min
The perfect season part 2
Janja Garnbret has been dominating the climbing competition scene. Can she complete the perfect season?
22 min
Born among boulders
Follow as Swiss bouldering star Giuliano Cameroni explores the stunning boulders in his home region of Ticino.
Giuliano Cameroni sees rocks differently to most people. To him, a boulder of granite is a playground, a puzzle. It's a work of art. This episode follows the Swiss climber over six years as he explores the stunning boulders in his home region of Ticino, and climbs one of the hardest and most revered boulders, called Off the Wagon. We promise you'll never look at a rock in quite the same way again. 05
Climbers' holidays aren't like your holidays
21 min
Sleeping lion
Big wall climbing legend Chris Sharma introduces his mega new project in Siurana, Spain: the Sleeping Lion.
Legendary climber Chris Sharma has spent his career travelling the world climbing some of the planet's hardest routes. These days, Sharma is less active, with the real life of bringing up his children taking over. However, in early 2023, he discovered a new line just an hour and a half from his holiday home in Siurana, Spain. His competitive spirit was awakened, and Sharma found himself obsessed by a climbing project once again, as he attempts to climb one of his hardest routes ever: a 9b+ named the Sleeping Lion.
That's not all from Sharma when it comes to what you can watch of him in Reel Rock. You'll never look at the Aegean in the same way after watching his summer holiday spent trying to conquer a massive sea arch rising out of the crystal waters in season 1 and in season 4 he's enjoying seascapes once again in Mallorca, Spain, with the first ascent at El Bufador in Above the Sea. 16 min
Above the Sea
American rock climber Chris Sharma takes his first ascent at El Bufador on the island of Mallorca, Spain.
32 min
Rayu
Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Söderlund and Brette Harrington become the first all-female team to scale Rayu.
A mix of tough trad climbing with a sport crux on a steep headwall, the opening episode of Season 8 saw elite sport climbers Sasha DiGiulian and Matilda Söderlund team up with trad specialist Brette Harrington to attempt a free ascent of the 2,000-foot alpine rock route, Rayu. Aiming to become the first all-female led team to scale the 5.14b big wall route, this gripping climb is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
19 min
Cuddle part 1
Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold push their limits when they try to climb 17 alpine summits at high altitude.
You'll know renowned free solo climber Alex Honnold from his Oscar-winning, cold sweat-inducing Free Solo film, but what happened when he once again teamed up with Tommy Caldwell to ascend 17 peaks in the Colorado mountains? Find out in Season 8's Cuddle as the Reel Rock regulars are forced to ask for help to complete their epic adventure. And don't forget to check out the previous efforts of Honnold and Coldwell who scaled Patagonia's risky Fitz Roy Traverse in Season 2, then chased a speed record on The Nose in Season 6. Honnold is back on his own in Season 9 as he attempts the most treacherous single-push solo mission at the Red Rock Canyon in Nevada in episodes 1 and 2 of The Hurt . 20 min
Reel Rock: Alex Honnold in Nevada
Alex Honnold attempts his latest and most treacherous single-push solo mission in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.
30 min
Barefoot Charles
Barefoot Charles Albert is a minimalist who climbs boulders in Fontainebleau, France, and lives in a cave.
If you've ever forgotten your climbing shoes and tried to ascend a wall in a normal pair of trainers you'll know the importance of having the right footwear. But just imagine trying to climb barefoot. That's exactly what Frenchman Charles Albert does in Season 8. And what's more, he makes it look easy.
09
Bigger, boulder, better
21 min
High and mighty part 1
Highball bouldering fuses difficult moves and dire consequences. But for the sport's elite, that's the draw.
Bouldering doesn't sound so scary, does it? Boulders aren't really that big are they. You might want to reconsider after watching the highball bouldering athletes pushing the discipline to literal new highs in Season 2's High & Mighty, armed with nothing more than a few school gymnasium crash mats and the determination to push the limits of human ability. Once your heart's stopped racing and you've got your head around the concept of the 'No Fall Zone', you'll be able to catch up with Nina Willams in two new Season 6 episodes, titled The High Road, where she faces some of bouldering's biggest ever problems.
10
Discover that Dodos aren't dead
19 min
Dodo's Delight part 1
Set sail on an Arctic adventure with a group of musical mountaineers and their ship, Dodo's Delight.
Pack a warm jumper and some seasickness tablets because you'll be going aboard a tiny sloop called the Dodo's Delight for good times, great climbing and stunning scenery during an expedition through the Arctic Circle right out of the pages of Nat Geo. You'll be searching for Arctic boat charters before the end of the first episode, trust us.
20 min
Dodo's Delight part 2
The Dodo's Delight is off to explore the untapped climbs of the Arctic, but it's not all smooth sailing ahead.
11
Overcoming mental barriers
19 min
This is Beth
An intimate look beneath the success of legendary climber Beth Rodden, diving into her struggles and transformation.
One of the USA's all-time great female climbers, Beth Rodden has conquered some of the world's toughest routes. Yet, despite thsi success, there were plenty of low moments. In Season 8's This is Beth, Rodden takes us back through a career marked by self-destructive behaviour and reflects on finally being able to accept her own body.
