Client: Thor Industries, Airstream

Agency: The Public Works

Production: The Public Works

Rock climber, podcast host, and vanlifer Kathy Karlo travels to West Virginia to project The Greatest Show on Earth (5.13a), a challenging route established in the 1980s by legendary climber Lynn Hill. The process of “projecting” a route involves pouring time and energy into completing a climb that is at or above one’s limits. This typically means many, many attempts at a given route, often piecing the route together bit by bit over days, months, or years. It can be physically and mentally taxing, but Kathy willingly and intentionally embraces the challenge, throwing herself at the rock day after day. Still, she finds a sense of peace and joy from spending time in nature, while learning more about herself through climbing.

Watch Kathy’s process of projecting in The Greatest Show.

L1 Media provided post-production services for this short film.

Filmed on location in New River Gorge, West Virginia, USA.