What does it take to win in a sport the world is only beginning to watch?
The Crux is a four-part National Geographic series on competitive sport climbing, made at Think Less with The North Face, Little Monster Films (Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi, the team behind Free Solo) and the sport’s federation, the IFSC. Modeled on Drive to Survive, it follows the world’s best climbers on the World Cup circuit as they chase the Paris Olympics. It started as a cold email asking the federation for access. We raised a little, cut a sizzle, and The North Face joined after seeing it. Over three months we filmed a two-day World Cup in Salt Lake City and ten days at the World Championship in Switzerland, where ours was the first crew ever allowed to film athletes in pre-event isolation.
The Crux
Risk It All
Before a frame was shot, we spent two weeks on calls with the athletes. Casting started with who someone is as a person, not just their ranking: the underdog, the prodigy, the comeback, and the people around them. We brought on Nanook Walter, a four-season Drive to Survive director, and embedded with the climbers through qualification, isolation and finals.
The plan was a six-to-eight episode streaming series. When no streamer bought it, we cut a tighter four-part release for National Geographic’s digital channels, and did every bit of post in-house on the compressed timeline. It rolled out on National Geographic in July, then on The North Face’s channels in August around Global Climbing Day in New York.
A Think Less production
For National Geographic and The North Face
With Little Monster Films and the IFSC
Series leads, Cole Sax and Phil Hessler
With director Nanook Walter
Post-production, Think Less
Athletes featured in the series
Skateboarding, surfing and climbing enter the Olympics.
NextWorld
Debut
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