# That Citi Rock Climbing Commercial **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644 "2011-12-01T01:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/42 "2012-01-14T17:24:42Z")
> [@LenN](#): > > I don’t know where the rock spire is but I do know that the background is a view of the Shafer Trail from Deadhorse Point State Park in Utah (the Shafer Trail goes into Canyonlands National Park’s Islands in the Sky area). The rock spire with the climber is definitely not part of the view from Deadhorse Point. It might be in the Needles area of Canyonlands… or it may be in a studio… one never knows… I took that same picture (from Deadhorse Point) and compared it to a freeze of the commercial and there is no doubt about it. I have the pix and would post it if they supported it. Yep, you and **chacoguy** are both exactly right. I used to live near Dead Horse Point and have that view indelibly ingrained in my mind, one of the prettiest in the world. If in any doubt, compare the trail in the commercial near the river bend with that shown [here](http://www.google.com/search?pq=young+turkey+pullet&hl=en&cp=12&gs_id=9g&xhr=t&q=dead+horse+point&client=safari&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=768&bih=946&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=nrYRT92fO-74sQKXovWTBA). Eta: That didn’t copy just right. It’s the pic in top row, middle and all in the third row. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/43 "2012-01-14T21:43:19Z")
Here is a link to the CNN story on the [making of the commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-hW4AOC0c4). All real. The climbers said that this climb is not particularly difficult. Also shows background video of the climbers, including some pretty awesome free climbing that the guy has done. (I don’t climb at all, not for me. But even for someone who knows what he’s doing, isn’t that pretty high risk?) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/44 "2012-01-14T21:54:31Z")
I am SO glad this was real. I used to do free-climbing back in my 20s and this looked amazing. And yes, the young woman is quite lovely as well. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/45 "2012-01-16T03:17:01Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > But even for someone who knows what he’s doing, isn’t that pretty high risk? Yes - Alex Honnold is in a category by himself. He does free climbs that even the world’s best regard as off-the-scale risky - “unthinkable”. Check out this [NG video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCAy1v1fnI). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/46 "2012-01-16T04:42:21Z")
douchebag central. It recasts climbing as just another trapping of the well-heeled consumerist achiever. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/47 "2012-01-16T10:43:04Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > douchebag central. It recasts climbing as just another trapping of the well-heeled consumerist achiever. “Cranky Bachelor Dilettante” It shows. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/48 "2012-01-16T19:11:59Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I just realized who are the climbers in that commercial: [Katie Brown](http://www.7x7.com/travel-active/hot-20-2009-katie-brown-top-ranked-climber) and [Alex Honnold](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Honnold). > > No CGI. It’s a climb either could do unroped & blindfolded. Go to Zion NP any time in the late spring or early summer and you’ll find a dozen 18-year-old concession employees who could and would happily scamper up that thing on their lunch break—after smoking a fatty first. When I worked there the youngest person ever to solo Moonlight Buttress was a dishwasher in the Lodge Dining Room. If he’s still alive, I’m guessing he went on to become a well-known name in climbing circles. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/49 "2012-01-16T19:40:24Z")
Wow. This has to be one of the best threads we’ve had in GQ for quite some time! Even nailed the two people in the commercial. Maybe these intertubes are just getting too easy! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/50 "2012-01-16T20:24:11Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > douchebag central. It recasts climbing as just another trapping of the well-heeled consumerist achiever. So…you’re saying rock climbing is not an equipment intensive hobby? Unless you’re suicidal, you don’t climb without ropes and slings and specialized climbing shoes. And unless you’re mildly suicidal, you replace those things whenever they start showing signs of wear. And none of that stuff is cheap, which kind of what you expect and want if you’re potentially going to be dangling from it 1500 feet up. And, if you know anything about the guy in the commercial, he pretty much lives in a van so he can do his climbing thing. So I’m not seeing the “well-heeled” thing there, except I hope they paid him well for the commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/51 "2012-01-16T21:45:42Z")
Actually, I think it was the [South Face of Angel’s Landing](http://www.supertopo.com/rock-climbing/Zion-National-Angels-Landing-Prodigal-Sun) that he was the youngest known person to solo, not Moonlight Buttress. Looks like he’s still [alive and climbing](http://www.ericdraper.com/portfolio38.html). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/52 "2012-01-16T22:19:04Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > “Cranky Bachelor Dilettante” > > It shows. 😉 **farts in JBDivmstr’s general direction** ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/53 "2012-01-17T00:36:29Z")
Rock towers must appeal to lots of advertising execs: [1964 Chevy Commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvKvP4r4i2o) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/54 "2012-01-17T01:41:06Z")
Ok I asked for a sensible explanation before, but now we’re up to 28000 views in this thread. The topic is not that interesting, and the views start to rival sticky threads. wTF. Are there bots scanning this thread because it’s related to Citi? ---
**Author:** ![WALWALWAL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@WALWALWAL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WALWALWAL)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/55 "2012-01-18T04:13:58Z")
The commercial may or may not be completely real. I’m suspicious of the close up of the mail climber. Looks like a model that’s spent more time in the studio than outdoors .It does depict some thing that is real. Over the years I have seen similar things in mountain climbing books. Why some one would do it, Mallory when he was asked about climbing Everest said, “Because it’s there.” It’s a good argument for couch potatoes to stay on the couch. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/56 "2012-01-18T04:44:25Z")
> [@WALWALWAL](#): > > The commercial may or may not be completely real. I’m suspicious of the close up of the mail climber. Looks like a model that’s spent more time in the studio than outdoors . Dude, Google a picture of Alex Honnold. That’s him. And he’s an engineering student, not a postal carrier. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/57 "2012-01-18T06:46:12Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > **farts in JBDivmstr’s general direction** Damn it! What in the _ **hell** _ have you been eating?! (It smells like something crawled up your ass and _ **DIED** _!) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/58 "2012-01-18T07:47:45Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > (It smells like something crawled up your ass and _ **DIED** _!) 😛 Crawled up there blindfolded, without ropes, having smoked a fatty and was the youngest ever? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/59 "2012-01-18T13:12:16Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > Ok I asked for a sensible explanation before, but now we’re up to 28000 views in this thread. The topic is not that interesting, and the views start to rival sticky threads. wTF. Are there bots scanning this thread because it’s related to Citi? Maybe there weren’t any other questions about this topic, and it popped up first in a Google search. Or it was linked to when someone found it. That, or bots. ---
**Author:** ![nikallez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@nikallez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikallez)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/60 "2012-01-20T01:12:48Z")
One thing I’ve not seen reported about the Citi rock climbing commercial is the identity of the female narrative voice. That’s not Katie Brown’s voice, of course. In my opinion, the narrator was exceptionally well-chosen and did a flawless job. I made commercials and documentaries many years ago, and I wish I had had that voice and talent available to me. ---
**Author:** ![johnny4mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@johnny4mac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnny4mac)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644/61 "2012-01-27T04:40:00Z")
> [@nikallez](#): > > One thing I’ve not seen reported about the Citi rock climbing commercial is the identity of the female narrative voice. That’s not Katie Brown’s voice, of course. In my opinion, the narrator was exceptionally well-chosen and did a flawless job. I made commercials and documentaries many years ago, and I wish I had had that voice and talent available to me. Personally I like the followup commercial. You know, the one where the boyfriend that is climbing up behind her finally reaches the top of the rock and buries his face deep into her sweaty ass crack! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-citi-rock-climbing-commercial/604644.md?page=4)