Adam McClatchie is a climber, photographer, and videographer who owns the media production company Mile High Media House. Thank you for taking the time to share more about yourself, your work, and your passions with Common Climber.
IG: @mile_high_media_house & @home.sweet.homie
WEBSITE: https://milehighmediahouse.com/
IG: @mile_high_media_house & @home.sweet.homie
WEBSITE: https://milehighmediahouse.com/
El Capitan aka. "The Big Stone" at night, Yosemite, California (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
|
You studied electronic media production and photojournalism in college, then went into the field professionally full time, ultimately starting your own media production company. Tell us about your journey in this profession and where it currently fits into your life (is media production your full-time job)?
For as long as I can remember, mixing adrenaline sports with creative content creation has been at my foundation – long before Instagram and influencers made it cool. Some of my fondest memories with a camera are being a young boy with my JVC flip camcorder making skate videos with my friends, with creative inspirations stemming from the Jackass TV show, Mountain Dew, and my newfound testosterone.
Being a confused 17-year-old and being told I needed to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, media production was the only thing that would come to mind aside from being a professional athlete or a marine biologist (I wasn’t good enough for the former and the latter didn’t sound immediately gratifying if I wanted to save money on in-state tuition in Ohio).
Immediately upon completing my undergraduate program in Ohio, I traveled for the summer and ended up in Colorado where I had a job lined up as a camera operator and editor for a small production company. After learning from my mentors and honing in my craft for 3 years with this small company, I decided to start Mile High Media House – basically my fancy name for my freelance work. I branded as Mile High Media House because I was based in the Mile-High city of Denver and I was on the forefront of the professional drone industry, so I liked the play on words. At this point I no longer base out of Denver and I think white-labeling my face does me a disservice so hopefully I’ll be rebranding to a more personalized professional entity soon. Not to mention it’s been brought to my attention that Mile High Media (without the “House”) is an adult-content site which is a major red flag when people try to Google my company... That said, media production has been my sole source of income for over a decade and I’ve been working for myself via MHMH since 2017.
For as long as I can remember, mixing adrenaline sports with creative content creation has been at my foundation – long before Instagram and influencers made it cool. Some of my fondest memories with a camera are being a young boy with my JVC flip camcorder making skate videos with my friends, with creative inspirations stemming from the Jackass TV show, Mountain Dew, and my newfound testosterone.
Being a confused 17-year-old and being told I needed to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, media production was the only thing that would come to mind aside from being a professional athlete or a marine biologist (I wasn’t good enough for the former and the latter didn’t sound immediately gratifying if I wanted to save money on in-state tuition in Ohio).
Immediately upon completing my undergraduate program in Ohio, I traveled for the summer and ended up in Colorado where I had a job lined up as a camera operator and editor for a small production company. After learning from my mentors and honing in my craft for 3 years with this small company, I decided to start Mile High Media House – basically my fancy name for my freelance work. I branded as Mile High Media House because I was based in the Mile-High city of Denver and I was on the forefront of the professional drone industry, so I liked the play on words. At this point I no longer base out of Denver and I think white-labeling my face does me a disservice so hopefully I’ll be rebranding to a more personalized professional entity soon. Not to mention it’s been brought to my attention that Mile High Media (without the “House”) is an adult-content site which is a major red flag when people try to Google my company... That said, media production has been my sole source of income for over a decade and I’ve been working for myself via MHMH since 2017.
Photographer and climber Adam McClatchie is the owner of Mile High Media House. One of his favorite places to climb and photograph is in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. (Route: "Gamblin’ in the Winds", Mount Hooker, Wind River Range, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Miya Tsudome, IG: @miyatsudome)
|
Do you have a favorite style of climbing?
My favorite style of climbing is multipitch trad, alpine, and “adventure” climbing. Long days, long pitches, and finding flow state. That said, I have big-wall free-climbing goals that require a variety of styles so I try to stay fresh on everything from slab, to offwidth, to bouldering. Do you have a favorite place to climb?
I obviously can’t name just one, so I’d say it’s a three-way tie between Indian Creek, Eldorado Canyon State Park, and The Wind River Range in Wyoming. Do you have a favorite place to photograph climbing or a favorite style of climbing to photograph?
The Wind River Range in Wyoming is my favorite place to shoot climbing in part because of its jaw-dropping beauty and rugged remoteness, but primarily due to the amount of suffering that goes on behind the scenes. Between carrying 80+ pounds over 10 miles, the pre-dawn starts, the rigging, and waiting for the perfect light or weather window to get “the shot,” I just love the amount of chaos that is involved to get one pretty photo. How would you describe your climbing photography style?
At this point I think I’ve found my creative style which typically involves using a wide-angle lens and getting close to the subject. That way you get the best of both worlds – a large subject in your frame while still being able to include the landscape. I think people often tend to use more versatile zoom lenses to get more options and compositions on a route, where I typically aim to get one money-shot per route. I usually know exactly where I want to be waiting with my wide-angle lens and exactly where I want the climber to be in my frame. |
Brittany Goris (IG: @gorisb) on "Burl Dog" (US 5.12+/AU 26), Indian Creek, Utah (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
|
|
Gisely Souza (IG: @brazilianclimbergirl) on "Jupiter Crack" (US 5.11/AU 21/22), Indian Creek, Utah (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
You grew up in Ohio and wandered out west to Colorado. How did climbing enter your life?
While being outdoors has always been my greatest source of happiness and inspiration, I can hardly say climbing was even a hobby of mine while I was living in Ohio. I would go to the college rec center to toprope and maybe took two trips to the Red River Gorge, but it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado and found a community that I realized you don’t actually have to be batshit crazy to scale the cliffs surrounding Colorado’s Front Range. I quickly transitioned from a gym rat to a crag gumby around 2014/2015 – and the rest is history. I’ve been climbing as a lifestyle ever since, however it certainly escalated when I built out a van and moved into it full-time in 2019.
While being outdoors has always been my greatest source of happiness and inspiration, I can hardly say climbing was even a hobby of mine while I was living in Ohio. I would go to the college rec center to toprope and maybe took two trips to the Red River Gorge, but it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado and found a community that I realized you don’t actually have to be batshit crazy to scale the cliffs surrounding Colorado’s Front Range. I quickly transitioned from a gym rat to a crag gumby around 2014/2015 – and the rest is history. I’ve been climbing as a lifestyle ever since, however it certainly escalated when I built out a van and moved into it full-time in 2019.
You have done the photography for climbing guidebooks. Tell us more about that.
It’s truly an honor to have my photos in the guidebooks of the places I love. It’s been the best way to get my work seen and appreciated by other climbers. Most recently I had photos published in the new Indian Creek guidebook Creek Freak by Karl Kelly and the new Ten Sleep Canyon Climbing guidebook by Louie Anderson. My favorite part is that these are basically just photos of my friends taken on days where we were all in our element – climbing, shooting, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company outside in naturally beautiful places.
It’s truly an honor to have my photos in the guidebooks of the places I love. It’s been the best way to get my work seen and appreciated by other climbers. Most recently I had photos published in the new Indian Creek guidebook Creek Freak by Karl Kelly and the new Ten Sleep Canyon Climbing guidebook by Louie Anderson. My favorite part is that these are basically just photos of my friends taken on days where we were all in our element – climbing, shooting, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company outside in naturally beautiful places.
Austin Keith (IG: @austinkeithphoto ) on "Way Rambo" (US 5.12-/AU 24), Indian Creek, Utah (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
Anna Hazlett (IG: @annahazelnutt) on "Galactic Emperor" (US 5.14a/AU 32), Ten Sleep, Wyoming. (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
Almost all of your posted video productions are products for clients - Cabela's, Denver Arts and Venues, and the band STS9 (the examples on your website are really excellent). You have one climbing video that I found out there "Love Gun" from around 2019. Have you done much else in terms of climbing videos? Why or why not? Do you have plans for creating climbing videos?
Admittedly my portfolio on my website is severely overdue for a revamp and doesn’t contain most of my favorite content I’ve shot in the past 6 years…. However, it's funny you should ask….
I just released a short film on August 1st titled Hooked on The Winds that I’m very proud of. This story follows pro-climber Brittany Goris to the historic and remote Mt. Hooker in The Wind River Range for a week. Although she free-climbed two impressive routes on this 2,000-foot vertical face on her inaugural trip, the film focuses more on Brittany’s experience as a sole female climber in these environments, her inspirations as a climber, and the history of the people and the places that she is so infatuated with.
About a month after the film was released, my friend and a staple in our climbing community, Aaron Livingston, passed away in a climbing accident. Half of the climbing footage shot in this short film was shot on a terrific route that Aaron established called The Optimist – a route that he dedicated to his best friend Nolan, whom he lost in a climbing accident while on a wall together in Mexico in 2020. The other half of the footage was filmed on Gamblin’ in the Winds – also a memorial route for the late, great Hayden Kennedy. The film touches on history and honors these climbers who came before us. It’s only 6.5 minutes and it's worth a watch.
Admittedly my portfolio on my website is severely overdue for a revamp and doesn’t contain most of my favorite content I’ve shot in the past 6 years…. However, it's funny you should ask….
I just released a short film on August 1st titled Hooked on The Winds that I’m very proud of. This story follows pro-climber Brittany Goris to the historic and remote Mt. Hooker in The Wind River Range for a week. Although she free-climbed two impressive routes on this 2,000-foot vertical face on her inaugural trip, the film focuses more on Brittany’s experience as a sole female climber in these environments, her inspirations as a climber, and the history of the people and the places that she is so infatuated with.
About a month after the film was released, my friend and a staple in our climbing community, Aaron Livingston, passed away in a climbing accident. Half of the climbing footage shot in this short film was shot on a terrific route that Aaron established called The Optimist – a route that he dedicated to his best friend Nolan, whom he lost in a climbing accident while on a wall together in Mexico in 2020. The other half of the footage was filmed on Gamblin’ in the Winds – also a memorial route for the late, great Hayden Kennedy. The film touches on history and honors these climbers who came before us. It’s only 6.5 minutes and it's worth a watch.
|
|
Brittany Goris (IG: @gorisb) climbs "The Optimist – The Nolan Smythe Memorial Route" (US 5.12/AU 25) on Mt. Hooker, Wind River Range, Wyoming. Adam McClatchie captures the moments in a beautiful short film.
As a professional photographer, where does climbing photography land for you?
Honestly this is a topic I have lots of thoughts on…
I originally began Mile High Media House in 2017 because I was confident in my ability to get work as a sole business owner. After two years of success and with the wind at my back in 2019, I used the money I had made to build out the van of my dreams with my dad. While it was still the greatest decision I ever made, it was a major shift professionally.
I told myself that I was going to put all my eggs in one basket and chase the outdoor and climbing industries. I spent the first year building a portfolio while on the road and continued to get referral-based work, both camera operating and remote editing gigs. Ultimately as my climbing portfolio grew, my retainer clients around Denver started to trickle away. I wasn’t around Colorado frequently enough anymore to fulfill my clients’ needs and ultimately referred them to other peers in my network. Then the pandemic hit…
Over the past 5 years I’ve been sacrificing the day rates and guarantees of my past-life, big-city productions to chase my heart as a climbing photographer and storyteller. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been demoralizing to find out how out of touch (if not corrupt) brands are in the climbing industry - preying upon photographers and other creatives. I’ll resist the urge to drop brand names but I have a lengthy list of large, world-wide companies I refuse to support because I know they don’t pay professional rates for the professional content their brand relies on.
Unfortunately, this has led me to live a little more frugally to make ends meet, resulting in dropping rates to get more work in the industry I want, or looking for work in other industries altogether. Unfortunately dropping rates only hurts other creatives in our industry.
Honestly this is a topic I have lots of thoughts on…
I originally began Mile High Media House in 2017 because I was confident in my ability to get work as a sole business owner. After two years of success and with the wind at my back in 2019, I used the money I had made to build out the van of my dreams with my dad. While it was still the greatest decision I ever made, it was a major shift professionally.
I told myself that I was going to put all my eggs in one basket and chase the outdoor and climbing industries. I spent the first year building a portfolio while on the road and continued to get referral-based work, both camera operating and remote editing gigs. Ultimately as my climbing portfolio grew, my retainer clients around Denver started to trickle away. I wasn’t around Colorado frequently enough anymore to fulfill my clients’ needs and ultimately referred them to other peers in my network. Then the pandemic hit…
Over the past 5 years I’ve been sacrificing the day rates and guarantees of my past-life, big-city productions to chase my heart as a climbing photographer and storyteller. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been demoralizing to find out how out of touch (if not corrupt) brands are in the climbing industry - preying upon photographers and other creatives. I’ll resist the urge to drop brand names but I have a lengthy list of large, world-wide companies I refuse to support because I know they don’t pay professional rates for the professional content their brand relies on.
Unfortunately, this has led me to live a little more frugally to make ends meet, resulting in dropping rates to get more work in the industry I want, or looking for work in other industries altogether. Unfortunately dropping rates only hurts other creatives in our industry.
|
What are your business goals and goals for your climbing media (they may be different)?
I’d love to gain the representation of brands that allows me the budget and team to fulfil my creative storytelling passions, but ultimately, I think I’m well suited for being an expedition photographer. The heavy packs, early starts, team-player attitude, and ability to adapt. Essentially doing projects exactly like Hooked on The Winds, which was a dream project to put together. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any upfront budget for it and had to make the film for a year before I was able to sell sponsorship tiers to brands and see any return. Ideally, I’d like the order of operations to be the other way around so I can have a budget upfront and make my productions stronger. How do you approach your rock climbing and where does photography fit in that (Do you climb to photograph? Do you always have your camera? Do you leave the camera behind?)
For years climbing and photography existed separately in my life with very little overlap. It wasn’t until around 2018 that I felt confident enough with systems to start bringing thousands of dollars up there with me. At the end of the day, it’s just most important to me that I’m having fun while I’m climbing or photographing climbing. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point? I certainly don’t make enough money as a climbing photographer to justify doing it if there’s no joy involved. By no means do I always bring my camera with me to the crag. Most days I just focus on climbing with friends. I used to be a little more eager to bring my camera everywhere and shoot anyone on any route, but now that I’ve developed a portfolio I’m proud of, I tend to make my shoots a little more pre-meditated and intentional now, with specific creative visions, times of day, etc. |
Mary Catherine Eden (IG: @tradprincess) "Bad Girl’s Dream" (US 5.11/AU 21/22), Vedauwoo, Wyoming (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
Do you have a memorable climbing photography story to share?
One of my most notable climbing photography memories was actually one of my first climbing-related creative projects back in 2019. A young, bright-eyed version of myself teamed up with two desert legends and pro climbers to document the first free ascent of an old Jim Olsen route on Supercrack Buttress in Indian Creek called Deep Fat Fried. Ultimately, Jim was never able to send it free. I documented for close to a week as the climbers battled the second pitch, followed by exchanging routine phone calls with the 70-something Olsen to swap stories and pry at whatever beta Olsen could remember from his ascent in the mid-80s. Sure enough after many days of redpoint attempts, they finally freed the second pitch, where we found a carabiner at the ancient anchors with the initials JO stamped onto it – Olsen’s carabiner had sat there unbothered on the most popular wall in the desert for over 30 years. It was such a surreal moment that added so much value to the story that we weren’t expecting. Unfortunately, this story was never released due to a parting of ways between the two climbers that didn’t want to see the project through to completion.
One of my most notable climbing photography memories was actually one of my first climbing-related creative projects back in 2019. A young, bright-eyed version of myself teamed up with two desert legends and pro climbers to document the first free ascent of an old Jim Olsen route on Supercrack Buttress in Indian Creek called Deep Fat Fried. Ultimately, Jim was never able to send it free. I documented for close to a week as the climbers battled the second pitch, followed by exchanging routine phone calls with the 70-something Olsen to swap stories and pry at whatever beta Olsen could remember from his ascent in the mid-80s. Sure enough after many days of redpoint attempts, they finally freed the second pitch, where we found a carabiner at the ancient anchors with the initials JO stamped onto it – Olsen’s carabiner had sat there unbothered on the most popular wall in the desert for over 30 years. It was such a surreal moment that added so much value to the story that we weren’t expecting. Unfortunately, this story was never released due to a parting of ways between the two climbers that didn’t want to see the project through to completion.
Dakota Walz (IG: @iclimbwalz) on "Tic Tac" (WI4+ M6-7), Ouray, Colorado (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
|
Do you have any personal climbing goals at the moment?
I’ve been pretty fulfilled with the goals I’ve accomplished the past couple years, including 5.12 trad, climbing Pervertical Sanctuary on the Diamond, and lots of alpine milage, but I think I’m finally getting close to my long-term goal of climbing El Cap. I will likely need to put some work in learning more aid tactics to start with NIAD, then eventually work on Freerider. For so many years it seemed so far out of reach and I’m struggling to find any reasons why I’m not ready to go for it. Maybe someone reading this will be happy to take an El Cap virgin on his maiden voyage….
I’ve been pretty fulfilled with the goals I’ve accomplished the past couple years, including 5.12 trad, climbing Pervertical Sanctuary on the Diamond, and lots of alpine milage, but I think I’m finally getting close to my long-term goal of climbing El Cap. I will likely need to put some work in learning more aid tactics to start with NIAD, then eventually work on Freerider. For so many years it seemed so far out of reach and I’m struggling to find any reasons why I’m not ready to go for it. Maybe someone reading this will be happy to take an El Cap virgin on his maiden voyage….
Do you still live in your van? Tell us about that.
After living in the van for 3.5 years, I moved into a house at Lookout Mountain, Colorado around the beginning of 2023. I met a cute girl in Wyoming last summer, hopped in HER van to go to Yosemite and The Creek on a month-long, make-or-break road trip and needless to say, things went very well and I moved into her house a few months later. I’ve been helping her renovate her beautiful childhood home at the top of the mountain all year and we are thrilled with how it’s coming together. She has since sold her van since we tend to travel more in mine and it’s more winterized. So, while I’m no longer a full-time vanlifer. The van still logs plenty of miles going to our favorite climbing and snowboarding destinations.
After living in the van for 3.5 years, I moved into a house at Lookout Mountain, Colorado around the beginning of 2023. I met a cute girl in Wyoming last summer, hopped in HER van to go to Yosemite and The Creek on a month-long, make-or-break road trip and needless to say, things went very well and I moved into her house a few months later. I’ve been helping her renovate her beautiful childhood home at the top of the mountain all year and we are thrilled with how it’s coming together. She has since sold her van since we tend to travel more in mine and it’s more winterized. So, while I’m no longer a full-time vanlifer. The van still logs plenty of miles going to our favorite climbing and snowboarding destinations.
|
What's something about you you'd like people to know that they otherwise might not?
I have the best dog in the world in @nanook_the_golden. Not only is she my favorite model, she is the best crag-dog and stoke-dealer anyone could ever ask for. Living in my van with her while traveling the country to rock climb will undoubtedly live on as my “golden” years for decades to come. Any last words for our Common Climber readers?
Being a good person is infinitely more important than being a good climber. We put too much stock in people who are good climbers, but ultimately I’d rather be cragging with good people over good climbers any day. Working hard to get strong is awesome, but be kind to one another, show respect to our public land, and support your local and national climbing alliances. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions for me. I love meeting new faces in our community and learning from others. I’ll leave you all with a joke that my friend Ross from Salt Lake told me as we were topping out a multi-pitch in Vedauwoo this summer… Q: What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? . . . A: One’s really heavy, the other is a little lighter. |
Pamela Pack (IG: @shanti.pack) on "The Stone Cold Stunna" (V8), Vedauwoo, Wyoming (Photo Credit: Adam McClatchie, Mile High Media House)
|
|
|