Welcome to our new series “Origins” — a fun video concept developed with the crew at Evolv Shoes, and also sponsored by Mountain Gear. “Origins” focuses on climbing’s rich history, following top athletes of today as they team up with their heroes from the past, and attempt to climb the iconic (and iconoclastic) routes of earlier generations.

The First “Origins” episode features two climbing stars: Kurt Smith, who put up some badass routes in Joshua Tree in 1988, and Chris Lindner, who was sending 5.12 routes when he was 5 years old. In this “Origins” episode, Chris sets out to climb Kurt