What goes through one’s mind while scaling a 130-foot limestone wall?

How much does the mind influence a climber’s physical ability?

These are the questions Colorado Springs author Don McGrath explores in his new podcast, “Inside the Vertical Mind.” The podcast follows McGrath’s book, “Vertical Mind: Psychological Approaches for Optimal Rock Climbing,” which he co-wrote with fellow climber and psychology professor Jeff Elison.

“I was finding that the things that were holding me back in my climbing weren’t physical. It wasn’t that I wasn’t strong enough, it wasn’t that I wasn’t tall enough, it wasn’t that I wasn’t in good enough condition. It was things that were going on between my ears,” McGrath said.

McGrath will investigate the psychological and social aspects of climbing in the podcast, hosting different climbers each episode who provide a unique perspective to the sport.

“I think with the explosion of climbing, there’s just a thirst and a need for this kind of information. People in our day and age are very interested in psychology and about how the human brain works and the social aspects of it, and so there’s been just this huge amount of interest,” McGrath said.

The podcast will feature a diverse set of guests, including adaptive athletes, pregnant climbers and those navigating the challenges of relationships within the climbing community.

“Most climbing media right now tends to focus on people doing very difficult or very hard climbs, and it’s very inspiring, but I want to do something a little bit different,” he said. “I’m looking for people who have had experiences that other climbers can either be inspired by, or just learn from.”

The podcast is based on the insights of the book, which came about during a climbing trip shared by McGrath and Elison back in 2014. After experiencing some injuries throughout his climbing career, McGrath found himself feeling fearful of failing again, leading him to explore just what goes on in the mind while climbing.

“We were sitting around the campfire, and I was sharing what I was doing and some of the things I was finding, and he started sharing with me about his research into football and climbing and shame theory and fear of failure,” McGrath said. “By the end of the weekend, we decided we were going to write a book.”

Throughout his 33-year climbing career, McGrath has encountered common misconceptions about climbing. For example, McGrath said, when nonclimbers find out someone climbs, often their first reaction is “I could never do that.”

“I think it’s got this view of just being this extreme thing that is crazy,” McGrath said. “I would say for 99.99% of climbers, it’s actually more dangerous riding your bike out on the road than it is going climbing because there’s a lot of safety built into the systems and such.”

The world of climbing is also full of surprises, McGrath said. Last year, McGrath discovered just how impactful the activity can be when a young climber approached him and let him know that his book saved her life after a climbing accident that broke her back and kept her from climbing for seven years.

“I’ve had people come to me and tell me how it helped them get over getting laid off from a job — some of these basic psychological concepts transcend outside of climbing into other parts of our lives,” he said.