Dirtbag Climber

by CBC

A murder victim with multiple identities. A criminal on the run from his past. Dirtbag Climber is a five-part podcast series investigating the unsolved homicide of “Jesse James,” a “dirtbag” rock climber found dead in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. Local reporter Steven Chua dives into the case, determined to find answers. Along the twisted way, he tracks a stranger-than-fiction story that criss-crosses North America, unveiling a stunning portrait of an enigmatic con artist — a troubling victim whose twisted life story foreshadowed the darkest digital undercurrents of our time. From CBC's Uncover.

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Fascinating timeline of events in this man’s life of self- created metamorphosis . Research and story telling is captivating.

HeatherLeeAvise · Jul 2026

This is such a surface-level podcast. Take a shot every time the host says something to the tune of “—and we don’t know what happened during this period or why.” Like… if you set out to investigate this man and his mysterious death, it’s a little embarrassing that you weren’t able to get ANY information about him at all. There’s nothing that feels new or revolutionary— I saw another comment that said this could have been one episode, and I agree. This is a lot of non-investigation for no payoff.

ZattieStar · Jun 2026

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