VANCOUVER -- The coronavirus pandemic may have left some B.C. climbing enthusiasts crawling the walls of their homes craving outdoor adventures.

And while it may not quite compare to the real thing, the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival is currently screening some of its best climbing films online.

Among them is the new documentary, Climbing Blind, which follows blind rock climber Jesse Dufton as he lead climbs the Old Man of Hoy sea stack in Scotland.

In an interview with CTV Morning Live Monday, Dufton said he had added the climb to his wish-list after summitting its "little brother"—the Old Man of Storr—back in 2008.

"Any day where you go and climb a sea stack's a fun day out," he said.

Dufton was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease called retinitis pigmentosa at four years old. The disease breaks down the retinas' cells, and by the time he was 30, Dufton's vision was reduced to just one or two per cent field of view.

"I basically don't get any useful information from my eyes," he said. "So I'm holding my hand in front of my face. I can't see my hand, I can't see any of the handholds or any of the footholds or any of the safety equipment as I'm placing it."

Dufton climbs with his wife, Molly. He says people often ask her if she gets scared, and she usually says no because she doesn't have the "mental bandwidth" to concentrate on directing him and being afraid.

"She'll be kind of directing me to places where I might be able to have a hold or where I might be able to place the gear, the safety equipment. But you can't necessarily tell from 20 metres below whether or not that crack is actually going to be any good," he said.

"So it's down to me once you've directed me to something to have a good feel and work out if it is useful."

Dufton, a lifelong climber, says addressing multiple challenges simultaneously is one of the reasons why he loves the sport.

"The thing about climbing that I love is it presents kind of multiple challenges simultaneously," he said. "So you 've got the physical element—am I strong enough to pull up on this hold? There's the skill element of getting all the rope work sorted and minimizing the risk. And then there's the psychological element of climbing above your gear and knowing the consequences of falling off."

To watch the full interview, click on the video at the top of this article.