Alex Honnold knows a thing about passion and challenges. Since his legendary ropeless ascent up Yosemite’s El Capitan in “ Free Solo,” the professional rock climber has taken on a host of projects around environmental conservation and battling climate change.

On Tuesday, Rolex released the first episode of the fifth season of the Planet Visionaries podcast in which Honnold, who hosts the show, gives a platform for scientists and the world’s innovators to be heard.

The podcast is one of many projects Honnold is involved in amid the growing threats to public lands in the U.S., denial of climate change and questioning of science.

“I interview guests who are very passionate about what they do and very good at what they do, and I typically come out of the interviews feeling all fired up, basically to do what I do, but do it a little better,” Honnold said.

One of his recent projects is a solar project for a housing complex in São Paulo, Brazil, reducing energy costs for 227 families, and providing installation and maintenance training for women and youth there, according to his foundation website.

Though he’s now juggling being a climber, podcast host, philanthropist, husband, and father, Honnold’s been ready for the change.

“The reality is that I turned 40 this summer and I think I can still basically climb about as well as ever, but I certainly won’t be able to for another 10 or 15 years,” Honnold said. “I’ve been going so hard for so long, and I wouldn’t want to just live in a van and only rock climb for my entire life.”

These days, Honnold spends most of his time at home in Las Vegas with his wife and two girls, who are one- and three-years old. They take the kids on a family hike every week, train in the garage for a few hours while the kids nap, then play with them in the afternoon.

Being a climber, he said, has help him tackle life’s biggest challenges, from starting a nonprofit to whatever he may turn to next.

“Focusing my whole life on projecting things, like trying things that are too hard for me, it has taught me a lot about taking on big projects,” Honnold said. “If you just start and just start chipping away at ’em … eventually, you can kind of do it.”