Hold the Door = Hold the Gorge

Not sure if I believe this, but in the interest of trying to come up with new theories (since everything gets rehashed so much), here is a new theory (I think?) on what GRRM could be doing with Hodor/Hold the Door since he stated it would be different than the show.

Background

There has been plenty of information come out from GRRM about Hodor/Hold the Door. For instance we know it was one of the things he told D&D about (in addition to who would be on the Iron Throne and Stannis burning Shireen:

It wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to give away my books. It's not easy to talk about the end of my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and 'hold the door,' and Stannis's decision to burn his daughter. We didn't get to everybody by any means. Especially the minor characters, who may have very different endings." -SSM, Screenrant Article: 10 October 2020

but he had also hinted at it before:

I was thinking about your comment about wanting to be an elevator operator.  It’s clear to me now that “Hodor” is short for “Hold the door.”

Martin (laughing): You don’t know how close to the truth you are!

so we know that this scene is going to take place in the books in some way but he also expanded on it in Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

it’s harder to explain in a show. I thought they executed it very well, but there are going to be differences in the book. They did it very physical—“hold the door” with Hodor’s strength. In the book, Hodor has stolen one of the old swords from the crypt. Bran has been warging into Hodor and practicing with his body, because Bran had been trained in swordplay. So telling Hodor to “hold the door” is more like “hold this pass”—defend it when enemies are coming—and Hodor is fighting and killing them. A little different, but same idea. -Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon

if GRRM's idea is more like "hold this pass", I looked around beyond the wall and besides the Skirling Pass (which is possible if Bran's plotline heads north) or the backdoor to the cave of the last greenseer (this is my current belief on what will happen):

"Is this the only way in?" asked Meera.

"The back door is three leagues north, down a sinkhole."

That was all he had to say. Not even Hodor could climb down into a sinkhole with Bran heavy on his back, and Jojen could no more walk three leagues than run a thousand. -ADWD, Bran II

the next best thing I could find was the Gorge. Especially since a scene traversing the Gorge and/or Bridge of Skulls sounds utterly terrifying. Sure its not much but if GRRM truly means "hold the pass" morphing from "Hold the Gorge" to "Hodor" seems easier than "Hold the Pass" to "Hodor"

The Gorge/Bridge of Skulls in the Series

Wiki Description:

The Gorge is a large, deep gorge that separates the Wall from the Bay of Ice. Wildling raiders from beyond the Wall descend into the dark Gorge to bypass the Wall and enter the Seven Kingdoms

Crossing the Gorge is the Bridge of Skulls (a dangerous route named for the bones in the Gorge below). Around it and below it are many rocks, and it stands over at least one pool of water. Nearby is Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, an unoccupied castle of the Night's Watch. The Milkwater appears to flow through the Gorge to the Bay of Ice.

Earliest Mention

It should be noted that the Gorge/Bridge of Skulls are not new additions to the series as the Gorge was mentioned back in A Game of Thrones as a wildling captive was found down there (wonder what he was fleeing from? lol)

Qhorin Halfhand took a captive in the depths of the Gorge, and the man swears that Mance Rayder is massing all his people in some new, secret stronghold he's found, to what end the gods only know. Do you think your uncle Benjen was the only ranger we've lost this past year?"

"Ben Jen," the raven squawked, bobbing its head, bits of egg dribbling from its beak. "Ben Jen. Ben Jen." -AGOT, Jon IX

and:

Mance Rayder is gathering his people together in the Frostfangs. That's why the villages are empty. It is the same tale that Ser Denys Mallister had from the wildling his men captured in the Gorge, but Craster has added the where, and that makes all the difference." -ACOK, Jon III

Way Around the Wall

But it as an alternative to climbing it is often brought up as a way to get around the Wall:

It would not be the first time wildlings had scaled the Wall, not even the hundred and first. The patrols stumbled on climbers two or three times a year, and rangers sometimes came on the broken corpses of those who had fallen. Along the east coast the raiders most often built boats to slip across the Bay of Seals. In the west they would descend into the black depths of the Gorge to make their way around the Shadow Tower. But in between the only way to defeat the Wall was to go over it -ASOS, Jon IV

with a battle even taking place there:

the night before last, a raven had come from the west, from Ser Denys Mallister. Bowen Marsh had chased the wildlings all the way to the Shadow Tower, it seemed, and then farther, down into the gloom of the Gorge. At the Bridge of Skulls he had met the Weeper and three hundred wildlings and won a bloody battle. But the victory had been a costly one. More than a hundred brothers slain, among them Ser Endrew Tarth and Ser Aladale Wynch. The Old Pomegranate himself had been carried back to the Shadow Tower sorely wounded. -ASOS, Jon IX

Current Status

During ADWD it is a constant (I didn't even include every quote) source of reminder for the growing anti Jon faction in the Watch:

"This is a day I never thought to see." The Lord Steward had thinned notably since suffering a head wound at the Bridge of Skulls. Part of one ear was gone. He no longer looks much like a pomegranate, Jon thought. Marsh said, "We bled to stop the wildlings at the Gorge. Good men were slain there, friends and brothers. For what?" -ADWD, Jon III

but the potential arises for another attempt:

Meanwhile, Ser Denys Mallister was still seeing fires in the night north of the Gorge. -ADWD, Jon VI

and:

"We've had a raven from Ser Denys Mallister at the Shadow Tower," Jon Snow told her. "His men have seen fires in the mountains on the far side of the Gorge. Wildlings massing, Ser Denys believes. He thinks they are going to try to force the Bridge of Skulls again." ADWD, Melisandre I

and:

"Tormund says the Weeper means to try the Bridge of Skulls again." -ADWD, Jon XI

Other Thoughts

• This would require Bran's plotline returning south again at a point likely before the Wall has fallen and unless they go back the way they came this is probably the "safest" option
• Another potential idea I didn't even consider until I finished my TLDR was that it could be "Hold the Fort" aka the Nightfort
• This was originally a much longer post where I got into the time travel stuff surround Bran/Hodor that GRRM wants to explore, but I feel that was best discussed elsewhere
• According to the semi canon app, Jon regarrisoned Westwatch by the Bridge with a small company of Night's Watchmen. (If interested: All In All, It's Just Another Castle on the Wall)

TLDR: I don't necessarily believe this, but in the interest of trying to come up with something new, I thought I would list some potential evidence for the "Hold the Door"/"Hodor" scene on the show actually meaning "Hold the Gorge" (a creepy location that bypasses the Wall) since GRRM stated that it was more like "holding this pass" than a door.