Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3955 Climbers
7722 Climbs
20240 Ascents
Featured
Will Bosi
Will Bosi is a climber from Edinburgh in Scotland. He first came to prominence as a competition climber, but has since become one of the leading climbers across both sport climbing and bouldering. In 2020 he became only the second Brit to climb 9b with La Capella, and in 2025 he made the second ascent of Excalibur (9b+), becoming the first British climber to climb the grade.
Much of Will's most notable climbing since 2022 has been in bouldering. In 2022 he made the first ascent of Honey Badger (8C+) at Badger Cove, and later that year climbed Alphane (9A). He has since added Burden of Dreams (9A), Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and Spots of Time (9A). In 2025 Will made the first ascent of Realm of Tor'ment (9A), making him the first person to climb five 9A boulders.
Will continues to push himself on projects such as Silence (9c), Terranova (8C+) and the Dumby Project.
References
[1] My Climbing Journey April 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmmMbpCsSuA
[2] Interview with Lattice Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1dJNPfAfc
[3] https://www.climbing.com/people/interview-will-bosi-spots-of-time/
[4] Interview with Emil Abrahamsson Jan 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygaAqejUTg
[5] https://fanatic-climbing.com/will-bosi-sur-une-ile-deserte-will-bosi-on-a-desert-island/
Will Bosi is a climber from Edinburgh in Scotland. He first came to prominence as a competition climber, but has since become one of the leading climbers across both sport climbing and bouldering. In 2020 he became only the second Brit to climb 9b with La Capella, and in 2025 he made the second ascent of Excalibur (9b+), becoming the first British climber to climb the grade.
Much of Will's most notable climbing since 2022 has been in bouldering. In 2022 he made the first ascent of Honey Badger (8C+) at Badger Cove, and later that year climbed Alphane (9A). He has since added Burden of Dreams (9A), Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and Spots of Time (9A). In 2025 Will made the first ascent of Realm of Tor'ment (9A), making him the first person to climb five 9A boulders.
Will continues to push himself on projects such as Silence (9c), Terranova (8C+) and the Dumby Project.
References
[1] My Climbing Journey April 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmmMbpCsSuA
[2] Interview with Lattice Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1dJNPfAfc
[3] https://www.climbing.com/people/interview-will-bosi-spots-of-time/
[4] Interview with Emil Abrahamsson Jan 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygaAqejUTg
[5] https://fanatic-climbing.com/will-bosi-sur-une-ile-deserte-will-bosi-on-a-desert-island/
Pics + Vids
Featuring 9795 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Ritsu Kayotani on Kawakinoumi 8C
Shinichiro Nomura on Prethem 8B+
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You may also be interested in the Mountain Heritage Trust, a charity dedicated to preserving the rich history of climbing and mountaineering. Their collection includes many unique and valuable items, from rare guidebooks through to the boots worn by Doug Scott on the 1977 Ogre expedition.
Explore
Fancy a look around? You can browse by climber or by climbs, or you can check out some lists. For example
- All sport ascents of 9b or above
- British women who have climbed 7C or above
- British men who have climbed 8c or above
Podcasts
Featuring 4175 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Ben Bransby on Jam Crack Podcast, March 2026
- Adam Ondra on Climbing Sparkling Moment, July 2021
- Magnus Midtbø on The Struggle Climbing Show, February 2025
- Arthur Le Bris on BlokCast, December 2025
Library
Featuring 14891 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Psicobloc (2006) Film
- Alpine Journal 1922 Vol 34 408-414 Kellas Expeditions (1922) Journal
- Tremadoc Update (1956) Guidebook
Recent updates
References
References
Clipping the chains, I wasn’t thinking about grades or milestones. I was thinking about how lucky I am. Lucky to have found a passion that still inspires me after all these years. Lucky to share it with people who make every experience richer. Lucky to keep discovering new things about myself through climbing. [2]
References
[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZU2zDwiuQP/
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DZU6sG8jDDf/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/janja_garnbret/reel/DZVNTj_s4Tf/
[5] https://www.instagram.com/jessglassberg/?hl=en-gb
[6] Video of the ascent /file/6cb04b2a-de14-2436-2bce-ae3a0bafc61a/MI202507220311_h264_1080p.mp4
[7] Phone footage of the send https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rCkI1StRM0
Mat was the first person to successfully use a kneebar on the route, though he commented that he felt it didn't change the grade for him.
I used the knee pad because it’s obvious. When you do the move on it’s own your knee naturally pushes into the roof, so avoiding it is a little silly in my opinion. The knee bar is actually really bad for the right knee, it’s a knee scum as British people would call it! It didn’t take any weight off my arms, it just slows me down when I release the good left hand pinch to give me a little bit more time to stab my fingers into the blind two-finger pocket in the roof. This move is also very bunched for tall people. [2]