Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3541 Climbers
7020 Climbs
18165 Ascents
Featured
Fred Nicole
Fred Nicole is a legend of modern bouldering having established one of the first 8Bs with La Danse des Balrogs, the first 8B+ with Radja and many of the earliest 8Cs. He is also notable for some hard sport routes, in particular he established Bain de Sang in 1993 which gets 9a.
He is also notable for developing many now-famous bouldering areas around the world, including Hueco Tanks, Rocklands and many more.
References
[1] Interview with Nicholas Hobley for planetmountain.com, 13th August 2012 https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/fred-nicole-the-bouldering-interview.html
[2] Profile with Black Diamond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X_oq3ZdnmU
[3] Tour de Bloc by Udo Neumann, 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exAhhD0n8QU
[4] Rocklands Origins, 1996 https://vimeo.com/80004515
[5] Interview with PlanetMountain.com, May 2018 https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/fred-nicole-bouldering-at-cresciano-and-melloblocco-in-tour-2018.html
[6] Fred Nicole, On The Edge Issue 105 page 42
[7] Interview with Kyle Dunsire, 2000 https://www.australianbouldering.com/interviews/fred.html
Fred Nicole is a legend of modern bouldering having established one of the first 8Bs with La Danse des Balrogs, the first 8B+ with Radja and many of the earliest 8Cs. He is also notable for some hard sport routes, in particular he established Bain de Sang in 1993 which gets 9a.
He is also notable for developing many now-famous bouldering areas around the world, including Hueco Tanks, Rocklands and many more.
References
[1] Interview with Nicholas Hobley for planetmountain.com, 13th August 2012 https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/fred-nicole-the-bouldering-interview.html
[2] Profile with Black Diamond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X_oq3ZdnmU
[3] Tour de Bloc by Udo Neumann, 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exAhhD0n8QU
[4] Rocklands Origins, 1996 https://vimeo.com/80004515
[5] Interview with PlanetMountain.com, May 2018 https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/fred-nicole-bouldering-at-cresciano-and-melloblocco-in-tour-2018.html
[6] Fred Nicole, On The Edge Issue 105 page 42
[7] Interview with Kyle Dunsire, 2000 https://www.australianbouldering.com/interviews/fred.html
Pics + Vids
Featuring 8789 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Bryce Viola on Gecko Assis (8B+)
Taisei Ishimatsu on Ryuu No Mine (8B)
Sébastien Bouin on Suprême Jumbo Love (9b+)
Support
If you've enjoyed using climbing-history.org please consider supporting the project by joining the patreon. Your support helps pay for the hosting required to keep the site running. Everyone who donates gets added to the supporters page.
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 3940 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Ben Moon on Ageless Athlete, October 2024
- Lynn Hill on Written in Stone, May 2025
- Connor Herson on The Enormocast, October 2023
- Toby Roberts on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast, January 2025
Library
Featuring 11021 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Monkey See Monkey Do (2009) Film
- Alpine Journal56 1947 184-188 Alpine Notes (1947) Journal
- N Cornwall & W Penwith Supplement (1982) Guidebook
Recent updates
Elias is an Italian boulderer and one of the world’s strongest.
In 2021/22 he made ascents of Gioia and Ganesh both at 8C+.
He was shot into the limelight in early 2024 with the fourth ascent of Burden of Dreams, using a unique beta. In 2025 Elias first ascented Italys hardest boulder in The Big Slamm giving it 9A/V17, taking him around 35 sessions.
In late 2025 Elias established Exodia, the first proposed 9A+/V18 in the world. He spent over 200 sessions on the boulder, starting in 2021.