Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
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Poseidon Adventure | E4 Trad climb at Bowden Doors
A classic County frightener, and the first route to tackle Bowden's unique wave formation. Scene of many desperate retreats, jumping from the break.
A classic County frightener, and the first route to tackle Bowden's unique wave formation. Scene of many desperate retreats, jumping from the break.
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Featuring 9919 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Siara Fabbri on The Arch 8B
Adam Ondra on Trofeo dell’Adriatico 9a+
Jakob Schubert on Ill Thrill 8B+
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Podcasts
Featuring 3891 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Lizzy VanPatten on The Nugget (2020)
- Keenan Takahashi on TrainingBeta (2022)
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- Anna Liina Laitinen on The Enormocast (2023)
Library
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- West Coast Gimps Film
- Alpine Journal 1918 Vol 32 83-89 Editor Walks Snowdonia (1918) Journal
- Cwm Idwal I (1949 reprint) (1940) Guidebook
Recent updates
A classic County frightener, and the first route to tackle Bowden's unique wave formation.
The first ascent was made by Steve Blake, described in the 1999 guide as 'his best achievement', it opened the gates for more hard contributions on the wall from the likes of John Earl and Bob Smith.
Jumping off from the break with no pads became somewhat of rite a passage for aspirant ascentionists, upon discovering that there was no way out but climb up or plunge down!
There are hard Lakes routes, and then there are Dave Birkett routes.
Birkett has been a prolific force in the Lake District in the UK, raising the game of bold UK trad climbing throughout the 1990s and 2000s. These include the extremely bold and physical If 6 was 9 (E9) – first climbed in 1992 and still given a wide berth today – and the Scafell king lines Talbot Horizon (E9) and Return of the King (E9).
He comes from a long line of Lake District climbing pioneers:
I'm a full time stonemason born and bred and based in the Lake District, centre of the universe. I live down the road from my uncle Bill who is reasonably famous but not as famous as Grandad Jim Birkett who was really famous as the first man to climb Extreme. [1]
Ever the non-conformist, Birkett’s career has not been without controversy. He placed a retrobolt on his own trad route Dawes Rides a Shovelhead (E8); placed a peg on his route Once Upon a Time in the Southwest (E9), when James Pearson had made a point of doing the neighbouring Walk of Life peg-free; and for some commentators, his use of a high side-runner on Hold Fast (E9) invalidated his ascent.
Beyond the headlines and controversies, Birkett’s career is perhaps most remarkable for its rootedness. While many of his contemporaries pursued professional climbing careers, he remained a stonemason, fitting world-class ascents around his work, the occasional sheep rescue, and the rhythms of the Lake District.
References
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/dave_birkett_the_weekend_warrior-8532