Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3999 Climbers
7784 Climbs
20521 Ascents
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Ray Jardine
Ray Jardine is an American rock climber and pioneer of hard crack climbing. However, perhaps his most significant contribution to climbing was his invention of cams, ushering in a revolution in trad climbing, and making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.
Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.
On a visit to the Peak District in 1977, he climbed the off-width roof crack Ray's Roof, grading it 5.11c (E4); today it is rated E7 and rarely repeated.
More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.
References
Ray Jardine is an American rock climber and pioneer of hard crack climbing. However, perhaps his most significant contribution to climbing was his invention of cams, ushering in a revolution in trad climbing, and making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.
Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.
On a visit to the Peak District in 1977, he climbed the off-width roof crack Ray's Roof, grading it 5.11c (E4); today it is rated E7 and rarely repeated.
More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.
References
Pics + Vids
Featuring 9932 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
James McHaffie on Bungles Arete 8b
Thilo Schröter on El Pistolero 8B
Laura Rogora on Il Terzo Occhio 9a
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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 3896 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Dave Mason on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2022)
- Brendan Baars on The Climbing Majority (2025)
- Roman Kranjik on CIA - Climbing Intelligence Agency (2026)
- Michael Rosato and Ben Burkhalter on The Testpiece Podcast (2026)
Library
Featuring 14930 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Best of the West (2005) Film
- Ama Dablam, South Face (1987) Journal
- New Climbs (1969) Guidebook
Recent updates
Unlike many pontifical climbers who, having made their mark, silently slip into history, Bridwell’s initiative has redoubled with each new route. Indeed he has maintained a level of motivation rarely matched by any climber anywhere. Yet this same motivation has occasioned controversy, fisticuffs and vindictive slandenngs from fellow cragsmen. [4]
Bridwell's sage advice to Leo Houlding and Jason Pickles, prior to their attempt on The Prophet (E9):
Just remember boys, it’s fine line between badass and dumbass [5]
References
[2] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201214821/Jim-Bridwell-1944-2018
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysF9wx4X08A
[4] Interview with John Long in Mountain 79 (1981), page 22 /library/11090/mountain-79
The forerunner to Unjustified utilising a glued on crimp on the crux (knocked off by Tony Mitchell prior to the FA of Unjustified).
Name likely a reference to the 1991 KLF track.
Magnus Midtbø is a Norwegian sport climber and boulderer. He competed extensively between 2002 and 2015 while also climbing hard outdoors at the same time, notably he climbed Ali Hulk (extension sit start) 9b in 2010 (without knee pads!) and onsighted Cosi Fan Tutte 8c+ in 2013.
As a climber he is known for his powerful and dynamic style.
Since retiring from competitions he has started a very successful youtube channel, drawing in some of the biggest audiences in climbing. He also has a couple of other businesses, most notably Rúngne which sells clothing and chalk brand, and Altitude which sells online courses and coaching events.
References
[1] Interview with RockClimbingUK, 2012 https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=23695.0
Magnus Midtbø is a Norwegian sport climber and boulderer. He competed extensively between 2002 and 2015 while also climbing hard outdoors at the same time, notably he climbed Ali Hulk (extension sit start) 9b in 2010 (without knee pads!) and onsighted Cosi Fan Tutte 8c+ in 2013.
Since retiring from competitions he has started a very successful youtube channel, drawing in some of the biggest audiences in climbing. He also has a couple of other businesses, most notably Rúngne which sells clothing and chalk brand, and Altitude which sells online courses and coaching events.
References
[1] Interview with RockClimbingUK, 2012 https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=23695.0