Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4715 Climbers
8373 Climbs
22413 Ascents
Featured
Hazel Findlay
Hazel Findlay is one of the UK's most accomplished female climbers with many hard sport and trad ascents to her name.
The daughter of Steve Findlay, she started climbing at an early age and was active in the south west of the UK. In 2011 she climbed Once Upon a Time in the Southwest at Dyers Lookout and became the first British woman to climb E9. In 2014 she climbed Fish Eye at Oliana to become the first British woman to climb 8c.
Hazel has continually expanded the limits of her climbing with a long string of impressive sport and trad climbs. Of particular note is her ascent of Magic Line E10/8c+ in 2019, a Ron Kauk route in Yosemite that had repelled a slew of very capable aspirants. Hazel's ascent was only the third in 25 years, and the second ascent to place the gear on lead.
In 2022 she became the second British woman (after Emma Twyford) to climb 9a with her ascent of Escalatamàsters.
Alongside her climbing she has a deep interest in the mental aspects of climbing and runs Strong Mind, a coaching company focused on mental techniques for improving your climbing.
References
[1] Interview with Soline Kentzel for grimper.com, May 2023. https://www.grimper.com/news-femmes-falaises-hazel-findlay-you-don-need-balls-to-be-bold
[2] Spotify podcast episode. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ckmpivT5UIrFCU7idZqNg?
[3] Interview with Sonnie Trotter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a07_bI4lrFI
Hazel Findlay is one of the UK's most accomplished female climbers with many hard sport and trad ascents to her name.
The daughter of Steve Findlay, she started climbing at an early age and was active in the south west of the UK. In 2011 she climbed Once Upon a Time in the Southwest at Dyers Lookout and became the first British woman to climb E9. In 2014 she climbed Fish Eye at Oliana to become the first British woman to climb 8c.
Hazel has continually expanded the limits of her climbing with a long string of impressive sport and trad climbs. Of particular note is her ascent of Magic Line E10/8c+ in 2019, a Ron Kauk route in Yosemite that had repelled a slew of very capable aspirants. Hazel's ascent was only the third in 25 years, and the second ascent to place the gear on lead.
In 2022 she became the second British woman (after Emma Twyford) to climb 9a with her ascent of Escalatamàsters.
Alongside her climbing she has a deep interest in the mental aspects of climbing and runs Strong Mind, a coaching company focused on mental techniques for improving your climbing.
References
[1] Interview with Soline Kentzel for grimper.com, May 2023. https://www.grimper.com/news-femmes-falaises-hazel-findlay-you-don-need-balls-to-be-bold
[2] Spotify podcast episode. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ckmpivT5UIrFCU7idZqNg?
[3] Interview with Sonnie Trotter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a07_bI4lrFI
On this day 29th October
2018 Daniel Woods made the first ascent of Box Therapy 8C at Box Lake
Daniel initially suggested 8C+ but later adjusted his suggestion to 8C after Brooke Raboutou and Shawn Raboutou repeated the problem and suggested a downgrade.
- 1997 Megan Mascarenas was born
- 1997 Andrea Kümin was born
- 2002 Josune Bereziartu climbed Bain de Sang 9a at Saint-Loup
- 2016 Andy Salo made the first ascent of Brozone E10 at the Shawangunks
- 2018 Dan Turner climbed Lanny Bassham 8A+ at Rylstone
- 2023 Nicholas Milburn climbed Flex Luthor 9a+ at the Fortress of Solitude
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10973 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Eduard Marin on Mora Mora 8c
Brennan Robinson on Warrior Up 8B+
Support
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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 4382 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Jen Randall on Jam Crack Podcast (2016)
- Fallon Rowe on The Struggle Climbing Show (2025)
- Chantel Astorga on The Enormocast (2025)
- Vasya Vorotnikov and Nadya Vorotnikov on American Alpine Club Podcast (2026)
Library
Featuring 16227 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- La Dura Complete Film
- Alpine Journal 1991-92 120-125 Duffield HLRoute (1991) Journal
- Brecon Beacon National Park Part 1 (2017) Guidebook
Recent updates
New beta makes the starting crux easiest section of the boulder.
References
References
To the best of my knowledge, FA post crimp hold break.