Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4751 Climbers
8446 Climbs
22765 Ascents
Featured
Barbara Zangerl
Barbara Zangerl is an Austrian climber best known for her trad. and multi-pitch climbing. Together with her partner Jacopo Larcher she has climbed many of the hardest big wall and multi-pitch routes in the world: Magic Mushroom (E10), The Nose (E9), Bellavista (E9), Silbergeier (8b+), Des Kaisers neue Kleider (8b+) and End of Silence (8b+) to name a few.
Babsi started off as a boulderer, notably climbing Pura Vida (8A+) in Magic Wood in 2008. This was one of the hardest problems ever climbed by a woman at the time.
While she has largely stopped bouldering at the highest level she is a very capable sport and trad climber, operating at or near the cutting edge in both disciplines. In 2014 she made the first female ascent of Prinzip Hoffnung (E9), then in 2016 she made the second ascent of Achemine (E9) at Dumbarton Rock. In 2017 she made the second ascent of Gondo Crack (E9) and the first female ascent of Muy Caliente! (E9) in Pembroke. In 2023 she repeated Meltdown (E11) in Yosemite, one of the hardest traditional pitches in the world at the time and only the fourth ascent since Beth Rodden made the first ascent in 2008.
In 2024 Babsi cemeted her place in history by becoming the first person to climb a free route on El Capitan first go by flashing Freerider (E7).
Alongside being a professional climber she also works part time as a radiographer in Austria.
References
[2] Interview with Sonnie Trotter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_KQe7o3zoc
Barbara Zangerl is an Austrian climber best known for her trad. and multi-pitch climbing. Together with her partner Jacopo Larcher she has climbed many of the hardest big wall and multi-pitch routes in the world: Magic Mushroom (E10), The Nose (E9), Bellavista (E9), Silbergeier (8b+), Des Kaisers neue Kleider (8b+) and End of Silence (8b+) to name a few.
Babsi started off as a boulderer, notably climbing Pura Vida (8A+) in Magic Wood in 2008. This was one of the hardest problems ever climbed by a woman at the time.
While she has largely stopped bouldering at the highest level she is a very capable sport and trad climber, operating at or near the cutting edge in both disciplines. In 2014 she made the first female ascent of Prinzip Hoffnung (E9), then in 2016 she made the second ascent of Achemine (E9) at Dumbarton Rock. In 2017 she made the second ascent of Gondo Crack (E9) and the first female ascent of Muy Caliente! (E9) in Pembroke. In 2023 she repeated Meltdown (E11) in Yosemite, one of the hardest traditional pitches in the world at the time and only the fourth ascent since Beth Rodden made the first ascent in 2008.
In 2024 Babsi cemeted her place in history by becoming the first person to climb a free route on El Capitan first go by flashing Freerider (E7).
Alongside being a professional climber she also works part time as a radiographer in Austria.
References
[2] Interview with Sonnie Trotter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_KQe7o3zoc
On this day 10th November
2011 Adam Ondra made the first ascent of Terranova 8C+ at Holštejn
For sure, for many boulderers it would not be motivating at all. But I had my dream-holds, that kept circling in my mind, I kept wondering if there was a way to traverse this part of the wall. And also I had a project close to my home, with good conditions even if it is 18 degrees outside (fresh breeze from inside the cave, additionally limestone is not aggressive for skin).
- 1900 Willo Welzenbach was born
- 1981 Dave Graham was born
- 2002 Klem Loskot made the first ascent of Emotional Landscapes (Pre-Break) 8C at Maltatal
- 2017 Toshi Takeuchi made the first ascent of Daishinmonkan 8B+ at Mizugaki
- 2018 Adam Ondra onsighted Just Do It 8c+ at Smith Rock
- 2021 Hamish McArthur made the first ascent of Uncle Bombo 8B at Arisaig Cave
- 2023 Derek Alan Smithson died
Pics + Vids
Featuring 11138 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
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 4405 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Alan Watts on The Nugget (2022)
- Hannes Van Duysen on That's Not Real Climbing (2025)
- Christian Beckwith on The Nugget (2025)
- Tom Livingstone on Mountain Voices (2026)
Library
Featuring 16255 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Eve Lancashire - Rare Lichen Pt2 (2016) Film
- Alpine Journal 1903 Vol 21 408-412 Mathews Mont Blanc (1903) Journal
- Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (1976) Guidebook