Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4762 Climbers
8465 Climbs
22834 Ascents
Featured
El Niño | E8 Trad climb on El Capitan
The third route to be free climbed on El Capitan after Salathé Wall and The Nose.
The first ascent by Alexander and Thomas Huber followed meticulous preparation, with every hold ticked and every gear placement labelled. Just a few days after the first ascent, British teenagers Leo Houlding and Patch Hammond made an extraordinary almost-onsight ascent of the route for their first big wall.
The route incorporates parts of Continental Drift (a mixed free and aid route) then largely follows the North America Wall climbed free in its upper half. Until discovery of the Pineapple Express Variation all ascents used a short pendulum to overcome a 10m blank section.
References
[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199901800
The third route to be free climbed on El Capitan after Salathé Wall and The Nose.
The first ascent by Alexander and Thomas Huber followed meticulous preparation, with every hold ticked and every gear placement labelled. Just a few days after the first ascent, British teenagers Leo Houlding and Patch Hammond made an extraordinary almost-onsight ascent of the route for their first big wall.
The route incorporates parts of Continental Drift (a mixed free and aid route) then largely follows the North America Wall climbed free in its upper half. Until discovery of the Pineapple Express Variation all ascents used a short pendulum to overcome a 10m blank section.
References
[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199901800
On this day 15th November
- 1897 Katharine Chorley was born
- 1982 Mick Fowler made the first ascent of Caveman E6 at Berry Head
- 2001 Holly Toothill was born 25 years
- 2012 Carlo Traversi made the first ascent of Heritage 8B in Valle Bavona
- 2023 Vadim Timonov made the first ascent of Planet T 8C at Triangular Lake
- 2024 Thilo Schröter made the first ascent of The Castle sit 8B at Slottet
- 2025 Alexander Watt made the first ascent of Purgatory 9a at American Fork Canyon
Pics + Vids
Featuring 11183 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Tanguy Merard on Hannigraal 9b
Mei Kotake on Quiet Storm 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 4416 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Simon Lorenzi on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2024)
- Chris Glastonbury on The Layback Podcast (2020)
- Tom Randall on TrainingBeta (2020)
- Billy Ridal on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2026)
Library
Featuring 16266 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Autoroute (2002) Film
- Alpine Journal 2001 285-295 MEF Reports (2001) Journal
- Mel Tor Guidebook
Recent updates
Jerry Moffatt's hardest and final route at Raven Tor, blasting up a line of punishing crimps. Ben Moon, who repeated the route aged 52:
A classic Ravens Tor [sic] route, only 10m long but basically sustained bouldering all the way. Probably hard Font 8a into hard route 8b with no rests and a heartbreak dyno to finish. [1]
Fellow steel-fingered Tor veteran Steve McClure:
Another great name from Jerry; he grabbed most of the best names, in part because he was first in the queue. This one was named after the progression of climbing at the crag, as it evolved from Sardine (7b+) and Body Machine (7c+) into the cutting edge of world standards. […] [2]
The route has changed a little over time. There is a small left hand crimp on the last move which broken in 1995 leaving a sharp spike. At the end of 2025, after consulting with some crag regulars, Ted Kingsnorth restored the hold to something closer to it's pre-break state. However after further discussion it was decided to put the hold back to something closer to it's ~2016 state, minus the sharp spike. [3]
References
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/steve_mcclure_the_evolution_of_man-16947
[3] Email correspondence, November 2026