Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4760 Climbers
8462 Climbs
22816 Ascents
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Spots of Time | 9A Boulder problem at Swirl Crags
The first 9A in Britain. Sitting on the slopes of Helvellyn, the name is a reference to a poem by the Lakeland poet William Wordsworth:
There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence, depressed,
By false opinion and contentious thought,
Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,
In trivial occupations, and the round
Of ordinary intercourse, our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;
A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,
That penetrates, enables us to mount
When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen [3]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHE6FsicWVk
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/beastmaker/53188941620/in/photostream/
[3] https://users.scc.spokane.edu/JRoth/Courses/World Masterpieces/POETRYCOMPENDIUM/spots_of_time.htm
The first 9A in Britain. Sitting on the slopes of Helvellyn, the name is a reference to a poem by the Lakeland poet William Wordsworth:
There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence, depressed,
By false opinion and contentious thought,
Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,
In trivial occupations, and the round
Of ordinary intercourse, our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;
A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,
That penetrates, enables us to mount
When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen [3]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHE6FsicWVk
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/beastmaker/53188941620/in/photostream/
[3] https://users.scc.spokane.edu/JRoth/Courses/World Masterpieces/POETRYCOMPENDIUM/spots_of_time.htm
On this day 13th November
2023 Noah Wheeler climbed Defying Gravity 8C at Thunder Ridge
8 years later. With campus-board beta because my span is slightly too short to keep good tension on the low feet. Amazing how there's so many different ways to do the boulder dependant on one's body type, each providing similar difficulty and top-tier nuanced movement. Proudest send so far.
- 1991 Rei Sugimoto was born
- 1999 Dimitri Flick was born
- 2019 Andy Pollitt died
- 2022 Nico Pelorson climbed Big Paw 8B+ at Chironico
- 2022 Nico Pelorson climbed Forgotten Gem 8C at Chironico
- 2025 Buster Martin made the first ascent of Chipu 8c+ at Hữu Lũng
- 2025 Sam Weir climbed The Lion's Share 8C in Brione
Pics + Vids
Featuring 11186 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Giuliano Cameroni on Poison the Well 8C+
Ryohei Kameyama on Prethem 8B+
Raffael Gruber on Sierra Madre 8C
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- 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 4415 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Noah Wheeler on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2024)
- John Kettle on The Curious Climber (2021)
- Christian Beckwith on The Nugget (2025)
- Callum Mather on The Hangout Climbing (2026)
Library
Featuring 16265 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Dosage Vol. IV (2006) Film
- Alpine Journal 1998 360-375 AC Notes (1998) Journal
- Turret Winter Climbs (2018) Guidebook
Recent updates
Other climbers have called the first move a single-move V14 and then the huge deadpoint above a V10. A: I think it's an accurate assessment. The second jump move including two set up moves clocks in around V11. [2]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaTqxoMsPlg
[2] https://gripped.com/profiles/nathaniel-coleman-talks-sending-defying-gravity-v15/
8 years later. With campus-board beta because my span is slightly too short to keep good tension on the low feet. Amazing how there's so many different ways to do the boulder dependant on one's body type, each providing similar difficulty and top-tier nuanced movement. Proudest send so far. [2]
Grade breakdown:
The climb consists of a one move V14 - the hardest move I’ve ever tried - into a potentially heartbreaking V10 deadpoint sequence.
References
[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/Czl8iEvOB_p/
[3] https://www.climbing.com/news/noah-wheeler-makes-the-long-awaited-3rd-ascent-of-defying-gravity/
Robbie is a Scottish all rounder. He is particularly experienced with long/big wall free routes, including the Alpine Trilogy of three iconic 8b+ multipitches: Silbergeier, Des Kaisers neue Kleider and End of Silence.
Physically, I felt incredible. I literally felt like I was floating, like I wasn’t getting tired. When I reached the upper section, I even thought: “You’re going bolt to bolt,” “this is the moment to do it.” I won’t deny that this took something away from me at some point. But at the same time, I quickly got back into flow by telling myself: “Now stay focused,” “execute every detail.” I’ve worked a lot on that mental side, and thanks to that, I was able to keep going and use those thoughts in a positive way.
I honestly felt like those were the best four minutes of climbing of my life, I had never felt so fit. [7]
Grade breakdown:
I thought the final boulder wouldn’t feel that hard coming from the ground… but the closer I got, the more I realized how brutal it actually is 🌶️👊
In the end, I realized that the “rest” isn’t really much of a rest when you come out of a 9b or 9b+ section and still have to continue with an 8B boulder 😅 [9]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiX8al8jOQc
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DH1EFoSNCAo/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/DMr9MpptfvU/
[5] Highpoint as of October 2025 https://youtu.be/U-1Dpypho4Q?
[6] https://www.instagram.com/p/DWBfgAlDVf7
[7] https://www.climbing.com/news/jorge-diaz-rullo-cafe-colombia-spain/
Physically, I felt incredible. I literally felt like I was floating, like I wasn’t getting tired. When I reached the upper section, I even thought: “You’re going bolt to bolt,” “this is the moment to do it.” I won’t deny that this took something away from me at some point. But at the same time, I quickly got back into flow by telling myself: “Now stay focused,” “execute every detail.” I’ve worked a lot on that mental side, and thanks to that, I was able to keep going and use those thoughts in a positive way.
I honestly felt like those were the best four minutes of climbing of my life, I had never felt so fit. [7]
Grade breakdown [9]:
I thought the final boulder wouldn’t feel that hard coming from the ground… but the closer I got, the more I realized how brutal it actually is 🌶️👊
In the end, I realized that the “rest” isn’t really much of a rest when you come out of a 9b or 9b+ section and still have to continue with an 8B boulder 😅
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiX8al8jOQc
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DH1EFoSNCAo/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/DMr9MpptfvU/
[5] Highpoint as of October 2025 https://youtu.be/U-1Dpypho4Q?
[6] https://www.instagram.com/p/DWBfgAlDVf7
[7] https://www.climbing.com/news/jorge-diaz-rullo-cafe-colombia-spain/
Physically, I felt incredible. I literally felt like I was floating, like I wasn’t getting tired. When I reached the upper section, I even thought: “You’re going bolt to bolt,” “this is the moment to do it.” I won’t deny that this took something away from me at some point. But at the same time, I quickly got back into flow by telling myself: “Now stay focused,” “execute every detail.” I’ve worked a lot on that mental side, and thanks to that, I was able to keep going and use those thoughts in a positive way.
I honestly felt like those were the best four minutes of climbing of my life, I had never felt so fit. [7]
Grade breakdown:
I thought the final boulder wouldn’t feel that hard coming from the ground… but the closer I got, the more I realized how brutal it actually is 🌶️👊
In the end, I realized that the “rest” isn’t really much of a rest when you come out of a 9b or 9b+ section and still have to continue with an 8B boulder 😅
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiX8al8jOQc
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DH1EFoSNCAo/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/DMr9MpptfvU/
[5] Highpoint as of October 2025 https://youtu.be/U-1Dpypho4Q?
[6] https://www.instagram.com/p/DWBfgAlDVf7
[7] https://www.climbing.com/news/jorge-diaz-rullo-cafe-colombia-spain/
Physically, I felt incredible. I literally felt like I was floating, like I wasn’t getting tired. When I reached the upper section, I even thought: “You’re going bolt to bolt,” “this is the moment to do it.” I won’t deny that this took something away from me at some point. But at the same time, I quickly got back into flow by telling myself: “Now stay focused,” “execute every detail.” I’ve worked a lot on that mental side, and thanks to that, I was able to keep going and use those thoughts in a positive way.
I honestly felt like those were the best four minutes of climbing of my life, I had never felt so fit. [7]
Grade breakdown:
I thought the final boulder wouldn’t feel that hard coming from the ground… but the closer I got, the more I realized how brutal it actually is 🌶️👊
In the end, I realized that the “rest” isn’t really much of a rest when you come out of a 9b or 9b+ section and still have to continue with an 8B boulder 😅
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiX8al8jOQc
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DH1EFoSNCAo/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/DMr9MpptfvU/
[5] Highpoint as of October 2025 https://youtu.be/U-1Dpypho4Q?
[6] https://www.instagram.com/p/DWBfgAlDVf7
[7] https://www.climbing.com/news/jorge-diaz-rullo-cafe-colombia-spain/
References
Another part of it is that I actually was nowhere close to sending some years before. I thought of that part, but for me, that specific move is just so hard, especially when you come from the ground.
[…] Darth Grader maybe doesn't really make that much sense. Or it's sort of a game. But I know that that crux move is, or like the whole crux is at the top of the BIG is maybe 8A+, maybe only 8A boulder problem. And I'm pretty sure if there is an 8B boulder problem instead, just in a different style, I would have done the route.
But that specific route is just so hard to have everything perfect. Because to align all the details together, which is conditions, shape, and being rested is just so hard. But when it comes, when you know everything is perfect, it's just almost impossible to go perfect. More important, I think it's the route, which, where it's extremely beneficial to take a lot of risk, not in terms of taking a groundfall. But it's sort of like a 9A plus 9B intro into that move. And I know that with a good shape and with perfect weather, I can get there every time. But if I climb with safety, I will never ever have the margin to actually do the move.
References
Another part of it is that I actually was nowhere close to sending some years before. I thought of that part, but for me, that specific move is just so hard, especially when you come from the ground.
[…] Darth Grader maybe doesn't really make that much sense. Or it's sort of a game. But I know that that crux move is, or like the whole crux is at the top of the BIG is maybe 8A+, maybe only 8A boulder problem. And I'm pretty sure if there is an 8B boulder problem instead, just in a different style, I would have done the route.
But that specific route is just so hard to have everything perfect. Because to align all the details together, which is conditions, shape, and being rested is just so hard. But when it comes, when you know everything is perfect, it's just almost impossible to go perfect. More important, I think it's the route, which, where it's extremely beneficial to take a lot of risk, not in terms of taking a groundfall. But it's sort of like a 9A plus 9B intro into that move. And I know that with a good shape and with perfect weather, I can get there every time. But if I climb with safety, I will never ever have the margin to actually do the move.