Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3747 Climbers
7428 Climbs
19361 Ascents
Featured
Charles Albert
Charles Albert is one of the worlds best and most particular boulderers. Charles' ability is hard to compare to others due to how he chooses to climb: typically without the use of climbing shoes or kneepads. In this style Charles is undoubtedly a master with no one repeating any of his boulders in the the same style as he climbed them.
Charles is notable for his hard first ascents, particularly in Fontainebleau: La Révolutionnaire Assis (8C+), Hypothèse Assis (8C+), Bélial (8C) and Freerider (8C). In 2018 Charles did the first ascent of No Kpote Only in which he proposed the grade of 9A, however this was downgraded by both Ryohei Kameyama and Nico Pelorson.
In 2023 Charles did the first ascent of L’Ombre du Voyageur for which he proposed 9A after spending 60 sessions to complete the problem. Pietro Vidi repeated the boulder in 2025 using wildly different beta and gear to Charles, suggesting 8B+.
In March 2026 Charles sent his 8 year project Charlatan. Charles did not suggest a grade at the time of the ascent but has previously suggested it as 9A.
In Font, many times I saw Charles Albert do things so out of this world I would have called them impossible without having been a witness. Like flash FAs or in a handful of runs of 8A on a move that no one else can get anywhere near, or 7B slabs in trainers by simply annihilating miserable grains of sand with his nails… [1]
References
[2] Reel Rock 16: Barefoot Charles https://www.redbull.com/int-en/episodes/reel-rock-s8-e2
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSC9vIb-PU
[4] https://www.8a.nu/news/qa-with-charles-albert-6net8
[5] Sessions with Emil Abrahamsson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Gvb8f6S-k
[6] Interview with Magnus Midtbø (2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkhh2ovhMQA
Charles Albert is one of the worlds best and most particular boulderers. Charles' ability is hard to compare to others due to how he chooses to climb: typically without the use of climbing shoes or kneepads. In this style Charles is undoubtedly a master with no one repeating any of his boulders in the the same style as he climbed them.
Charles is notable for his hard first ascents, particularly in Fontainebleau: La Révolutionnaire Assis (8C+), Hypothèse Assis (8C+), Bélial (8C) and Freerider (8C). In 2018 Charles did the first ascent of No Kpote Only in which he proposed the grade of 9A, however this was downgraded by both Ryohei Kameyama and Nico Pelorson.
In 2023 Charles did the first ascent of L’Ombre du Voyageur for which he proposed 9A after spending 60 sessions to complete the problem. Pietro Vidi repeated the boulder in 2025 using wildly different beta and gear to Charles, suggesting 8B+.
In March 2026 Charles sent his 8 year project Charlatan. Charles did not suggest a grade at the time of the ascent but has previously suggested it as 9A.
In Font, many times I saw Charles Albert do things so out of this world I would have called them impossible without having been a witness. Like flash FAs or in a handful of runs of 8A on a move that no one else can get anywhere near, or 7B slabs in trainers by simply annihilating miserable grains of sand with his nails… [1]
References
[2] Reel Rock 16: Barefoot Charles https://www.redbull.com/int-en/episodes/reel-rock-s8-e2
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSC9vIb-PU
[4] https://www.8a.nu/news/qa-with-charles-albert-6net8
[5] Sessions with Emil Abrahamsson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Gvb8f6S-k
[6] Interview with Magnus Midtbø (2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkhh2ovhMQA
Pics + Vids
Featuring 9390 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Pol Roca Lopez on Sol i S’ombra Sit 8B+
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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 4085 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Katie Lamb on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast, May 2025
- Molly Mitchell on The Thundercling, November 2020
- Dave Birkett on Jam Crack Podcast, July 2019
- Sean Bailey on Climbing Gold, March 2026
Library
Featuring 11035 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
- Alpine Journal 1910 Vol 25 78-79 Alpine Acccidents 1909 1910 (1910) Journal
- Tryfan (1953 reprint) (1937) Guidebook
Recent updates
Held Dougie’s ropes on this. The famous creaky green single 9mm. On the flash he went for it from gear about 1/2 way up. Only to slip off the final move, ending up at or below me. Not sure about the date. [1]
References
[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/craig_bwlch_y_moch_tremadog-221/strawberries-2502
Widely cited as the hardest ground-up first ascent in the UK.