Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4686 Climbers
8314 Climbs
22233 Ascents
Featured
Ray Jardine
Ray Jardine is an American rock climber and pioneer of hard crack climbing. However, perhaps his most significant contribution to climbing was his invention of cams, ushering in a revolution in trad climbing, and making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.
Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.
On a visit to the Peak District in 1977, he climbed the off-width roof crack Ray's Roof, grading it 5.11c (E4); today it is rated E7 and rarely repeated.
More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.
References
Ray Jardine is an American rock climber and pioneer of hard crack climbing. However, perhaps his most significant contribution to climbing was his invention of cams, ushering in a revolution in trad climbing, and making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.
Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.
On a visit to the Peak District in 1977, he climbed the off-width roof crack Ray's Roof, grading it 5.11c (E4); today it is rated E7 and rarely repeated.
More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.
References
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10863 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
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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 4358 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Billy Ridal on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2022)
- Jared Vagy on The Enormocast (2014)
- Will Anglin on The Nugget (2023)
- Andy Raether on The Nugget (2025)
Library
Featuring 16204 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Ty Landman - Fontainebleau (2009) Film
- Alpine Journal 2001 347-358 Alpine Club Notes (2001) Journal
- Ashton Hill Bouldering Topo Guidebook
Recent updates
Canada's national mountaineering club, founded in Winnipeg in 1906 by Arthur Oliver Wheeler and Elizabeth Parker. Its national office is now in Canmore, Alberta. [1, 2]
References
[1] Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_Club_of_Canada
[2] ACC honorary membership https://alpineclubofcanada.ca/award/honorary-membership/
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
First one-day ascent
Named after Harry Kelly who is supposed to have tried the route in descent, as was common at the time, though there is not much to corroborate this.
References
[1] Kelly, P, Hoey, G, Barker B (2013) Peak Rock. p45 UK: vertebrate publishing
Named after Harry Kelly who is supposed to have tried the route in descent, as was common at the time, though there is not much to corroborate this.
Harry Kelly was a leading British rock climber of the 1910s and 1920s, pioneering gritstone routes at Laddow and Stanage, and Lake District classics such as Moss Ghyll Grooves (VS), Tophet Wall (HS), and Routes One and Two on Pillar. He was known for the precise writing of his guidebooks. He was a member of the The Rucksack Club for 66 years and its president in 1930-31. His wife Emily Kelly was a founder of the Pinnacle Club. [1, 2]
References
[1] Obituary in Rucksack Club Journal 1980 /library/7707/rucksack-club-journal-1980
[2] Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Kelly_(climber)
Harry Kelly was a leading British rock climber of the 1910s and 1920s, pioneering gritstone routes at Laddow and Stanage and Lake District classics such as Moss Ghyll Grooves (VS), Tophet Wall (HS) and Routes One and Two on Pillar, and was known for the precise writing of his guidebooks. He was a member of the The Rucksack Club for 66 years and its president in 1930-31. His wife Emily Kelly was a founder of the Pinnacle Club. [1] [2]
References
[1] Obituary in Rucksack Club Journal 1980 /library/7707/rucksack-club-journal-1980
[2] Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Kelly_(climber)
One of the classic easy deep water solos. A long traverse featuring many twists and turns.