Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4125 Climbers
7987 Climbs
21211 Ascents
Featured
Janja Garnbret
Janja Garnbret is widely considered one of the most successful competition climbers of all time. She won the first Olympic gold medal in climbing at the Tokyo 2020 Games, a feat she then repeated at Paris 2024. Throughout her competition career she has been remarkably dominant and consistent. As of 2026, she has competed in 75 World Cup events and placed on the podium 72 times (96% of appearances). This includes 50 gold medals (66% of appearances).
While primarily focused on competitions, her achievements on rock are also highly impressive. She has made quick ascents of hard Swiss boulder testpieces, flashed 8c+, and redpointed 9b+ with her ascent of Bibliographie in June 2026, making her the second woman to have climbed this grade (after Brooke Raboutou).
References
[1] A profile of Janja from Reel Rock (YouTube) /library/external/youtube/Yu_W2hT-HDY
[2] Winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020 (Instagram) /library/external/instagram/CSPRpH_l81i
[3] Interview with Natalie Berry for UKClimbing.com, 3rd May 2022 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/climb_for_gold_-_janja_garnbret_olympic_champion-14458
[4] (YouTube) /library/external/youtube/JmlSSD7jDSI
[5] Interview with John Bergman for climbing.com, August 2024 /library/external/climbing/people/janja-garnbret-post-olympic-2024-interview
[6] Video with Magnus Midtbø (YouTube), July 2025 /library/external/youtube/-EsdeUBBVNM
Janja Garnbret is widely considered one of the most successful competition climbers of all time. She won the first Olympic gold medal in climbing at the Tokyo 2020 Games, a feat she then repeated at Paris 2024. Throughout her competition career she has been remarkably dominant and consistent. As of 2026, she has competed in 75 World Cup events and placed on the podium 72 times (96% of appearances). This includes 50 gold medals (66% of appearances).
While primarily focused on competitions, her achievements on rock are also highly impressive. She has made quick ascents of hard Swiss boulder testpieces, flashed 8c+, and redpointed 9b+ with her ascent of Bibliographie in June 2026, making her the second woman to have climbed this grade (after Brooke Raboutou).
References
[1] A profile of Janja from Reel Rock (YouTube) /library/external/youtube/Yu_W2hT-HDY
[2] Winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020 (Instagram) /library/external/instagram/CSPRpH_l81i
[3] Interview with Natalie Berry for UKClimbing.com, 3rd May 2022 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/climb_for_gold_-_janja_garnbret_olympic_champion-14458
[4] (YouTube) /library/external/youtube/JmlSSD7jDSI
[5] Interview with John Bergman for climbing.com, August 2024 /library/external/climbing/people/janja-garnbret-post-olympic-2024-interview
[6] Video with Magnus Midtbø (YouTube), July 2025 /library/external/youtube/-EsdeUBBVNM
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10294 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Matthew Mendes on Uprising 8B
Daniel Woods on Banana Slap Sit 8B+
Austin Purdy on Insomniac 8C+
Hannes Puman on Selim Sivad 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 4161 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Alex Honnold on The Enormocast (2013)
- Justin Salas on The Enormocast (2018)
- Audrey Sniezek on The Nugget (2020)
- Simon Favrot on Allez Podcast (2024)
Library
Featuring 15200 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Off the Wagon Film
- Alpine Journal 1911 Vol 25 436-445 In Memoriam (1911) Journal
- Gogarth (1981) Guidebook
Recent updates
One of the hardest mantles in the peak district. 8A is likely a bit harsh...