Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4157 Climbers
8044 Climbs
21413 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 10414 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 4242 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Alex Lemel on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2022)
- Megan Mascarenas on The Nugget (2021)
- Will Cockrell on The Duffel Shuffle Podcast (2024)
- Kelly Cordes on American Alpine Club Podcast (2025)
Library
Featuring 15385 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- DNA (2023) Film
- Alpine Journal 1925 Vol 37 184-187 New Expeditions (1925) Journal
- The Narrows, North Cheddar Gorge Guidebook
Recent updates
References
Probably the most iconic route in wales for me, and I think if I were to have ever picked something to head point this would be the one. Dream come true. Never had tears of happiness grabbing jugs before at the end of the crux. I thought I’d shout with joy, but instead I shed some tears and had the biggest smile ever looking down at George. Never had my heart beating out of my chest as much as I could feel it on the foot ledge. [1]
A couple of days before the successful ascent Rachel had a spicy aborted attempt. [3]
References
[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/clogwyn_dur_arddu_cloggy-457/indian_face-2171