Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3498 Climbers
6893 Climbs
17893 Ascents
Featured
Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra is widely considered to be the best rock climber in the world.
He has established or repeated many of the worlds 9bs, put up the first 9b+ with Change and the first 9c with Silence. He's onsighted multiple 9as and became the first person to flash 9a+ when he climbed Super Crackinette on his first try. He is also an extremely strong boulderer with multiple ascents of boulders up to 9A.
While his hardest ascents are notable what sets Adam apart from his contemporaries is his depth of experience. At the time of writing he has onsighted 64 8cs, 21 8c+s, 3 9as and climbed 188 routes graded 9a or harder. He has also won the world cup 7 times and the world championships 5 times.
References
[1] Adam's logbook https://www.adamondra.com/list-of-routes
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5yuVuDFzU
[3] Profile in the New York Times, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/sports/olympics/adam-ondra-climbing.html
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/adam-ondra-the-100-x-9a-or-harder-interview.html
[5] Interview with Rob Greenwood for UKClimbing.com, May 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI95jOOBBno
Adam Ondra is widely considered to be the best rock climber in the world.
He has established or repeated many of the worlds 9bs, put up the first 9b+ with Change and the first 9c with Silence. He's onsighted multiple 9as and became the first person to flash 9a+ when he climbed Super Crackinette on his first try. He is also an extremely strong boulderer with multiple ascents of boulders up to 9A.
While his hardest ascents are notable what sets Adam apart from his contemporaries is his depth of experience. At the time of writing he has onsighted 64 8cs, 21 8c+s, 3 9as and climbed 188 routes graded 9a or harder. He has also won the world cup 7 times and the world championships 5 times.
References
[1] Adam's logbook https://www.adamondra.com/list-of-routes
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5yuVuDFzU
[3] Profile in the New York Times, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/sports/olympics/adam-ondra-climbing.html
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/adam-ondra-the-100-x-9a-or-harder-interview.html
[5] Interview with Rob Greenwood for UKClimbing.com, May 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI95jOOBBno
Pics + Vids
Featuring 8618 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Matt Fultz on Big Z (8C+)
Bryce Viola on Suspended in Darkness (8A+)
Chris Sharma on Middle Trifecta (8B)
Daniel Woods on After Hours (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 3896 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Eric Jerome on Sickos Social Club, October 2025
- Ned Feehally on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast, August 2023
- Tyler Nelson on TrainingBeta, August 2022
- Bronwyn Hodgins on The Mountain People Podcast, October 2021
Library
Featuring 11020 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Set in Stone (2006) Film
- Alpine Journal 1892 Vol 16 177-204 Reviews Notices (1892) Journal
- Llanberis (1987) Guidebook
Recent updates
This boulder climbs the start of a 7C+ into a tiny crimp and committing jump to a jug. The jump has a huge swing over a rock. I'm not a very brave climber in general, so even though I found beta to make the swing much smaller than others, I struggled with committing to it from the bottom. I prefer to climb in static positions. I did the move in isolation a ton of times to feel safer and practiced a little on the kilter board with huge swings. On the go, my friends had to yell a ton of encouragement to get me to commit to it. [1]
References
[1] https://www.8a.nu/news/sera-gearhardt-dispatches-fingerslut-8b-8io0d
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Together with Jernej Kruder we started working on it right away only to find out that the lower part was soaking wet. And this struggle with the conditions continued for almost the entire trip. And as so often it ended up becoming a last day best day kind of situation. A key hold entering the crux just wouldn't dry up so I had to put tinfoil on it to prevent my fingers from getting wet and like this make it somewhat climbable. The ascent was quite epic then. I had my crew of friends there supporting me and cheering and on my first go of the day I stuck my previous highpoint on the absolute limit saving myself through to the saving right hand jug. The last moves to the lip of the wall were thankfully all in control and I got to fully experience the rollercoaster of emotions hanging on the top jugs of Alasha so high above the sea. Definitely a dream come true. What a King line! [2]
References
[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxsUxLCtGFO/=
[2] https://www.8a.nu/news/michael-piccolruaz-sends-alasha-9a-dws