Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4712 Climbers
8365 Climbs
22393 Ascents
Featured
Equilibrium | E10 Trad climb at Burbage South
The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.
The route features a 7C+ boulder problem from which Neil Gresham took several ground-sweeping falls, followed by a hard runout to a pocket and a welcome cam.
References
[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html
The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.
The route features a 7C+ boulder problem from which Neil Gresham took several ground-sweeping falls, followed by a hard runout to a pocket and a welcome cam.
References
[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html
On this day 28th October
2016 Joe Kinder made the first ascent of Bone Tomahawk 9a+ at the Fynn Cave
Kinder originally graded Bone Tomahawk 5.14d/5.15a, telling Rock and Ice that it might be 'a normal 9a [5.14d] or a 9a+ [5.15a], but hell…. I don’t know and don’t want to state anything I’m not comfortable with.' At the time it was his hardest-ever first ascent. He went on to open Life of Villains, also in the Fynn Cave, at the end of last winter, and graded it 5.15a.
After 6 years of work!
- 1966 Joe Brown made the first ascent of The Sind E3 at Gogarth (South Stack)
- 1982 Bill Wayman made the first ascent of Gold Rush E6 at Pen Trwyn
- 2000 Fred Nicole made the first ascent of Dreamtime (pre break) 8B+ at Cresciano
- 2005 Sara Šimekova was born
- 2007 Dai Koyamada made the first ascent of Bongo 8C in the Frankenjura
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10968 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Malcolm Smith on Monk Life 8B+
Conor Wellman on The Multiverse 8B+
Jernej Kruder on Crown Royale E11
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 4378 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Mina Leslie-Wujastyk on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2022)
- Mark Anderson and Mike Anderson on TrainingBeta (2014)
- Nettie McLanaghan on The Ground Up Podcast (2025)
- Michael Hauss on Inner Fire Climbing Podcast (2025)
Library
Featuring 16223 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Splinter (2009) Film
- Alpine Journal 2015 234-244 Pierse Alfred Williams (2015) Journal
- Black Rocks & Cratcliffe (1949) Guidebook