Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4033 Climbers
7845 Climbs
20711 Ascents
Featured
Archangel | E3 Trad climb at Stanage
Archangel is the quintessential gritstone arête: bold, insecure and utterly compelling.
Don Whillans top-roped the line in 1954, pinching the arête face-on and gripping it between his knees, which had rubber inner-tubes attached them for grip. In 1971, Ed Drummond made the first ascent. With the benefit of chalk and rudimentary climbing shoes – though still no sticky rubber – he laybacked it on the left side. In 1985 he climbed it on the right side, naming it Don (E4).
Peak Rock:
Again and again, Ed Drummond found relatively reasonable solutions simply by experimenting. Even in 1972, Archangel wasn't as hard as many other gritstone routes. It was the concept of a blank unprotected arête and the sustained, technical laybacking required to subjugate it which had stopped earlier efforts. [1]
Matthew, in chapter 14, tells the story of the disciples seeing Jesus walk on the lake:
28 Peter called to Him 'Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water'. 'Come' said Jesus.
29 Peter stepped down from the boat and walked over the water towards Jesus.
30 But when he saw the strength of the gale he was seized with fear; and beginning to sink, he cried 'Save me, Lord.'
31 Jesus at once reached out and caught hold of him, and said, 'Why did you hesitate? How little faith you have!'This bible story serves well as an illustration of what you need to climb Archangel. It will confound the Book of Numbers. A man may well boulder 6c and redpoint 7c, but without faith he is no more likely to succeed than the man who has bouldered 5c, for without faith, even a rich man is more likely to get into the Kingdom of God than to climb Archangel. And you must have faith, not in the hand of god, but in thyself. [2]
No holds on Archangel? What are you talking about? It’s the biggest hold on the crag! [3]
References
[1] Peak Rock, Vertebrate Publishing, 2013
[2] On The Edge Issue 67, page 43
[3] https://ukbouldering.com/threads/any-shorties-done-stall.6000/#post-84556
Archangel is the quintessential gritstone arête: bold, insecure and utterly compelling.
Don Whillans top-roped the line in 1954, pinching the arête face-on and gripping it between his knees, which had rubber inner-tubes attached them for grip. In 1971, Ed Drummond made the first ascent. With the benefit of chalk and rudimentary climbing shoes – though still no sticky rubber – he laybacked it on the left side. In 1985 he climbed it on the right side, naming it Don (E4).
Peak Rock:
Again and again, Ed Drummond found relatively reasonable solutions simply by experimenting. Even in 1972, Archangel wasn't as hard as many other gritstone routes. It was the concept of a blank unprotected arête and the sustained, technical laybacking required to subjugate it which had stopped earlier efforts. [1]
Matthew, in chapter 14, tells the story of the disciples seeing Jesus walk on the lake:
28 Peter called to Him 'Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water'. 'Come' said Jesus.
29 Peter stepped down from the boat and walked over the water towards Jesus.
30 But when he saw the strength of the gale he was seized with fear; and beginning to sink, he cried 'Save me, Lord.'
31 Jesus at once reached out and caught hold of him, and said, 'Why did you hesitate? How little faith you have!'This bible story serves well as an illustration of what you need to climb Archangel. It will confound the Book of Numbers. A man may well boulder 6c and redpoint 7c, but without faith he is no more likely to succeed than the man who has bouldered 5c, for without faith, even a rich man is more likely to get into the Kingdom of God than to climb Archangel. And you must have faith, not in the hand of god, but in thyself. [2]
No holds on Archangel? What are you talking about? It’s the biggest hold on the crag! [3]
References
[1] Peak Rock, Vertebrate Publishing, 2013
[2] On The Edge Issue 67, page 43
[3] https://ukbouldering.com/threads/any-shorties-done-stall.6000/#post-84556
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10036 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Stefano Ghisolfi on Lapsus 9a+
Mickael Mawem on Le Blond ~ 9c project
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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 3915 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Paul Pritchard on The Enormocast (2021)
- Charlie Schreiber on The Nugget (2024)
- Taylor Martin on The Climbing Majority (2026)
- Mark Hudon on The Climbing Majority (2026)
Library
Featuring 14949 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Performance Rock Climbing (1993) Film
- Alpine Journal 1974 237-245 Johchi Patagonia (1974) Journal
- Meirionnyd (2002) Guidebook
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References
References
References
Tom Randall is a British climber known for being a crack-climbing specialist, one half of WideBoyz and co-owner of Lattice Training.
References
[1] Lake District classic rock challenge (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofg5BJgAzgs