Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4752 Climbers
8448 Climbs
22775 Ascents
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Katie Lamb
Katie Lamb is an American boulderer, currently based in the Yosemite area. She was the first woman to climb 8C+ with her ascent of The Dark Side (8C+) in 2025. She had previously climbed Box Therapy in 2023 which was regarded as 8C+ at the time, though now rated 8C.
Lamb was a successful youth lead comp climber, winning the PanAmerican Youth Championships. She went on to study computer science at Stanford University, which left less time for climbing. After graduating, she turned her focus to outdoor bouldering, steadily working through an enviable ticklist of hard problems.
Her ascent of The Dark Side (8C+) was the culmination of 20–25 sessions:
It’s easy to fall into the trap of treating friction on this boulder like passive resistance - a force that each scaler is at the whim of. But I learned to reshape this narrative: friction is something to sit with, to actively attend to, and to ask for help in understanding.
In 2026 she made the first ascent of 130 BPM (8C) in Yosemite, one of the hardest problems in the Valley.
Her older brother Andy Lamb is also a notable boulderer.
References
[1] Interview with Katie Lamb, Climbing.com https://www.climbing.com/people/katie-lamb-interview/
[2] Katie Lamb's 8C+ Ascent of The Dark Side, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STfiakiPNCY
[3] Interview with Sam MacIlwaine (2025) https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/golden-piton-2025-katie-lamb/
Katie Lamb is an American boulderer, currently based in the Yosemite area. She was the first woman to climb 8C+ with her ascent of The Dark Side (8C+) in 2025. She had previously climbed Box Therapy in 2023 which was regarded as 8C+ at the time, though now rated 8C.
Lamb was a successful youth lead comp climber, winning the PanAmerican Youth Championships. She went on to study computer science at Stanford University, which left less time for climbing. After graduating, she turned her focus to outdoor bouldering, steadily working through an enviable ticklist of hard problems.
Her ascent of The Dark Side (8C+) was the culmination of 20–25 sessions:
It’s easy to fall into the trap of treating friction on this boulder like passive resistance - a force that each scaler is at the whim of. But I learned to reshape this narrative: friction is something to sit with, to actively attend to, and to ask for help in understanding.
In 2026 she made the first ascent of 130 BPM (8C) in Yosemite, one of the hardest problems in the Valley.
Her older brother Andy Lamb is also a notable boulderer.
References
[1] Interview with Katie Lamb, Climbing.com https://www.climbing.com/people/katie-lamb-interview/
[2] Katie Lamb's 8C+ Ascent of The Dark Side, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STfiakiPNCY
[3] Interview with Sam MacIlwaine (2025) https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/golden-piton-2025-katie-lamb/
On this day 11th November
1998 Ben Tetler climbed Knockin' on Heaven's Door E8 at Curbar Edge
Ben was not impressed with Richie Patterson’s renaming of the route and wanted to put things straight with no off-route gear or pegs. He suggested E9 for a solo ascent.
The ascent did not go entirely to plan, as his flared trousers obscured the footholds on the final moves.
- 1939 Alfred Hopkinson died
- 1948 Andrzej Czok was born
- 1986 Jean-Baptiste Tribout made the first ascent of To Bolt or Not to Be 8b+ at Smith Rock
- 1987 Katharina Saurwein was born
- 2006 Adam Ondra climbed Martin Krpan 9a at Mišja Peč
- 2017 Franco Cookson made the first ascent of The Magic Scoop E8 at Highcliffe Nab
- 2023 Adam Ondra climbed La Parada de los Monstruos 9a at Montanejos
Pics + Vids
Featuring 11149 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 4407 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Alan Watts on The Nugget (2022)
- Hannes Van Duysen on That's Not Real Climbing (2025)
- Christian Beckwith on The Nugget (2025)
- Tom Livingstone on Mountain Voices (2026)
Library
Featuring 16257 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Eve Lancashire - Rare Lichen Pt2 (2016) Film
- Alpine Journal 1903 Vol 21 408-412 Mathews Mont Blanc (1903) Journal
- Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (1976) Guidebook
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References
The crux first move is 8B+ on its own, with a tricky ~8Aish sequence still to do after you stick the start.