Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4143 Climbers
8013 Climbs
21303 Ascents
Featured
Jacky Godoffe
A pioneer of hard bouldering in Fontainebleau. Throughout the 1980s and '90s Godoffe established dozens of the forest's classic modern testpieces.
His ascent of C'Était Demain (8A) in 1984 set a new level for bouldering in Europe. Coming just a year after L'Abbé Résina (7C), the climb was a significant step up in difficulty. Essentially comprising just two hard moves, it is still regarded as a hard 8A and may have only been flashed once (Dave Graham, 2000).
In 1993 he established Fatman, a contender for the first 8B. His relentless pursuit of quality and difficulty saw him projecting what would later become The Big Island (8C), though a successful ascent eluded him.
In the early '00s Godoffe pioneered the art of indoor routesetting. His books on the subject are essential reading for those in the trade.
Success in climbing is just the tip of the iceberg. The most important thing for me is how to deal with such an important passion and also the rest of life. I am lucky to have had 5 children, and none of them never ever climbed, so at home at least I'm just a human trying to surf on the waves of life. This is a way harder than the most difficult boulder I ever climbed. [1]
References
[1] Interview in The Project Magazine (2017) https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2017/5/13/jacky-godoffe-interview
[2] Bleau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIreNKro7QU
[3] https://escaladepanorama.htm-fr.com/francais/bleau/itw/bl_jg-interview.htm
A pioneer of hard bouldering in Fontainebleau. Throughout the 1980s and '90s Godoffe established dozens of the forest's classic modern testpieces.
His ascent of C'Était Demain (8A) in 1984 set a new level for bouldering in Europe. Coming just a year after L'Abbé Résina (7C), the climb was a significant step up in difficulty. Essentially comprising just two hard moves, it is still regarded as a hard 8A and may have only been flashed once (Dave Graham, 2000).
In 1993 he established Fatman, a contender for the first 8B. His relentless pursuit of quality and difficulty saw him projecting what would later become The Big Island (8C), though a successful ascent eluded him.
In the early '00s Godoffe pioneered the art of indoor routesetting. His books on the subject are essential reading for those in the trade.
Success in climbing is just the tip of the iceberg. The most important thing for me is how to deal with such an important passion and also the rest of life. I am lucky to have had 5 children, and none of them never ever climbed, so at home at least I'm just a human trying to surf on the waves of life. This is a way harder than the most difficult boulder I ever climbed. [1]
References
[1] Interview in The Project Magazine (2017) https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2017/5/13/jacky-godoffe-interview
[2] Bleau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIreNKro7QU
[3] https://escaladepanorama.htm-fr.com/francais/bleau/itw/bl_jg-interview.htm
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10328 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Katie Lamb on 130 BPM 8C
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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 4171 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Buster Martin on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2022)
- Niall Grimes on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2025)
- Dave MacLeod on The Nugget (2025)
- Jesse Firestone on Inner Fire Climbing Podcast (2026)
Library
Featuring 15314 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Better than Chocolate - Additional Climbing Film
- Alpine Journal 1880 Vol 9 411-427 Pilkington Meije (1880) Journal
- Pembroke Supplement (1998) Guidebook
Recent updates
Prolific and feisty Lake District and western USA activist from 1950s to 2010s. Also cafe and folk club proprietor and breeder of award-winning Jack Russel terriers.
References
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/10/paul_ross_-500th_new_route-_aged_73-58102
[3] https://footlesscrow.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-paul-ross-interviewpart-one.html
Prolific and feisty Lake District and western USA activist from 1950s to 2010s.
References
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/10/paul_ross_-500th_new_route-_aged_73-58102
Yorkshire motor mechanic and builder with a brief but illustrious rock climbing career most notably in the English Lake District. One of the Bradford Lads, a loose collection of West Yorkshire climbers active in the immediate post World War Two period. He retired from climbing in the mid-1950s, donating his equipment to Don Whillans, returning in the late 1980s "half a million fags and 50,000 pints later."
...one of the boldest and most agile rock climbers in Britain in the 1950s. [1]
References
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/apr/20/peter-greenwood-obituary
Climbed in the wet with socks over plimsoles, which were thought to give a better grip on damp rock but rapidly wore holes: "This solution came to me. Take off the dirty wet sock, hold it in my teeth, take off the plimsoll, hold it in my teeth, take off the sock, hold it in my teeth, put on the plimsoll, put the sock on top."
References
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/apr/20/peter-greenwood-obituary
Laura Rogora is an Italian professional rock climber, known for excelling in both competition climbing and elite sport climbing. She rose to prominence as a youth competitor, winning multiple World and European Youth Championship titles and qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Rogora is one of the best sport climbers in the world, having climbed routes graded up to 9b+ and achieved several historic milestones. In 2021, she became only the third woman to redpoint a 9b route, and in 2025 she made history as the first woman to onsight an 8c+ route. Her 2026 ascent of Bibliographie (9b+) was done in just six days, by far the fastest ascent of a 9b+ at the time. She is also notable for her depth of experience in hard sport climbing, having climbed over 45 routes graded 9a or harder.
Rogora is one of the best onsight climbers in the world. Only Alex Megos and Adam Ondra have more hard onsights to their name, and the gap is closing.