Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4112 Climbers
7965 Climbs
21122 Ascents
Featured
Rainbow Jambaia | E7 Trad climb at Angel Falls
First free ascent of the main angel falls amphitheatre wall by a substantially new line. Its 31 pitches included nine E7s and took the seven-person team nineteen days to climb. The route overhangs some 60m in its 1,000m length, making it a contender for the most overhanging big wall in the world.
The route was approached from the ground with the hardest pitches headpointed. No bolts were placed for lead protection, five were placed as portaledge anchors. The team took three weeks to ascend the wall, living off portaledges for most of it. Miles Gibson did pitch 27, E7 6b, after 16 days on the wall.
Route: Rainbow Jambaia (31 pitches, E7 6b): All-free ascent of the Angel Falls wall, following the general line of Ruta Directa (1,150m, VI 6b A4, Gálvez-Medinabeitía, 1990), with many variations and an independent finish for the final eight pitches; Anne Arran, John Arran (U.K.), Ivan Calderón (Ven.), Miles Gibson (U.K.), Ben Heason (U.K.), Alex Klenov (Rus.), and Alfredo Rangel (Ven.), March 18-April 5, 2005.
References
[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200613400/Rainbow-Jambaia
First free ascent of the main angel falls amphitheatre wall by a substantially new line. Its 31 pitches included nine E7s and took the seven-person team nineteen days to climb. The route overhangs some 60m in its 1,000m length, making it a contender for the most overhanging big wall in the world.
The route was approached from the ground with the hardest pitches headpointed. No bolts were placed for lead protection, five were placed as portaledge anchors. The team took three weeks to ascend the wall, living off portaledges for most of it. Miles Gibson did pitch 27, E7 6b, after 16 days on the wall.
Route: Rainbow Jambaia (31 pitches, E7 6b): All-free ascent of the Angel Falls wall, following the general line of Ruta Directa (1,150m, VI 6b A4, Gálvez-Medinabeitía, 1990), with many variations and an independent finish for the final eight pitches; Anne Arran, John Arran (U.K.), Ivan Calderón (Ven.), Miles Gibson (U.K.), Ben Heason (U.K.), Alex Klenov (Rus.), and Alfredo Rangel (Ven.), March 18-April 5, 2005.
References
[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200613400/Rainbow-Jambaia
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10258 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
John Kettle on Anvil Crawler E8
James Taylor on Director's Cut 8A+
Jacopo Larcher on Jeune et Con E10
Jorge Díaz-Rullo on Mejorando Imagen 9a+
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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 4156 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Jim Pope on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2026)
- Yves Gravelle on Lattice Training (2022)
- Alex Megos on The Nugget (2024)
- Randy Leavitt on The Climbing Majority (2025)
Library
Featuring 15194 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Mirror Wall Film
- Alpine Journal 2017 274-281 India Area Notes (2017) Journal
- Dorset (1969) Guidebook