Nationality: | GB |
Date of birth: | 26 September 1930 |
Date of death: | 15 April 2020 |
Hardest Trad (Worked): | E2 |
Hardest Trad (Onsight): | E5 |
Notable Partnerships | |
Don Whillans |
Born in 1930, Joe Brown was one of the pivotal figures in post-war climbing in the UK. In the 1950s and 60s, and alongside contemporaries such as Don Whillans, he pushed the standard of rock climbing in the UK to new levels with the first ascents of classic routes such as Cemetry Gates (E1), Great Slab (E3) and Right Eliminate (E3). Joe's routes frequently ventured in to territory that was previously considered off limits, often tackling bold and uncompromising features with minimal protection.
It is sometimes suggested that he was one of the inventors of jamming. Though this seems unlikely, though it is certainly true that he employed the technique to great effect on many of his new routes.
With all the other greats of my time, I could understand how they climbed: fitness, physique, supple gymnasticism or sheer application. With Brown, there was something else at work. He was quite short, not heavily built, his muscles corded rather than developed, his movement smooth and deliberate. When I climbed with him, sometimes I would watch the way he made a move, copy it when I came to that point, and his way, that he had seen instantly, would be the least obvious and most immediately right. He was climbing's supreme craftsman, unerringly aware of the medium. [3]
[1] An extended biography written by Ollie Burrows is available here https://www.theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk/blog/joe-brown-biography including a list of many of Joe's first ascents.
28 recorded ascents.
Year | Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | Brown's Eliminate | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) |
Three Pebble Slab | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
Sunset Slab | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
Angular Crack | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
1949 | Chequers Climb | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1949 (approx) |
Valkyrie | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1949 (approx) | |
1950 | ||||
1951 | Peapod | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) |
Great Slab | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
The Great Crack | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
Left Eliminate | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
Hangover | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 18 May 1951 | |
Cemetry Gates | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 30 Sep 1951 | |
Vember | E1 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 13 Oct 1951 | |
1952 | The Black Cleft | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 04 May 1952 |
Cenotaph Corner | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 24 Aug 1952 | |
1953 | Surplomb | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Mar 1953 |
1954 | The Dangler | E2 (Lead) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1954 (approx) |
1955 | Woubits | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 30 Aug 1955 |
1956 | Taurus | E4 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 24 Jun 1956 |
Joe's last new route with Don Whillans. |
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1957 | The Mostest | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 09 Apr 1957 |
November | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 03 May 1957 | |
1958 | ||||
1959 | ||||
1960 | Vector | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 26 Mar 1960 |
1961 | ||||
1962 | Trango | E5 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 28 Apr 1962 |
1963 | ||||
1964 | ||||
1965 | ||||
1966 | Wen | HVS (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 08 May 1966 |
Winking Crack | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 05 Jun 1966 | |
Dinosaur | E5 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 19 Jun 1966 | |
With aid? |
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Mousetrap | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 09 Oct 1966 | |
1967 | ||||
1968 | ||||
1969 | ||||
1970 | ||||
1971 | ||||
1972 | ||||
1973 | ||||
1974 | ||||
1975 | ||||
1976 | ||||
1977 | ||||
1978 | The Flytrap | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 16 Apr 1978 |
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
Trango | E5 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 28 Apr 1962 | |
Dinosaur | E5 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 19 Jun 1966 | |
With aid? |
||||
Taurus | E4 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 24 Jun 1956 | |
Joe's last new route with Don Whillans. |
||||
The Great Crack | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
Great Slab | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
November | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 03 May 1957 | |
Winking Crack | E3 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 05 Jun 1966 | |
Brown's Eliminate | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
The Black Cleft | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 04 May 1952 | |
Surplomb | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Mar 1953 | |
The Dangler | E2 (Lead) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1954 (approx) | |
Woubits | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 30 Aug 1955 | |
The Mostest | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 09 Apr 1957 | |
Vector | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 26 Mar 1960 | |
Mousetrap | E2 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 09 Oct 1966 | |
The Flytrap | E2 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 16 Apr 1978 | |
Left Eliminate | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
Hangover | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 18 May 1951 | |
Cemetry Gates | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 30 Sep 1951 | |
Vember | E1 (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 13 Oct 1951 | |
Cenotaph Corner | E1 (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 24 Aug 1952 | |
Three Pebble Slab | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
Valkyrie | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1949 (approx) | |
Peapod | HVS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1951 (approx) | |
Wen | HVS (Alternate Leads Onsight) | ✓ | 08 May 1966 | |
Angular Crack | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
Sunset Slab | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1948 (approx) | |
Chequers Climb | VS (Lead Onsight) | ✓ | 01 Jan 1949 (approx) |
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
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