Paul Pritchard

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Quick Info ˅

From:	United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Hardest Trad (Worked):	E8
Hardest Trad (Onsight):	E7

Paul Pritchard is a British rock climber and mountaineer. He was a prominent figure in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in and around North Wales.

On the 13th February 1998 he suffered a traumatic brain injury while climbing on The Totem Pole in Tasmania which left him with hemiplegia.

Bibliography

(2012). Deep play: Climbing the world’s most dangerous routes (2nd ed.). Vertebrate Publishing.

(2000). The totem pole: Surviving the ultimate adventure. Robinson Publishing.

(2005). The longest climb: Back from the abyss. Constable and Robinson.

(2021). The Mountain Path: A climber’s journey through life and death. Vertebrate Publishing.

References

[1] Features in 80's Birth of Extreme

[2] A Kind of Homecoming by Martin Crook, On The Edge Issue 87, page 18

Contributors

remus

14 contributions since 19th January 2021.

Quick Info

From:	United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Hardest Trad (Worked):	E8
Hardest Trad (Onsight):	E7

Paul Pritchard is a British rock climber and mountaineer. He was a prominent figure in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in and around North Wales.

On the 13th February 1998 he suffered a traumatic brain injury while climbing on The Totem Pole in Tasmania which left him with hemiplegia.

Bibliography

(2012). Deep play: Climbing the world’s most dangerous routes (2nd ed.). Vertebrate Publishing.

(2000). The totem pole: Surviving the ultimate adventure. Robinson Publishing.

(2005). The longest climb: Back from the abyss. Constable and Robinson.

(2021). The Mountain Path: A climber’s journey through life and death. Vertebrate Publishing.

References

[1] Features in 80's Birth of Extreme

[2] A Kind of Homecoming by Martin Crook, On The Edge Issue 87, page 18

Contributors

remus

14 contributions since 19th January 2021.

Podcasts

Library

Features in Stone Monkey (1988) Film
Director of One Summer (1994) Film
Features in One Summer (1994) Film
Author of The Totem Pole (2020) Book

Pics + Vids

No pics or vids yet.

Ascents

15 recorded ascents.

This timeline is missing some ascents where the date of the ascent is unknown. Use the other tabs to view these ascents.

Year	Climb	Grade	Style	Date
1986	Come to Mother	E7	Lead \| onsight	1986
	Come to Mother	First ascent.
	Perimeter Walk	E7	Solo \| worked	1986
	Perimeter Walk	First ascent.
	Schittlegrüber	E6	Lead \| worked	16th Aug 1986
	Schittlegrüber	First ascent. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802753009944&set=a.117799293010290 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802933009926&set=a.117799293010290
	The Enchanted Broccoli Garden	E7	Lead \| worked	28th Aug 1986
	The Enchanted Broccoli Garden	First ascent. References [1] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802899676596&set=a.117799293010290
	The Super Calabrese	E8	Lead \| worked	Between 16th Oct 1986 and 29th Jan 1987
	The Super Calabrese	First ascent.
1987	Chewing the Cwd	E5	Lead \| ground up	14th Feb 1987
	Chewing the Cwd	First ascent. I was drinking whisky in the Padarn Lake Hotel with Gwion Hughes, who I was living with at the time, when suddenly I had a smart idea. ‘I have an excellent new climb to do. Why don’t we go climbing?’ The pair of us swayed and staggered up to the vast Rainbow Slab. The climb I had seen was a long hairline fracture splitting the left side of the slab. And I had the misguided notion to climb it on sight, without pre-inspection from a rope – and a little bit intoxicated. I threw a string of micro-wires, tiny brass-headed nuts, in the seam, without the least regard for my safety. The climbing was really quite difficult and became increasingly so. Nevertheless, I carried on with scant regard for my personal safety. I still remember attempting to pull on a depression into which you could place flat a fifty-pence piece: a strange, white pocket in a sea of blue-grey slate. I studied it for what seemed like an eternity and searched for my next hold. My shoe edges were set on mere ripples in the featureless slab. I began to slip and then accelerated down the slab, taking a twenty-five-metre fall. The rope burned through the lycra behind my knee. I came to a halt inches from the ground. [1] References [1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CjvzOT-Shsf/
	I Ran the Bath	E7	Lead \| worked	27th Apr 1987
	I Ran the Bath	First ascent.
	Truncheon Meat	E6	Lead \| worked	20th May 1987
	Truncheon Meat	First ascent.
	Surgical Lust	E7	Lead \| worked	27th May 1987
	Surgical Lust	First ascent.
	King Wad	E6	Lead \| worked	18th Jun 1987
	King Wad	First ascent. References [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/esgair_maen_gwyn_scimitar_ridge-706/king_wad-3775
	The Scoop	E7	Alternate Leads \| worked	Aug 1987
	The Scoop	First ascent. With Johnny Dawes.
1988
1989
1990
1991	Rubble	E7	Lead \| onsight	Oct 1991
1991	Rubble	First ascent.
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996	The Porphyry Chair	6c+	Lead	19th Jul 1996
1996	The Porphyry Chair	First ascent.
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023	Jean	HS (approx)	Lead \| worked	Sep 2023
2023	Jean	Paul's first new route in 26 years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_n7B8E6kM

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade
The Porphyry Chair	6c+	Lead	19th Jul 1996
The Porphyry Chair	First ascent.

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date
The Super Calabrese	E8	Lead \| worked	Between 16th Oct 1986 and 29th Jan 1987
The Super Calabrese	First ascent.
Come to Mother	E7	Lead \| onsight	1986
Come to Mother	First ascent.
Perimeter Walk	E7	Solo \| worked	1986
Perimeter Walk	First ascent.
The Enchanted Broccoli Garden	E7	Lead \| worked	28th Aug 1986
The Enchanted Broccoli Garden	First ascent. References [1] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802899676596&set=a.117799293010290
I Ran the Bath	E7	Lead \| worked	27th Apr 1987
I Ran the Bath	First ascent.
Surgical Lust	E7	Lead \| worked	27th May 1987
Surgical Lust	First ascent.
The Scoop	E7	Alternate Leads \| worked	Aug 1987
The Scoop	First ascent. With Johnny Dawes.
Rubble	E7	Lead \| onsight	Oct 1991
Rubble	First ascent.
The 4th Dimension	E7	Lead \| did not finish
The 4th Dimension	References [1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CuvDptFyfp-/
Schittlegrüber	E6	Lead \| worked	16th Aug 1986
Schittlegrüber	First ascent. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802753009944&set=a.117799293010290 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=117802933009926&set=a.117799293010290
Truncheon Meat	E6	Lead \| worked	20th May 1987
Truncheon Meat	First ascent.
King Wad	E6	Lead \| worked	18th Jun 1987
King Wad	First ascent. References [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/esgair_maen_gwyn_scimitar_ridge-706/king_wad-3775
Chewing the Cwd	E5	Lead \| ground up	14th Feb 1987
Chewing the Cwd	First ascent. I was drinking whisky in the Padarn Lake Hotel with Gwion Hughes, who I was living with at the time, when suddenly I had a smart idea. ‘I have an excellent new climb to do. Why don’t we go climbing?’ The pair of us swayed and staggered up to the vast Rainbow Slab. The climb I had seen was a long hairline fracture splitting the left side of the slab. And I had the misguided notion to climb it on sight, without pre-inspection from a rope – and a little bit intoxicated. I threw a string of micro-wires, tiny brass-headed nuts, in the seam, without the least regard for my safety. The climbing was really quite difficult and became increasingly so. Nevertheless, I carried on with scant regard for my personal safety. I still remember attempting to pull on a depression into which you could place flat a fifty-pence piece: a strange, white pocket in a sea of blue-grey slate. I studied it for what seemed like an eternity and searched for my next hold. My shoe edges were set on mere ripples in the featureless slab. I began to slip and then accelerated down the slab, taking a twenty-five-metre fall. The rope burned through the lycra behind my knee. I came to a halt inches from the ground. [1] References [1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CjvzOT-Shsf/
Jean	HS (approx)	Lead \| worked	Sep 2023
Jean	Paul's first new route in 26 years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_n7B8E6kM

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade