John Redhead


Quick Info

Nationality: GB
Hardest Sport (Worked): 8a+
Hardest Trad (Worked): E7

Features in E96c and Clown Ascending.

On E96c:

It was from my warehouse home here that my involvement with E9 6c was filmed and recorded. This happened within the last few weeks of my departure from this special perch. John Mortimer’s son, Jeremy, produced an excellent piece for Radio Three called, ‘Between the Ears’. Dominic Clemence produced and directed the film for BBC2. This was the attempted story of The Indian Face, a fierce route on the cathedral of rock, Clogwyn Du Arddu, on the flank of Snowdon. I liked the bit where I am sat under my climbing wall in the studio flippantly explaining the image I painted on the scar where the flake had been. This small granite flake had come away in my arms whilst testing the peg that had been smashed into its side. I drew a quick sketch on the wall of ‘the hunt‘, something that had stayed with me from viewing the Lascaux Caves in France. Only two people had seen it. Paul Williams had photographed it and Johnny Dawes had scraped it off (or rather, an acolyte had scraped it off). One had died and the other had seemingly gone mad! [1]

References

[1] http://footlesscrow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/sacred-ground.html

[2] Interview with Adrian Berry June 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20061022044820/http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=250

Contributors: remus (28 contributions since 24 Jan 2021)
Added on 24th January 2021. Last updated on 5th July 2024.

Quick Info

Nationality: GB
Hardest Sport (Worked): 8a+
Hardest Trad (Worked): E7

Features in E96c and Clown Ascending.

On E96c:

It was from my warehouse home here that my involvement with E9 6c was filmed and recorded. This happened within the last few weeks of my departure from this special perch. John Mortimer’s son, Jeremy, produced an excellent piece for Radio Three called, ‘Between the Ears’. Dominic Clemence produced and directed the film for BBC2. This was the attempted story of The Indian Face, a fierce route on the cathedral of rock, Clogwyn Du Arddu, on the flank of Snowdon. I liked the bit where I am sat under my climbing wall in the studio flippantly explaining the image I painted on the scar where the flake had been. This small granite flake had come away in my arms whilst testing the peg that had been smashed into its side. I drew a quick sketch on the wall of ‘the hunt‘, something that had stayed with me from viewing the Lascaux Caves in France. Only two people had seen it. Paul Williams had photographed it and Johnny Dawes had scraped it off (or rather, an acolyte had scraped it off). One had died and the other had seemingly gone mad! [1]

References

[1] http://footlesscrow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/sacred-ground.html

[2] Interview with Adrian Berry June 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20061022044820/http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=250

Contributors: remus (28 contributions since 24 Jan 2021)
Added on 24th January 2021. Last updated on 5th July 2024.

Podcasts


Pics + Vids

Added at 16:07 on 09 July 2021
Added at 16:07 on 09 July 2021
Indian Face (E9)
Added at 16:07 on 09 July 2021
© Paul Williams
The Wrinkled Retainer (E5, FA)
Added at 00:03 on 20 March 2021
The Sexual Salami (E5, FA)
Added at 00:03 on 20 March 2021
Fingerlicker Direct (E6, FA)
Added at 17:03 on 20 March 2021
Stiff Syd's Cap (E6, FA)
Added at 09:04 on 11 April 2021
Released from Treatment (E6, FA)
Added at 22:04 on 11 April 2021
Stroke of the Fiend (E7, FA)
Added at 22:04 on 11 April 2021
Flower of Evil (E7, FA)
Added at 22:04 on 11 April 2021

Ascents

31 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
1980 The Sexual Salami E5 Lead | worked 15th Mar 1980
Bananas E5 Lead | worked 30th Mar 1980
The Wrinkled Retainer E5 Lead | worked 3rd Apr 1980
The Bells! The Bells! E7 Lead | worked 30th Jun 1980
First ascent.
Barbarossa E6 Lead | worked 6th Jul 1980
First ascent.
1981
1982 The Tormented Ejaculation E7 Lead | worked 1982
First ascent.

...my own attempts from 1980 have been well wagged about. I call them The Tormented Ejaculation - not just mere climbing, but an expression of the flesh and blood of my work, the poetry of rock-movement inextricably bound up with the network of shape and colour. A last look at the line and a strange impulse took hold of me. I went for it. At 70ft I woke up. Ghastly! The aggression was dissipated and the fear gripped me. I had climbed with no protection and was now eyeballing a tiny shallow crack. I remembered it from the abseil and it had looked pathetic. It was real now. I contemplated jumping on the scree below before the situation got out of control. I fell a million times, my arms unfolding, my breath fading. A no. 1 stopper came to a halt, half-way down this crack, half in, rocking - my weight was on it...the mental preparation was becoming harder and harder. The so-called psyching up, a pain beyond reason. Out of the accquaintance grew more and more fear. Gone the initial naivety that had sparked off this terrifying enterprise. I knew the score and was unnerved by it...I distinctly felt a tiny slide on a friction move lower down and became very insecure, with my feet in canyon boots. I got to the little crack another 20 feet up and was dangerously pumped because of the extra strain on my fingers. The resin was wearing off the boots. I managed to place an RP1, clipped in, and was about to place a No 2 when my right foot shot off.The strain came on the RP, ripped it through, and I cartwheeled a long way down the wall. [3]

[1] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=115865133203706&set=a.115862679870618

[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=115865649870321&set=a.115862679870618

[3] Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (Climbers' Club Guides) 2004, Nick Dixon

The Burning Sphincter 7b Lead | worked 1982
The Big Sleep E6 Lead | worked 7th Mar 1982
Second ascent.
Fingerlicker Direct E6 Lead | worked 29th May 1982
A Midsummer Night's Dream E6 Lead | worked 30th May 1982
Second ascent.
The Dillusioned Screw Machine E6 Lead | worked 27th Jul 1982
First ascent. 1 point of aid.
1983
1984 Margins of the Mind E7 Lead | worked 1984
First ascent.

Probably the hardest thing I did at the time, and I was going really well. [1]

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQzdrpFm_Pg

Master's Wall E7 Lead | worked 1984

Margins is more strenuous and technical but Master's is a much harder lead. The crux and substance of the route done in 1980 by myself.

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/rockarchivist/photos/a.116371059819780/116374156486137

Poetry Pink E5 Lead | worked 1984
First ascent.
Cystitis by Proxy E5 Lead | worked 1984
Bell-Dance E5 Lead | worked 19th Mar 1984
First ascent. With Dave Towse.

Redhead's first new route on the slate.

The Clown E7 Lead | worked 25th Apr 1984
First ascent.
Fishbox E5 Lead | worked 2nd May 1984
The Demons of Bosch E7 Lead | worked 11th Jun 1984
Raped by Affection E7 Lead | worked Jul 1984
First ascent.

Protected with three skyhooks and RURP.

Mark Lynden:

I watched JR leading this. At one point he got the sequence wrong and teetered backwards, but stayed on the rock because a small, sharp spike stuck into his finger and just held him on. [1]

References

[1] Llanberis Slate. United Kingdom: Ground Up, 2011.

1985
1986 Stiff Syd's Cap E6 Lead | worked Apr 1986
Manic Strain 8a Lead | worked 24th Apr 1986
First ascent.
Released from Treatment E6 Lead | worked 26th Apr 1986
Flower of Evil E7 Lead | worked May 1986
Stroke of the Fiend E7 Lead | worked 28th May 1986
Dawes of Perception E7 Lead | worked Jun 1986
Second ascent.

A few holds have snapped making the moves up to the bolt more tricky and the moves after the bolt less tricky. A tricky, gripping problem.

Menopausal Discharge 8a+ Lead | worked 9th Jun 1986
First ascent.
Authentic Desire E7 Lead | worked Aug 1986
1987 The Rite of Spring E7 Lead | worked 1987
First ascent.
1988
1989
1990
1991 Shaft of a Dead Man E7 Lead 1991
First ascent.

I had just recovered from a paralysing virus, no doubt self-induced, as most viruses are, which hospitalized me for several days. The births of four paintings (titled The Shaft of a Dead Man) were no doubt the product of this alternative head space. [1]

References

[1] Dixon, N. (2004). Clogwyn Dur Arddu: Climbers' Club Guide to Wales, page 188. United Kingdom: Climbers' Club.

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Menopausal Discharge 8a+ Lead | worked 9th Jun 1986 E7
First ascent.
Manic Strain 8a Lead | worked 24th Apr 1986
First ascent.
The Burning Sphincter 7b Lead | worked 1982
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Indian Face E9 Lead | did not finish

John put in a solid ground up effort before taking a big fall. He then put in a bolt at his high point and named it The Tormented Ejaculation.

John pulled a flake off the route after Johnny Dawes had made the first ascent, he then painted a piece on the rock scar. This angered Johnny who then scraped the painting off.

The Bells! The Bells! E7 Lead | worked 30th Jun 1980
First ascent.
The Tormented Ejaculation E7 Lead | worked 1982
First ascent.

...my own attempts from 1980 have been well wagged about. I call them The Tormented Ejaculation - not just mere climbing, but an expression of the flesh and blood of my work, the poetry of rock-movement inextricably bound up with the network of shape and colour. A last look at the line and a strange impulse took hold of me. I went for it. At 70ft I woke up. Ghastly! The aggression was dissipated and the fear gripped me. I had climbed with no protection and was now eyeballing a tiny shallow crack. I remembered it from the abseil and it had looked pathetic. It was real now. I contemplated jumping on the scree below before the situation got out of control. I fell a million times, my arms unfolding, my breath fading. A no. 1 stopper came to a halt, half-way down this crack, half in, rocking - my weight was on it...the mental preparation was becoming harder and harder. The so-called psyching up, a pain beyond reason. Out of the accquaintance grew more and more fear. Gone the initial naivety that had sparked off this terrifying enterprise. I knew the score and was unnerved by it...I distinctly felt a tiny slide on a friction move lower down and became very insecure, with my feet in canyon boots. I got to the little crack another 20 feet up and was dangerously pumped because of the extra strain on my fingers. The resin was wearing off the boots. I managed to place an RP1, clipped in, and was about to place a No 2 when my right foot shot off.The strain came on the RP, ripped it through, and I cartwheeled a long way down the wall. [3]

[1] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=115865133203706&set=a.115862679870618

[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=115865649870321&set=a.115862679870618

[3] Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (Climbers' Club Guides) 2004, Nick Dixon

Margins of the Mind E7 Lead | worked 1984
First ascent.

Probably the hardest thing I did at the time, and I was going really well. [1]

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQzdrpFm_Pg

The Clown E7 Lead | worked 25th Apr 1984
First ascent.
The Demons of Bosch E7 Lead | worked 11th Jun 1984
Raped by Affection E7 Lead | worked Jul 1984
First ascent.

Protected with three skyhooks and RURP.

Mark Lynden:

I watched JR leading this. At one point he got the sequence wrong and teetered backwards, but stayed on the rock because a small, sharp spike stuck into his finger and just held him on. [1]

References

[1] Llanberis Slate. United Kingdom: Ground Up, 2011.

Flower of Evil E7 Lead | worked May 1986
Stroke of the Fiend E7 Lead | worked 28th May 1986
Authentic Desire E7 Lead | worked Aug 1986
The Rite of Spring E7 Lead | worked 1987
First ascent.
Shaft of a Dead Man E7 Lead 1991
First ascent.

I had just recovered from a paralysing virus, no doubt self-induced, as most viruses are, which hospitalized me for several days. The births of four paintings (titled The Shaft of a Dead Man) were no doubt the product of this alternative head space. [1]

References

[1] Dixon, N. (2004). Clogwyn Dur Arddu: Climbers' Club Guide to Wales, page 188. United Kingdom: Climbers' Club.

Master's Wall E7 Lead | worked 1984

Margins is more strenuous and technical but Master's is a much harder lead. The crux and substance of the route done in 1980 by myself.

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/rockarchivist/photos/a.116371059819780/116374156486137

Dawes of Perception E7 Lead | worked Jun 1986
Second ascent.

A few holds have snapped making the moves up to the bolt more tricky and the moves after the bolt less tricky. A tricky, gripping problem.

Barbarossa E6 Lead | worked 6th Jul 1980
First ascent.
Fingerlicker Direct E6 Lead | worked 29th May 1982
The Dillusioned Screw Machine E6 Lead | worked 27th Jul 1982
First ascent. 1 point of aid.
Stiff Syd's Cap E6 Lead | worked Apr 1986
Released from Treatment E6 Lead | worked 26th Apr 1986
The Big Sleep E6 Lead | worked 7th Mar 1982
Second ascent.
A Midsummer Night's Dream E6 Lead | worked 30th May 1982
Second ascent.
The Sexual Salami E5 Lead | worked 15th Mar 1980
Bananas E5 Lead | worked 30th Mar 1980
The Wrinkled Retainer E5 Lead | worked 3rd Apr 1980
Poetry Pink E5 Lead | worked 1984
First ascent.
Cystitis by Proxy E5 Lead | worked 1984
Bell-Dance E5 Lead | worked 19th Mar 1984
First ascent. With Dave Towse.

Redhead's first new route on the slate.

Fishbox E5 Lead | worked 2nd May 1984
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade