From: | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 |
Date of death: | 15th February 2021 |
Hardest Boulder (Worked): | 8A |
Hardest Sport (Worked): | 7c+ |
Hardest Sport (Onsight): | 7c |
Hardest Trad (Worked): | E8 |
Hardest Trad (Onsight): | E7 |
Notable Partnerships | |
Mike Owen |
Pex Hill resident and prolific North Wales activist in the 70s and 80s.
Phil sadly passed away from cancer on 15th February 2021.
Urban legend (round Pex Hill at the time [early 1980s]) had it that after pulling through the crux of Right Wall, he called across to the photographer and asked him if he had enough shots, or did he need him to down climb it and do it the crux again! [1]
As somebody from Warrington he was an inspiration and legend. Never forgot the time I saw him turn up at Pex on his motorbike. Then reverse soloed Dateline in his leather jacket with his helmet hanging for in his arms. I could swear he was wearing trainers. [2]
Though our favourite stomping grounds often overlapped I only met Phil a handful of times. The first time, appropriately, was at Pex. The quarry was empty and I was committed about two thirds the way up Hart's Arete. Phil appears and I ask if the top is ok. "Aye" Phil mutters, and walks off. Of course, the top of Hart's is the only place at Pex where the top slopes. Next time we met he'd forgotten his earlier sandbagging of me and accused me of playing the same trick on him in the Peak (I don't know who had, but it wasn't me). He was the ultimate competitor, though one that I know had many deeply loyal friends. [Andy Popp, 3]
Phil used to claim to Joe [Healey] he didn’t train. Joe told me about calling round for him to go climbing one day. His mum answered, said he was training with weights in his bedroom, told Joe he was always training! [4]
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rocktalk/phil_davidson_rip-731360?v=1#x9407295
[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rocktalk/phil_davidson_rip-731360?v=1#x9407396
[4] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,31125.msg629980.html#msg629980
[5] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,31125.msg629981.html#msg629981
20 recorded ascents.
Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tequila Mockingbird | 7c+ | Lead | worked | 1984 | |
In front of a young and impressionable Ben Moon. |
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Hitchhike the Plane | 7c+ | Lead | worked | ||
An early repeat. |
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Obscene Gesture | 7c | Lead | onsight | 1984 | |
Indecent Exposure | 7c | Lead | onsight | ||
The first onsight of the route [1]. [1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 40 |
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Chasin' the Trane | 7c | Lead | worked | ||
An early repeat at the start of the 1980s. |
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Sardine | 7b+ | Lead | onsight | 15th Aug 1982 | |
An early repeat.
[1] Email conversation with Elaine Owen, 29th November 2021. |
Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
Monoblock | 8A | Boulder | worked | 1985 | |
Second ascent.
A week or so after the first ascent.
References[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rocktalk/pex_hill_question-205344?v=1#x3001358 [2] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,8692.msg653394.html#msg653394 [3] Cheshire and Merseyside Sandstone 2012, The BMC |
Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
My Piano | E8 | Lead | worked | 1st Nov 2017 | |
The Bells! The Bells! | E7 | Lead | did not finish | 1982 | |
Attempted second ascent.
References |
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Death Wish | E7 | Lead | onsight | 19th Sep 1982 | |
Second ascent.
One of the first E7 onsights in the UK and exactly two years after the first ascent.
References[1] Email conversation with Elaine Owen, 29th November 2021. |
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Linden | E6 | Solo | onsight | 1982 | |
[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/curbar_edge-21/linden-11110 |
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The Cad | E6 | Lead | onsight | 2nd May 1982 | |
Cave Route Right Hand (Pre 2018) | E6 | Lead | onsight | ||
Early 1980s. |
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A Midsummer Night's Dream | E6 | Lead | worked | ||
First ascent of all three pitches in one day. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=115864769870409&set=a.115862679870618 |
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Lord of the Flies | E6 | Lead | onsight | ||
Third ascent. [1] [1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 39 |
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Right Wall | E5 | Lead | onsight | 1977 | |
Fourth ascent, aged just 17! [1] [1] The Power of Climbing (1991) by David Jones, page 39 |
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Black Magic | E5 | Solo | 1977 | |
First ascent.
|
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Right Wall | E5 | Solo | repeat | 20th Aug 1982 | |
This solo ascent was a repeat. Phil first onsighted the route in 1977 giving the route it's fourth ascent. |
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Black Magic | E5 | Solo | worked | 1985 | |
Cockblock | E5 | Solo | worked |
Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
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