Alan Watts
Quick Info ˅
| Nationality: | US |
| Hardest Sport (Worked): | 8b+ |
| Hardest Trad (Worked): | E8 |
Alan Watts is a US climber best known as one of the early proponents of sport climbing style in the US, and one of the key developers of Smith Rock in Oregon.
Together with contemporaries such as Todd Skinner and Lynn Hill, Alan was among the first climbers in the US to embrace bolting on rappel and more extensive working of routes. While these practices were common in Europe at the time, the prevailing ethic in the US had been that any bolting should happen from the ground up and that practicing routes was not allowed.
References
[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ZFlVQpnjT/
[2] Interview with planetmountain https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alan-watts-climbing-interview.html
Podcasts
Pics + Vids
Vicious Fish (8b, FA)
Grand Illusion (E8)
Ascents
10 recorded ascents.
| Year | Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Watts Tots | 7b | Lead | worked | Feb 1983 |
|
First ascent.
The beginning of sport climbing in Smith...and the US |
||||
| Chain Reaction | 7b+ | Lead | worked | Mar 1983 | |
|
First ascent.
A seminal first ascent in US and World Sport climbing |
||||
| 1984 | Split Image | 7c | Lead | worked | 1984 |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| Heinous Cling | 7b+ | Lead | worked | Apr 1984 | |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| 1985 | Grand Illusion | E8 | Lead | worked | 1985 |
| Revelations (Pre-1999) | 8a+ | Lead | worked | 1985 | |
| Darkness at Noon | 7c+ | Lead | worked | Mar 1985 | |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| 1986 | ||||
| 1987 | ||||
| 1988 | Scarface | 8b+ | Lead | worked | 1988 |
| 1989 | To Bolt or Not to Be | 8b+ | Lead | worked | Apr 1989 |
| Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarface | 8b+ | Lead | worked | 1988 | |
| To Bolt or Not to Be | 8b+ | Lead | worked | Apr 1989 | |
| Vicious Fish | 8b | Lead | worked | ||
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| Revelations (Pre-1999) | 8a+ | Lead | worked | 1985 | |
| Darkness at Noon | 7c+ | Lead | worked | Mar 1985 | |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| Split Image | 7c | Lead | worked | 1984 | |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| Chain Reaction | 7b+ | Lead | worked | Mar 1983 | |
|
First ascent.
A seminal first ascent in US and World Sport climbing |
||||
| Heinous Cling | 7b+ | Lead | worked | Apr 1984 | |
|
First ascent.
|
||||
| Watts Tots | 7b | Lead | worked | Feb 1983 | |
|
First ascent.
The beginning of sport climbing in Smith...and the US |
||||
| Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
|---|
| Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Illusion | E8 | Lead | worked | 1985 | |
| Climb | Grade | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
|---|