Ordered by the number of ascents recorded.
| Climber Name | # Ascents Recorded | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John Allen | 163 |
John Allen was a prolific and gifted climber who established a host of hard, classic routes on his local gritstone crags in the Peak District. Lines that had been eyed up by many fell to this prodigious young talent. He climbed Old Friends (E4) when he was just 14 and continued adding quality new first ascents from there, such as Hairless Heart, White Wand (E5), Profit of Doom (E4) and London Wall (E5) which were climbed within a 2 week period at age 16. From around 1977 to 1980, John lived in New Zealand where he established dozens of future classics [2]. He moved to Tahoe, USA, for 18 months (1981-82), climbing with John Bachar, John Long and Tony Yaniro. With Simon Horrox, he climbed The Nose in a day with no jumaring. [1] – the first time this had been achieved. Shoulder surgery in early 1982 curtailed his output, but on return to the UK in 1983 he began adding a plethora of high quality gritstone 'micro-routes' such as West Side Story at Burbage West. He was clearly going well in this period, as one onlooker recounts:
Although his enthusiasm for climbing waned in the '90s, he returned to it in the 2010s, developing mid-grade sport routes in the limestone quarries of the Peak District. John sadly died in a climbing accident at Stoney West in 2020 [4]. He remains a revered and fondly remembered figure in British climbing. References[1] Obituary on UKClimbing.com by Graham Hoey, 27th May 2020 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_day_the_music_died_-_remembering_john_allen-12803 [2] List of John Allen routes in New Zealand https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/ticklists/nz_john_allen_routes-2588?sort=g [3] Interview with Geoff Birtles for Crags magazine in December 1976, shortly before John emmigrated to New Zealand https://www.climber.co.uk/people/the-john-allen-interview-crags-8-1977/ [4] UKClimbing.com news report on the accident which killed John Allen (2020) https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2020/05/john_allen_tragically_killed_at_stoney_west-72315 |
| Will Bosi | 163 |
Will Bosi is a climber from Edinburgh in Scotland. He first came to prominence as a competition climber, but has since become one of the leading climbers across both sport climbing and bouldering. In 2020 he became only the second Brit to climb 9b with La Capella, and in 2025 he made the second ascent of Excalibur (9b+), becoming the first British climber to climb the grade. Much of Will's most notable climbing since 2022 has been in bouldering. In 2022 he made the first ascent of Honey Badger (8C+) at Badger Cove, and later that year climbed Alphane (9A). He has since added Burden of Dreams (9A), Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and Spots of Time (9A). In 2025 Will made the first ascent of Realm of Tor'ment (9A), making him the first person to climb five 9A boulders. Will continues to push himself on projects such as Silence (9c), Terranova (8C+) and the Dumby Project. References[1] My Climbing Journey April 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmmMbpCsSuA [2] Interview with Lattice Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1dJNPfAfc [3] https://www.climbing.com/people/interview-will-bosi-spots-of-time/ [4] Interview with Emil Abrahamsson Jan 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygaAqejUTg [5] https://fanatic-climbing.com/will-bosi-sur-une-ile-deserte-will-bosi-on-a-desert-island/ |
| James McHaffie | 152 |
James McHaffie is a prolific North Wales based trad climber who's also a very capable sport climber. He is one of the best trad onsight climbers in the UK (and potentially the world) with over a hundred E7 onsights to his name. He's also completed some impressive challenges, such as the 100 lakes extremes in a day. On the 26th May 2021 James climbed Revelations at Raven Tor, the last route of 180 on his way to ticking every route in the book Extreme Rock. This incredible effort demonstrates a huge breadth and depth of experience, from relatively pedestrian climbs such as The Strand at Gogarth (North Stack And Main Cliff) to bold and intimidating leads such as Johnny Dawes' Indian Face and Jerry Moffatt's Master's Wall. References[1] Interview with DMM, September 2021 https://dmmwales.com/journal/may-2021/mchaffie-completes-extreme-rock [2] Interview with RockClimbingUK, 2011 https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=23709.0 [3] Interview with Marc Langley for UKClimbing.com, September 2020 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/james_mchaffie_-_the_cumbrian-13045 [4] Adam Hocking picture of James McHaffie during his 100 lakes extremes in a day challenge https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb9sm3DI-T/ [5] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/ticklists/caffs_100_lakeland_extremes-890 |
| Aidan Roberts | 144 |
Aidan Roberts is a climber from the UK. He grew up in the Lake District and was mentored by the prolific developer Dan Varian. He started out doing competitions but has more recently moved on to establishing and repeating some of the hardest boulder problems both in the UK and overseas. His problem Superpowers in the Lake District is widely considered the UK's first 8C+. As well as being the first Brit to climb 8C+, he was also the first to climb 9A with his repeat of Shawn Raboutou's Alphane in Chironico. 2024 was a particularly good year for Aidan, with him establishing first ascents of his two hardest projects to date: Spots of Time and Arrival of the Birds, both at 9A/V17. Aidan described Arrival as extremely close to his limit while still being in his style. This has led many to speculate that it could sit at the very top end of the grade. In September 2024, Aidan made the spontaneous decision to set sail across the Atlantic Ocean. He spent multiple months travelling by sea to South America before continuing north by public transport to California. As the winter of 2024/25 arrived, Aidan made his way to Yosemite and barely left the valley for the entire winter. In Yosemite, he sent a handful of hard problems such as The Dark Side and Rhythm and Reason. However, Aidan was most motivated by some potentially next-level projects, notably the Six Degrees Project (9A+) and the Distillery Project (9A). Although he had only planned to visit the US for a year, he has since decided to settle in California and pursue his Yosemite projects. Outside of climbing, Aidan co-hosts the Careless Talk Climbing Podcast with Sam Prior. References[1] Interview with BMC, 2015 (archive) https://web.archive.org/web/20240915201832/https://services.thebmc.co.uk/aidan-roberts-interview [2] Interview with Simon Lee for UKBouldering.com, October 2016 https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,27531.msg535750.html#msg535750 [3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2025/06/aidan_roberts_on_a_winter_in_yosemite-73991 |
| Dave MacLeod | 136 |
Scottish lone wolf who has performed at a very high level across many disciplines. Dave has established or repeated almost all the hard climbing in Scotland, from 8B+ boulder problems to 9a sport routes to E11 trad routes to grade XI winter routes. |
| Dan Varian | 114 |
Dan Varian is a British boulderer and prolific developer, particularly around Northumberland and the north of England more generally. Dan is also part owner of Beastmaker. References[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/beastmaker/ [2] http://beastmakerblog.blogspot.com [3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/dan_varian_-_first_ascensionist_extraordinaire-8744 |
| Steve McClure | 111 |
Steve McClure is a British climber who was at the forefront of sport climbing from the late 1990s to until late 2010s, and in more recent years has applied his considerable talents to establishing and repeating some of the hardest trad climbs in the UK. In 1998 he established Mutation at Raven Tor, suggesting 9a – that being the top grade in the world at the time – but it proved even harder. A repeat took until 2021 to materialise, and along with it an upgrade to 9a+, making it one of the first of the grade in the world. He then went on to further cement himself as Britain's leading sport climber of the time by climbing Ben Moon's Kilnsey project to produce Northern Lights. Over the following decades Steve continued to almost single-handedly push hard sport climbing in the UK with routes like Rainshadow, Overshadow and his 127-day magnum opus Rainman (9b), as well as many other notable contributions to Malham Cove, Kilnsey and the Peak District. Steve is also a very capable trad climber and has repeated and established some of the UKs hardest trad climbs. For example his onsight of Nightmayer on Dinas Cromlech is one of the most impressive ascents in this style in the UK.
References[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/steve_mcclure_climbs_1000th_8a_-_the_magic_grade-15509 [2] Interview with Keith Sharples On The Edge Issue 103, page 42 [3] Video with Magnus Midtbø, Jan 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAmM46vFn1Y [4] Interview with Mat Wright (August 2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q776EHIhNUo |
| Jerry Moffatt | 107 |
Jerry Moffatt was at the forefront of British climbing throughout the eighties and nineties. Jerry established many hard firsts in the UK, Germany, France and USA including historic ascents such as The Face, Revelations and Liquid Ambar, all at the cutting edge of difficulty at the time they were established. In the early eighties Jerry pushed the mental side of climbing to the limit, onsight soloing mountain extremes, making a traumatising ascent of Master's Wall (E7) and soloing pretty much every hard classic on Dinas Cromlech, up to Right Wall (E5), in a single day. A trip to America in 1983 saw him onsight some of the hardest routes there, including Psycho! (Free) (E6) and Genesis (E6). Jerry was an early proponent of bouldering in its own right. From early ascents on The Bowderstone he went on to put up a host of hard classics such as The Ace at Stanage and Dominator in Yosemite. Jerry pioneered training for climbing, initially spending countless hours doing reps in scrappy limestone caves, then building one of the first cellar boards in the world. He went on to open The Foundry, one of the world’s first modern climbing walls. Jerry was one of the first professional climbers, innovating ways to make a living through sponsorship and media coverage. He starred in several much-loved climbing films, notably The Real Thing (which he co-produced) [1]. His charisma, quotability and brattish charm endeared him to a generation of acolytes who, when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge would invoke the mantra: “What would Jerry do?” References[1] The Real Thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brbxoKEgsw0 [2] Stone Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FguueX9jM78 [3] 80's Birth of Extreme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkj3Buhfi2k [4] Statement of Youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeqI9axxrco [5] Portrait by Chris Gore https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/3456311291101688 [6] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/2732067140192777 [7] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/876401569092686 [8] One Summer by Ben Pritchard, 1994 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnGf69g6Igc [9] Interview with Wedge Climbing, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBmqm3VTrn4 [10] Photoshoot for DMM 1995 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu8uyrStQ6I/ [11] https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ixcvxW0xNrX07Hxwxw8fE [12] https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ITuiLGEgJB8kpavKkNOIK |
| Ben Bransby | 96 |
Ben Bransby is a prolific all rounder with everything from hard boulders to outrageously bold alpine-style ascents in Patagonia to his name. At one point he was attempting to climb every route on Stanage, though as of 2024 he has hit a roadblock with the final two routes Marbellous and Mother of Pearl. References[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/showlog.php?id=16901 [2] https://open.spotify.com/episode/1o7RLJApyhQ2CEBAwVKzvz? |
| Ron Fawcett | 93 |
Ron Fawcett was at the top of the UK climbing scene in the mid 70s and early 80s and one of the first professional climbers in the UK. He took up the mantle from climbers such as Pete Livesey and helped cement the E5 and E6 grade in the UK. He also put up some of the early hard sport routes in the UK with lines such as Sardine, Body Machine and The Prow at Raven Tor. Ron famously climbed 100 extremes (i.e. routes graded E1 or harder on the British Trad grading scale) in a day in 1986 starting at Froggatt then going on to Stanage, Burbage and finishing at Curbar. This feat is even more impressive when you consider that Ron was not just picking the easiest routes available: Downhill Racer (E4), Heartless Hare (E5) and Ulysses or Bust (E5) feature among the hard routes that he climbed. See [3] for a full list. References[1] Rock Athlete, by Sid Perou https://youtu.be/tdRfqD125-g?t=1522 [2] Interview with Andy Pollitt https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/andy_pollitt+big_ron_fawcett-9483. [3] Ticklist of Ron's 100 extremes in a day https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=548 [4] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/282305001835682 [5] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/revisited_ron_fawcett_talks_about_soloing-16330 |
| James Pearson | 92 |
Few climbers have experienced both the highs and lows of elite climbing as publicly as James Pearson. As a teenager growing up in the Peak District, UK, Pearson established his reputation as a 'keen youth' with fast – and often sketchy – repeats of the boldest grit routes of the day, such as Equilibrium (E10) and a terrifying skyhook-only ascent of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He went on to establish hard grit routes of his own, most notably The Groove (E9) at Cratcliffe Tor, a longstanding 'last great problem' with desperate climbing which has seen very few repeats. In 2008 James famously courted controversy when he established The Walk of Life at Dyers Lookout and gave it the unprecedented grade of E12, suggesting it was far harder than any other trad route in the world at the time. However, the 50m slab pitch was in a style he was unfamiliar with; the route was swiftly down graded to E9 and James became the subject of online vitriol. As a consequence, he left the UK and moved to Innsbruck, where he began to work on widening his abilities. Around the same time he met his now-wife, competition star Caroline Ciavaldini, who mentored him in sport climbing and training. Moving to France and putting his newfound fitness to good use, Pearson repeated and established a slew of hard sport and trad routes. In 2012 he climbed his first 9a, Esclatamàsters. On a quick trip home in September 2014 he flashed Something's Burning (E9) in Pembroke, a high water mark for trad style at the time. Later that month he repeated Rhapsody (E11) – a route that 6 years earlier he had publicly dismissed as easy and eliminate, but had been unable to climb. He made the second ascent of trad super-route Tribe (E11) in 2020, repeated Lexicon (E11) with frighteningly little preparation 2022, and made the long-awaited second ascent of the near-mythical Echo Wall (E11) in 2024. Undoubtedly Pearson's swansong is his trad route Bon Voyage, climbed in 2023: a fortuitous line of micro-pockets breaking out left from his earlier route Le Voyage (E10). With 9a climbing in a spicy position, Pearson once again suggested E12 – and this time the grade stuck, heralding a new level in trad climbing. As well as climbing hard trad, Pearson is a devoted boulderer. In 2007 he flashed three problems in the 8A+/B range Ganymede Takeover, The Great Shark Hunt and Schule des Lebens. At the time, each of these was considered 8B which would make these ascents some of the hardest flashes in the world, though the problems have subsequently been downgraded. In more recent years he has consolidated the 8C grade, with repeats of the world class Mystic River (8C) and The Finnish Line (8C). References[1] Interview with Tom Randall [2] Interview with PlanetMountain, 2008 https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/james-pearson-climbing-interview.html |
| Ben Moon | 90 |
Ben Moon is a British sport climber and boulderer. Throughout the 80s and 90s he was at the cutting edge, establishing and repeating many of the hardest routes and problems in the UK and Europe. Ben was an early proponent of sport climbing in the UK at a time when trad climbing dominated and the use of bolts was very controversial. Statement of Youth (8a) which he established in 1984 was one of the first 8as in the UK. While many routes relied to varying degrees on bolts and pegs from aid ascents, Statement is an early example of a route that was bolted specifically so it could be free climbed. Alongside Jerry Moffatt, Marc Le Menestrel, Antoine Le Menestrel and others Ben was at the forefront of the 80s sport climbing revolution which saw difficulty increase massively over the course of the decade: having climbed Statement of Youth in 1984 with some difficulty, by 1989 Ben had established Agincourt (8c) and Maginot Line (8c), two of the hardest sport climbs in the world at the time. In 1990 he made the first ascent of Hubble (9a), originally suggested at 8c+ it is now a contender for one of the first 9as in the world alongside Action Directe (9a). In the early 90s he invested significant time into what would become Northern Lights (9a) at Kilnsey. Despite a protracted siege over several years Ben was unable to make the first ascent, being beset with injuries and poor conditions on the route. It seems likely that frustration with this process partly led to him spending an increasingly large amount of time bouldering. As with sport climbing he was a very capable boulderer and established or repeated many of the hardest problems in the UK at the time. Problems such as 8 Ball (8A+), Cypher (8B) and Voyager SDS (8B+) are enduring hard classics. 2013 saw a resurgence after a period away from serious climbing, firstly climbing Mecca Extension (8c) at Raven Tor, then in 2015 climbing Rainshadow (9a) at Malham Cove just shy of his 49th birthday. Moon ClimbingBen is the founder and sole owner of Moon Climbing. Born out a previous business called S7, the brand initially focused on clothing and bouldering accessories. They are now best known for the Moonboard which spawned an entire category of climbing wall products, where users can climb on a standardised board and share problems via an app. References[1] Interview with Simon Lee, September 2013 https://vimeo.com/75374593 [2] Training in the cellar with Jerry Moffatt, 1989 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LceV005nte0 [3] The Real Thing [4] Stone Love, 2001 film by Ben Pritchard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FguueX9jM78 [5] 80's Birth of Extreme by Al Hughes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkj3Buhfi2k [6] Statement of Youth, 2019 Film by UKClimbing and Nick Brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeqI9axxrco. [7] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/942618999137609 [8] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/876401569092686 [9] One Summer by Ben Pritchard, 1994 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnGf69g6Igc [10] A Sport Climbing Pioneer: The Story Of Ben Moon, Interview with Matt Groom, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfyU4KHvioM [11] Interview with Adrian Berry March 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20061022044659/http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=460 [12] https://open.spotify.com/episode/7b64enKBPgbOPR9gK7T4nZ? [15] On The Edge Issue 84, page 40 [16] https://moonclimbing.com/News/post/trad-ethics-ben-moon |
| Johnny Dawes | 87 |
Johnny Dawes made an indelible contribution to British climbing in the 1980s and ‘90s. Whilst contemporaries such as Ben Moon and Jerry Moffatt pushed physical standards forwards, Johnny took a swerve sideways (probably getting the vehicle on two wheels in the process), bringing his restless innovation in movement to bear on some of the country’s most spectacular lines. Dawes’s teenage years were spent honing his skills on the buildings around his school, but it wasn’t long before he made his presence known on the grit: the bold friction slab Jugged Hare (E6), climbed in EBs in 1983 was an aperitif for what was to come. Jerry Moffatt had climbed Ulysses' Bow (E6) in 1983 after extensive top rope practice. Just one year later Dawes soloed it onsight. He made the route look easy, but as those who tried to follow him found out the hard way, it was anything but. A host of hard gritstone classics followed: Braille Trail (E7), Benign Lives (E7), The Salmon (E7); Sad Amongst Friends (E7) and Silk (E5) were climbed ground up. In 1985, the North Wales slate beckoned, where Dawes found an affinity with its slabby style, slightly unhinged sparse bolting ethic, and social scene of misfits and miscreants. Dawes of Perception (E7) set a benchmark for difficulty and boldness that came to define the medium, whilst his best link on The Meltdown project was worth at least 8c. But the best was yet to come. 1986 was Dawes’ annus mirabilis. The highlights included: Gaia (E8), End of the Affair (E8), and Slab and Crack (E8) on the grit; Conan the Librarian (E7) and Come to Mother (E7) on Gogarth; Coeur de Lion (E8) and the majestic The Quarryman (E8) on the slate. But it was Indian Face (E9) that topped them all, a harrowing quest up the Great Wall of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu and the country’s first E9. The route established a level of boldness that still may not have been surpassed, and it has become a near-mythical part of British climbing lore. The eighties was a time of conflicting styles as climbing evolved. The Indian Face was pre-inspected, but to a level that would be considered minimal by today’s standards. Although the more accessible classics such as End of the Affair (E8) and Gaia (E8) are now regularly headpointed, few have matched the spirit and style of Dawes’s first ascents: End of the Affair was attempted ground-up with a terrifying fall, whilst the bold final moves on Gaia were climbed onsight. The ground-up approach reached a new high watermark in 1988 when Dawes succeeded on the first ascent of Hardback Thesaurus (E8) on Gogarth, but not before taking gear-ripping falls that were enough to make you feel sea sick. It remains one of the hardest ground-up first ascents. The eighties also saw trips to Sròn Uladail to free climb The Scoop (E7) and Moskill Grooves (E6), multipitch monsters winding their way through the crag’s 50m-overhanging girth. The 1990s saw the bar for slab climbing raised further with The Very Big and the Very Small (8b+) on the slate and Smoked Salmon (E8) and The Angel's Share (7C) on the grit, the latter taking a harder line, above a harder landing, than is usually climbed today. A one-handed solo of Downhill Racer was a typically Dawesian antic – he rated his effort E8. In 1993, an attempt on Himalayan big wall Meru Shark’s Fin was abandoned when Dawes dropped a boot at 6000m. In 1995 he repeated his friend Nick Dixon’s masterpiece Face Mecca (E9), taking a parallel line to Indian Face. This marked the end of the superbold era. The following years were spent conjuring up futuristic projects such as Wizard Ridge and Promontory Scoop, whilst exploring ever-more inventive approaches to movement. In 2018 he pulled a second-go ascent of an 8b+ slab in La Pedriza out the bag and teamed up with Nick Dixon to add a bold new E7, Island, to Clogwyn Du'r Arddu. Dawes was captured climbing at his best in the 1986 film Stone Monkey by Alun Hughes, a cult classic that was shown on terrestrial television several times. In 1996 Dawes made Best Forgotten Art, a film about gritstone crack climbing that was the easy listening antidote to Ben And Jerry’s techno-energised The Real Thing, released around the same time. Like a tweed jacket in a Sheffield nightclub, the contrast between the two films perhaps encapsulates Dawes’ place in his era: a climber who stood alongside the sport’s leading performers, yet always seemed to be playing a different game.
References[1] Interview with Niall Grimes and Nick Dixon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gfAxYENlmU [2] Features in 80's Birth of Extreme [3] Interview for the film Stone Monkey, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdeaV_vfp5Q [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D88mEgfHJ-I [5] Interview with Jon Barton, On The Edge 63 (1996) /library/11066/on-the-edge-63 [6] What Climbing Has Taught Me (2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L_uSJH7-30 |
| Jim Pope | 82 |
Peak district based climber's climber. References[1] Training for the Olympic Qualification Series, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX6NicPSTEE [2] New Beginnings, 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3D0FfS4v8k [3] https://alpineclub.org.nz/feature/interview-jim-pope [4] Climbing in the Hoggar Mountains (2026) https://jimpopeonarope.substack.com/p/climbing-in-the-hoggar-mountains |
| Pete Whittaker | 80 |
One half of the WideBoyz. References[1] Features in Without a Partner: Rope Solo of El Cap in Under 24rhs [2] Interview with Alex Megos (2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vBe-2guBw [3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2014/07/150_extreme_grit_solos_in_a_day_for_pete_whittaker-69074 |
| Jack Palmieri | 77 |
Jack Palmieri is a British boulderer. He started climbing relatively late in life but has rapidly established himself by repeating a huge number of hard problems in the UK and abroad. Around 2017 Jack spent a lot of time in Parisellas Cave, repeating nearly all the hard problems (including Silk Cut and Pilgrimage) in the cave as well as adding some new link ups of his own. Using this as a base, he has then branched out in an attempt to seemingly climb every hard boulder in the UK. In 2022 alone he climbed over 100 8th grade boulder problems in the UK [1], a very impressive feat given the weather! In March 2026 Jack ticked the last recorded boulder problem at Parisella's Cave, an incredible effort over the course of many years. While there are many links included, there are over 50 problems 8B or harder. References[1] Interview with UKClimbing.com, December 2022 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/jack_palmieri_on_climbing_100_8s_in_a_year-14907 [2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/jack_palmieri_on_climbing_200_8s_in_a_year-15678 |
| Alex Barrows | 76 |
Alex Barrows is a British sport climber and boulderer. He specialises in onsighting and longer, endurance style routes. References |
| Ned Feehally | 67 |
Prolific explorer and first ascenionist in the peak district. Has also repeated many hard problems at home and abroad. Part owner of Beastmaker. References |
| Nick Dixon | 65 |
Bold English trad. climber. Coined the term "Headpoint" for his ascent of Face Mecca to describe climbing trad routes after top-rope practice. Has headpointed at least one E8 or harder every year from 1986-2025. References[1] Interview with Niall Grimes. [2] https://ukbouldering.com/threads/re-benchmarks-for-the-elderly.32130/page-10 |
| Solly Kemball-Dorey | 65 |
A newer name in the British climbing landscape, however his reputation speaks for itself with the third ascent of Isles of Wonder SDS (8C+) and the first ascent of The Trident (8C+). Solly’s YouTube channel also boasts a wealth of esoteric climbing content. Although he has moved from the South West of England he remains one of the most prolific developers of that area. |