Climbers from United Kingdom

On 15th June 2026 Billy completed a challenge to climb 100 boulders on Gritstone 7A and above in 24 hours, eventually completing the mammoth effort in 23hrs30mins. Remarkably, the challenge involved 40km of walking and many hard boulders along the way e.g. The Terrace (7C), The Storm (7B+), West Side Story (7B+), Deliverance (7B+) etc. [1] This challenge follows in the footsteps of similar efforts:

• Ron Fawcett climbed 100 Extremes on Gritstone in a day in 1986
• James McHaffie did 100 Extremes in the Lake District in a day in 2021
• Sébastien Berthe and Hugo Parmentier attempted 100 7A or harder boulders in Fontainebleau

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/ticklists/a_grand_day_out_-_100_7th_grade_boulders_on_gritstone_in_a_day-10507

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DaAsGnrF6j9/?img_index=1

[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2026/07/a_grand_day_out_-_100_7th_grade_boulders_on_the_grit_in_a_day-74183

[4] Billy discusses the 100 7As challenge with Sam Prior and Aidan Roberts (July 2026) https://www.buzzsprout.com/1996606/episodes/19563658-e209-billy-ridal-s-grand-day-out.mp3

Legendary British trad. climber and mountaineer with a legacy of many high quality first ascents particularly in SW England and N Wales.

Adam Long:

Discussing some of the piles of choss [Pat had] climbed over the years, he explained that he has never viewed poor rock as a detrimental quality, but just simply as a fact of the route. It can add to the character, or it can detract, but in itself it just is. Whether, to a climber, it is a problem, is something foisted on it entirely by the climber's preconceived notions of quality. [3]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/in_focus/culm_dancing_-_a_second_wave_1968-73-13381

[2] https://www.alpin-ism.com/knowledge-base/news/pat-littlejohn-interview-1

[3] https://adamlong.blogspot.com/2009/07/sketches.html

Strong and bold climber of the post-Hard Grit generation. Still boulders hard.

Hazel Findlay is one of the UK's most accomplished female climbers with many hard sport and trad ascents to her name.

The daughter of Steve Findlay, she started climbing at an early age and was active in the south west of the UK. In 2011 she climbed Once Upon a Time in the Southwest at Dyers Lookout and became the first British woman to climb E9. In 2014 she climbed Fish Eye at Oliana to become the first British woman to climb 8c.

Hazel has continually expanded the limits of her climbing with a long string of impressive sport and trad climbs. Of particular note is her ascent of Magic Line E10/8c+ in 2019, a Ron Kauk route in Yosemite that had repelled a slew of very capable aspirants. Hazel's ascent was only the third in 25 years, and the second ascent to place the gear on lead.

In 2022 she became the second British woman (after Emma Twyford) to climb 9a with her ascent of Escalatamàsters.

Alongside her climbing she has a deep interest in the mental aspects of climbing and runs Strong Mind, a coaching company focused on mental techniques for improving your climbing.

References

[1] Interview with Soline Kentzel for grimper.com, May 2023. https://www.grimper.com/news-femmes-falaises-hazel-findlay-you-don-need-balls-to-be-bold

[2] Spotify podcast episode. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ckmpivT5UIrFCU7idZqNg?

[3] Interview with Sonnie Trotter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a07_bI4lrFI

One thing that one sees in climbing is that over the period of years influential figures come along...and because of their activities they seem to trigger other people off, and I think that Livesey is one of these. Ok he may not be the finest climber, maybe there are others that are better, but his activities were so widespread, diverse and sensational in nature that people were talking about it. He was the controversial figure of the day. [1]

Livsey was an early proponent of training for climbing, a practice that was then taken on board and used to great affect by the following generation of climbers including Ron Fawcett, Jerry Moffatt and Ben Moon.

Mick Ward:

In running, kayaking and caving, he'd been prevented from being the absolute best by lack of natural talent. Pete looked at climbing more carefully, saw an athletic curve just beginning to take off, knew the time was ripe for him to make his move. [2]

References

[1] Ken Wilson in Rock Athlete

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_stone_children_-_cutting_edge_climbing_in_the_1970s-13297

Sam is the co-host of the Careless Talk Climbing Podcast alongside Aidan Roberts. He also owns the Social Climbing, chain of climbing centres, in Solihull, Coventry and Leicester

References

[1] Interview with Xa White for ukclimbing.com, May 2023 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/sam_prior_on_projects_parenthood_and_new_perspectives-15173

Strong boulderer and Olympian. Hamish is most known for his quick ascents of hard boulders, including:

• Megatron (9A) - 5 Sessions
• No One Mourns the Wicked (9A) - 1 Session (2h17m)

As of 2026 Hamish has fully retired from comps [1] and moved to Squamish to focus on outdoor climbing.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/DWTrCCyCNy4/

Robbie is a Scottish all rounder. He is particularly experienced with long/big wall free routes, including the Alpine Trilogy of three iconic 8b+ multipitches: Silbergeier, Des Kaisers neue Kleider and End of Silence.

Mark Pretty on the first time he met Andy:

One grey and rather bleak day I had hitched in and met, by chance, Stevie Haston. We'd gone up to Windy Ledge [at Stoney Middleton] where a team had assembled to attempt Circe. I was well out of my depth so settled down to watch the heroics on display. A young lad with lots of hair and enthusiasm who had repeated the route the day before (as he kept reminding everyone!) volunteered to clip the bolt. At the wire before the bolt he had a bit of a wobble, grabbed the wire which promptly came out and he then hit the ledge and bounced off it! The belayer fell over and was dragged towards the 70 foot drop. The quick thinking of Stevie, who jumped on the belayer and stopped his slide, saved the day. The youth re-emerged on the ledge, brushed himself down and was keen to go again...! Needless to say he wasn't allowed that opportunity! [5]

References

[1] North Stack Wall, 1980s https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/3463204157079068

[2] Andy in Longland's Cafe, Hathersage 1987. By Bernard Newman https://www.instagram.com/p/CZYqXzmNuWS/

[3] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/goodby-to-british-rock-climbing-icon-andy-pollitt.html

[4] https://www.thebmc.co.uk/remembering-andy-pollitt

[5] Interview with Mark Pretty September 2017, https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/mark_zippy_pretty_and_andy_pollitt-9762

The epitome of the dark horse, though rarely appearing in the climbing media of the time his onsighting ability and capacity for climbing were legendary in the 1980s.

Ryan Pasquill is a British climber known for his bold, intuitive climbing style as well as his ability to crimp.

There are hard Lakes routes, and then there are Dave Birkett routes.

Birkett has been a prolific force in the Lake District in the UK, raising the game of bold UK trad climbing throughout the 1990s and 2000s. These include the extremely bold and physical If 6 was 9 (E9) – first climbed in 1992 and still given a wide berth today – and the Scafell trilogy: Talbot Horizon (E9), Welcome to the Cruel World (E9) and Return of the King (E9).

He comes from a long line of Lake District climbing pioneers:

I'm a full time stonemason born and bred and based in the Lake District, centre of the universe. I live down the road from my uncle Bill who is reasonably famous but not as famous as Grandad Jim Birkett who was really famous as the first man to climb Extreme. [1]

Ever the non-conformist, Birkett’s career has not been without controversy. He placed a retrobolt on his own trad route Dawes Rides a Shovelhead (E8); placed a peg on his route Once Upon a Time in the Southwest (E9), when James Pearson had made a point of doing the neighbouring Walk of Life (E9) peg-free; and for some commentators, his use of a high side-runner on Hold Fast (E9) invalidated his ascent.

Beyond the headlines and controversies, Birkett’s career is perhaps most remarkable for its rootedness. While many of his contemporaries pursued professional climbing careers, he remained a stonemason, fitting world-class ascents around his work, the occasional sheep rescue, and the rhythms of the Lake District.

References

[1] https://www.scarpa.co.uk/pages/team-member-dave-birkett?srsltid=AfmBOopTFaZUAqTRJxmNbGg4I7UuiglG8_fQ7v7vJ5GFkapMIf8oBmVZ

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/dave_birkett_the_weekend_warrior-8532

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

Pete Oxley was a prolific first ascentionist in the dorset area and was one of the driving forces behind the growth of sport climbing on the south coast of England before he moved away from the area in 2005. He's put up over 800 new routes in areas such as Portland, Lulworth and Swanage as well as (slightly) further afield in Avon, Cheddar and The Peak District.

References

[1] Interview with Wil Treasure on the Factor Two podcast.

Leo Houlding is a british climber, mountaineer and adventurer. Initially known for his hard trad climbing in the UK, particularly in North Wales and the Peak District, he quickly moved on to climbing big walls in Yosemite with very impressive ascents such as his near-onsight of El Niño. He then moved on to more remote big walls from Greenland to Antarctica.

References

[1] Houlding, L. (2022). Closer to the Edge: Climbing to the Ends of the Earth. United Kingdom: Headline.

[2] Top Gear segment, 2005 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKLsBk5CijQ

[3] https://www.base-mag.com/leo-houlding-soul-in-the-game/