Climbers from Canada

References

[1] One new problem from V0 to V14 in a day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vD8fymekC8

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/people/allison-vest-poem-female-climbers/

References

[1] https://gripped.com/profiles/interview-with-sonnie-trotter-about-his-new-book-uplifted/

Cameron Burns: Why do you go climbing? What's your motivation?

I don't think there really a concrete definition of motivation. It’s just fun. Sometimes I've woken up hours before dawn and Just have to go climbing - and I'll go out and climb all day long. What's most important to me is tne really big day when I can't help but go out climbing. On a big soloing day, I often find myself trying not to run up to the base of the cliff, but then I’ll just take off running up to the base of the cliff. I remember reading in Herman Buhl's book, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage about how he was driven to do stuff and he didn’t really know why. I don’t have concrete goals in that if I do such and such then I'll be able to climb Everest or if I do this and this and this, then I'll be able to climb 5.14. The things I’m most pleased with are days when I've really pushed hard and seen how far I can go. [1]

References

[1] Mountain 143 (1992), page 19 /library/11327/mountain-143

References

[1] AMA on reddit.com/r/climbing, December 2016 https://www.reddit.com/r/climbing/comments/5ijn1s/hi_rclimbing_im_sean_mccoll_current_overall_world/

Will Stanhope was a Canadian guide, trad climber, soloist and big wall climber.

He made early repeats of hard testpieces such as Cobra Crack (E9) in 2009. In 2011 Will had a nasty fall on Parthian Shot (Pre-2011 Break) (E9) where the famous flake finally detached and he decked out from 40ft, picking up some serious injuries. After recovering from his injuries he put a couple of seasons in to The Prophet (E9), Leo Houlding's hard, bold testpiece on El Capitan and eventually climbed the full line in 2012. In 2015, after 4 years of work, he established Tom Egan Memorial Route (8c) in the Bugaboos with Matt Segal.

Will was a popular member of climbing community; however towards the end of his life he struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues. He was due to face trial on charges of assault, harassment and sexual assault amongst other offences. [6]

Will died in April 2026. While climbing Rutabaga in Squamish he took a bad fall and suffered a serious head injury which lead to his death 10 days later. [2,5]

References

[1] Soloing in Joshua Tree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsU5PjguPgw

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DXha2R7lKqo/

[3] Obituary by Brandon Pullan (April 2026) https://gripped.com/news/will-stanhope-dies-after-a-climbing-accident-in-squamish/

[4] Memorial post by Colin Haley (2026) https://www.instagram.com/p/DXr-NjiDNhz/?img_index=1

[5] https://www.climbing.com/news/will-stanhope-dies-in-accident-squamish/

[6] https://justice.gov.bc.ca/cso/esearch/criminal/partySearch.do Search for WILLIAM STANHOPE

[7] https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/obituary-rock-climber-free-soloist-will-stanhope/

References

[1] https://gripped.com/profiles/mike-doyle-one-of-canadas-first-to-climb-5-14-is-still-pushing-it/

References

[1] https://gripped.com/articles/sh-and-motherhood/

References

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

References

[1] https://gripped.com/profiles/jean-pierre-ouellet-addicted-to-cracks/

Josh Muller is a Canadian climber and owner of Bolder Climbing in Calgary, Alberta.

References

[1] Interview with Sonnie Trotter, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfUmNZHEpSg

[2] https://bolderclimbing.com/profile/josh-muller/

[3] https://shop.frictionlabs.com/blogs/climb-your-impossible/climbings-power-couple-regan-kennedy-josh-muller