All climbers

Stewart Watson is a British climber who now lives in Austria. He also runs a physio practice [1].

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/physiooetztal/.

The best all-round climber in the world [3]

Strong and very bold climber and alpinist. Devout Christian.

Sorensen started rock climbing in Southern California and joined the The Stonemasters. He made hard ascents of the current cutting edge rock climbs in California before taking up Alpinism. In 1977 he climbed multiple hard alpine routes in France and Switzerland and smuggled bibles into then communist Eastern Europe. His tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1979 raised local rock standards despite mainly climbing onsight. He died attempting to solo the north face of Mount Alberta in 1980.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C1sFXT7NjK0/

[2] Niall Grimes and Rick Accomazzo chat about Tobin, 2024 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SXhH433ltw5RhBrTedv2l?

[3] Accomazzo, Rick (2024). Tobin, the Stonemasters, and Me (1970 -1980); Remembering Tobin Sorenson, the Best Climber in the World. USA, Stonemaster Books.

[4] https://gripped.com/profiles/author-rick-accomazzo-tobin-the-stonemasters-and-me/

Toby won gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics to become the first Brit to medal in a climbing event at the olympics.

In 2025 Toby picked up a shoulder injury which had a significant impact on his performance throughout the season. [5]

References

[1] Interview with Steve McClure and Niall Grimes for the BMC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHiz8LbUqvU

[2] Interview with Ollie Torr for Lattice Training, December 2021 https://latticetraining.com/2021/12/02/interview-with-lattice-client-toby-roberts/

[3] How I won Climbing Gold in Paris, September 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_sB0a4U-MQ

[4] Interview with The Times Dec 2024 https://www.thetimes.com/sport/olympics/article/toby-roberts-interview-sport-climbing-paris-2024-tfsxkrs5t

[5] How I lost my ability to climb... January 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3RliN4C458

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/

Born Robert Alain Philippe. Alain is famous for his solo climbing, and since the mid 90s his solo climbs of skyscrapers.

References

[1] Alain Robert, l’homme qui joue avec la mort Grimper.com, 10th March 2023 https://www.grimper.com/news-alain-robert-homme-joue-mort

Rock climber and fell-runner from Baildon, West Yorkshire. Although from a working-class family, who included several notable Yorkshire cricketers, he studied at Leeds University and had established himself as a metallurgist before his death:

Bill Birkett:

Arthur was one of the most important and influential figures in the history of British rock climbing, spanning the social gap between the old guard and the emergence of a hungry new breed of working class climbers. [1][3]

Dolphin was perhaps best-known for his new routes on Almscliff.

Joe Brown:

When you went to try one of his climbs you knew it was going to be hard. [1][3]

He died in a fall descending the Dent du Géant aged 28.

References

[1] Yorkshire Gritstone Volume 1, Almscliff to Slipstones

[2] https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/looking-back-at-the-life-of-a-gentleman-climber-1975188

[3] Greenwood, Tom ed. (2010). Memories of Dolphin: The Life of a Climber Remembered. UK: Green Woods.