All climbers

Wallasey-born rock climber, alpinist, and bonne viveur. Rouse cut his teeth on Cheshire sandstone and in North Wales with cutting-edge ascents on rock in the late-1960s and early 1970s. Soloing close to the highest standards on rock was a prevailing ethos of the time and Rouse was part of a group that pursued this including Alan Richard McHardy and Eric Jones. Whilst studying for a BSc in Mathematics at Cambridge University he developed an interest in winter climbing and Alpinism. Later in life he focused on expeditions and was an inspiration to and unofficial ringleader of the post-Bonington generation of UK alpinists before his death on K2 in 1986.

The first olympic gold medalist in climbing (Tokyo 2020).

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbo2sSjp0mN/

Prolific North Wales developer and Ormes-man. Chris' youtube channel offers a wealth of esoteric material.

Dartmoor and south devon protagonist.

References

[1] Dartmoor Bouldering History November 2024 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/destinations/dartmoor_bouldering_history-16037

Hugo Parmentier is a French competition climber, sport climber and boulderer. After a string of good results in youth competitions he struggled to achieve similar results on the adult circuit and started to climb outdoors more frequently, including making the second ascent of Eagle-4 in 2020 and climbing his first 8C with Le Pied à Coulisse in 2023.

In 2023 he climbed 100 7As in fontainebleau with his housemate Sébastien Berthe, travelling only on foot and by bike. [2]

References

[1] Interview with fanatic-climbing.com, March 2024 https://fanatic-climbing.com/interview-hugo-parmentier-performance-enthousiasme-et-ecologie-interview-hugo-parmentier-green-enthusiast/

[2] https://fanatic-climbing.com/100-blocs-de-bleau-en-7a-en-une-journee-et-en-velo-100-7a-boulders-in-font-by-bike-in-a-day/

[3] Interview with Lucien Martinez on the 100 7A challenge in Fontainebleau, 2024 https://www.grimper.com/news-les-100-7a-aventure-xxl-facon-bleausarde

[4] https://fanatic-climbing.com/hugo-parmentier-sur-une-ile-deserte-hugo-parmentier-on-a-desert-island/

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2020/01/obituary_of_ian_cummins-72177

John Long:

Unlike many pontifical climbers who, having made their mark, silently slip into history, Bridwell’s initiative has redoubled with each new route. Indeed he has maintained a level of motivation rarely matched by any climber anywhere. Yet this same motivation has occasioned controversy, fisticuffs and vindictive slandenngs from fellow cragsmen. [4]

Bridwell's sage advice to Leo Houlding and Jason Pickles, prior to their attempt on The Prophet (E9):

Just remember boys, it’s fine line between badass and dumbass [5]

References

[1] Portrait by Dean Fidelman

[2] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201214821/Jim-Bridwell-1944-2018

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysF9wx4X08A

[4] Interview with John Long in Mountain 79 (1981), page 22 /library/11090/mountain-79

[5] https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/jam-crack-the-niall-grimes-climbing-podcast/id1065991509?i=1000774041461