Climbers

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

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

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

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/

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

References

[1] https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/interview-japanese-crusher-shinichiro-nomura/

Barbara Zangerl is an Austrian climber best known for her trad. and multi-pitch climbing. Together with her partner Jacopo Larcher she has climbed many of the hardest big wall and multi-pitch routes in the world: Magic Mushroom (E10), The Nose (E9), Bellavista (E9), Silbergeier (8b+), Des Kaisers neue Kleider (8b+) and End of Silence (8b+) to name a few.

Babsi started off as a boulderer, notably climbing Pura Vida (8A+) in Magic Wood in 2008. This was one of the hardest problems ever climbed by a woman at the time.

While she has largely stopped bouldering at the highest level she is a very capable sport and trad climber, operating at or near the cutting edge in both disciplines. In 2014 she made the first female ascent of Prinzip Hoffnung (E9), then in 2016 she made the second ascent of Achemine (E9) at Dumbarton Rock. In 2017 she made the second ascent of Gondo Crack (E9) and the first female ascent of Muy Caliente! (E9) in Pembroke. In 2023 she repeated Meltdown (E11) in Yosemite, one of the hardest traditional pitches in the world at the time and only the fourth ascent since Beth Rodden made the first ascent in 2008.

In 2024 Babsi cemeted her place in history by becoming the first person to climb a free route on El Capitan first go by flashing Freerider (E7).

Alongside being a professional climber she also works part time as a radiographer in Austria.

References

[1] https://fanatic-climbing.com/babsi-zangerl-nous-parle-trad-et-grimpe-en-general-babsi-zangerl-on-trad-and-climbing-in-general/

[2] Interview with Sonnie Trotter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_KQe7o3zoc

[3] https://www.onsight.com.au/2014/04/barbara-zangerl/

References

[1] A previous 8a.nu account https://www.8a.nu/user/buster-martin/sportclimbing

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.