Climbers

Climber Name # Ascents Recorded Notes
John Arran 25

John Arran is a very accomplished trad climber with adventurous first ascents across the UK, North and South America and beyond, often climbed onsight. Spending 3 years in the US in the 80s, John onsight soloed multipitch routes up to 5.12, a level that has not been surpassed today. In the late 90s he dabbled in gritstone headpointing, climbing The Zone and the unrepeated Doctor Dolittle E10.

On 20th June 2003 John and his partner for the day Shane Ohly soloed or descended 536 routes in a mammoth single day. [1] Following in the footsteps of Ron Fawcett's Arran climbed 100 extremes in a day in 2001, all at Stanage with 55 of them onsight. [2,3]

John helped pioneer big wall free climbing in Venezuela, culminating in Rainbow Jambaia (E7) on Angel Falls, one the most spectacular hard big walls in the world.

References

[1] On The Edge Issue 130, page 11

[2] On The Edge Issue 113, page 32

[3] http://www.thefreeclimber.com/johnHistory.htm

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgHRLSBiGvo
Mick Fowler 25

Mick Fowler is a British mountaineer and climber. He is known for his adventurous, lightweight and ambitious ascents in the Himalaya as well as a range of very adventurous new routes in the UK.
Nathan Lee 25
Tom Bolger 25

Tom is a British expat living in Spain, where he has done most of his harder climbing.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/people/tom-bolger-interview-pro-climber/
Wolfgang Güllich 25

A man doesn't go to drink coffee after climbing, coffee is integral part of the climbing.

A sport climbing pioneer. Wolfgang established the first 8b with Kanal im Rücken, 8b+ with Punks in the Gym and 8c with Wallstreet as well as one of the first 8c+/9as with Action Directe.

References

[1] At Raven Tor in the 80s

[2] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/2698243753575116

[3] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/1465090346890469

[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/remembering-wolfgang-gullich-one-of-greatest-climbers-of-all-times.html

[5] A collection of articles from http://www.wolfgangguellich.com/

[6] Hepp, T., Güllich, W. (1994). Wolfgang Güllich: Life in the Vertical : a Biography. Germany: Boulder Edition.
Anna Wild 24
James Noble 24
Jonny Woodward 24

References

[1] On The Edge Issue 71, page 50
Luke Dawson 24
Paul Pritchard 24

Paul Pritchard is a British rock climber and mountaineer. He was a prominent figure in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in and around North Wales.

On the 13th February 1998 he suffered a traumatic brain injury while climbing on The Totem Pole in Tasmania which left him with hemiplegia.

Bibliography

(2012). Deep play: Climbing the world’s most dangerous routes (2nd ed.). Vertebrate Publishing.

(2000). The totem pole: Surviving the ultimate adventure. Robinson Publishing.

(2005). The longest climb: Back from the abyss. Constable and Robinson.

(2021). The Mountain Path: A climber’s journey through life and death. Vertebrate Publishing.

References

[1] Features in 80's Birth of Extreme

[2] A Kind of Homecoming by Martin Crook, On The Edge Issue 87, page 18
Taylor McNeill 24
Tristan Chen 24
Camille Coudert 23

Camille is a French boulderer whom resides in the infamous Fontainebleau. He is well known for his 70+ session siege on Soudain Seul 9A/V17 in which he repeated The Big Island 8C/V15, 43 times.

More recently Camille has picked up a number of 8C/V15 ascents and has had over 100 session s on Imothep Assis which is believed to be around 9A/V17.

References

[1] https://bleau.info/profiles/camille.coudert
Clément Lechaptois 23

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTVFRm5kMeE
Don Whillans 23

Paul Nunn:

With Joe Brown he was the dominant influence upon British rock climbing and mountaineering for over two decades, setting new standards between 1951 and the early 1970s. [7]

Pat Ament:

I loved Don. I never saw him be mean-spirited, though I did know he drank and had his frustrations. He was especially intolerant of people who overrated themselves or simply did not know what they were talking about. I respected that quality in him, although he could have tempered his opinions, certainly, at times. I don't think I ever saw him get wrankled with someone who didn't deserve it.

He was incredibly funny, incredibly brilliant, not - in my opinion - a tragic figure. I saw greatness. I mean, think of all he achieved, the successes run through memory, glimpses of deep winter with Haston on the Eiger Direct, or on various mountains of the Himalaya, such as Annapurna.

He was like Joe [Brown] in that, coming from a rock climbing background, it was astonishing he could switch to mountaineering as though it were nothing. In younger years, he and Joe were in their element and climbed so beautifully, so boldly, with such limited gear they mostly invented as they went along. Sure, like all of us, he had his challenges and his imperfections, had some personal trials. He wasn't about to be pushed around.

Not so many will deserve a wonderful biography by a wonderful author. I climbed with Don in Eldorado in 1966, when Royal brought him to America. He ran out one difficult pitch on sight, nothing to it.... We hit it off. After his visit to Yosemite, where he walked up the Crack of Doom with Pratt, followed the difficult off-width on Crack of Despair, and showed that, even out of shape, he could climb with the best of them, Don returned to see me in Colorado. He gave me the small gift of some British coins that were of no use in America. I still have those, still cherish them and his memory. Some 18 years later, when I was guest speaker at the Buxton conference, I was sitting at a mirror backstage, and he suddenly was standing behind me. He took me for a shandy, and we talked and laughed. He was, by the way, one of the stars of that conference, dressing up like a woman.

He could have fun. Life is short. Few, at least in the climbing world (but perhaps in any world) will - at the end - be able to say they did as much with their time and accomplished as much as Don Whillans. [2]

Bernard Tamworth:

I went to the Dolomites with Don in July 1985. We climbed a pinnacle near Lecco called 'Il sigaro' which was a grade 5.8 on UIAA scale - about HVS. This was a 4 pitch climb with an abseil off the top. The crux was 10 feet from the summit - a sloping ledge with a bulge pushing you onto your left foot. Don lead this part and overcame the obstacle with a bit of puffing and panting. It was a honour to be the last person to climb with Don. We spent over 2 weeks together in the Dolomites, travelling down on motor bikes. unlike some of the stories, I found Don easy to get on with as long as you were upfront with him and gave him no bulls**t!!! I think I was the only person to ever owe money to Don. He lent me 100 french francs for petrol on the way back, but unfortunately he died before I could pay him back!! [1]

References

[1] Bernard Tamworth, comment on Don Whillains' Last Climb

[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4384744478304277&set=a.230171883761578

[3] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/948094701923372

[4] With Chris Bonnington on the Central Pillar of Freney https://www.instagram.com/p/CO5502uDiQU/

[5] With Joe Brown https://www.instagram.com/p/B_a_U0Rjqgs/

[6] Interview with Ken Wilson 1972, Mountain Issue 20, page 24 https://climbing-history.org/file/eaff6c84-b054-0d0c-220a-a00119bdff3a/whillans%20wilson%20interview.html

[7] Obituary by Paul Nunn in Mountain Issue 105, page 16 /library/11126/mountain-105
Erik Grandelius 23
Ethan Salvo 23

References

[1] One new problem from V0 to V14 in a day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vD8fymekC8
Michael Piccolruaz 23
Yannick Flohé 23
Jernej Kruder 22

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