Lists

Hard Boulder Problem Ascents

A list of ascents of boulder problems at 8C+ and above. The aim is for the list to be definitive but currently there are likely to be missing ascents.

Strongest Male Boulderers

The best male boulderers.

This list aims to list any male boulderer who has climbed 8C+ or harder. It only lists ascents at the climbers hardest grade, so each climbers has a single entry on the list.

Strongest Female Boulderers

The best female boulderers.

This list aims to list any female boulderer who has climbed 8B+ or harder. It only lists ascents at the climbers hardest grade, so each climbers has a single entry on the list.

Hard Boulder Problem Flashes

All flashes of boulder problems 8B or above.

The Hardest Boulder Problems in the World

A list of all the boulder problems 8C+ or harder that have currently been climbed, including details of the first ascent.

Hardest Boulder Problem Flashers

Which climbers are the best at flashing hard problems? This list aims to list anyone who has flashed 8B or harder.

Hard Sport Climbing Ascents

A list of almost all ascents of sport climbing routes graded 9b or harder.

Thanks to Jonas Wiklund who's list on github was used as the basis for this list, and hardclimbs.info which helped to fill in a few gaps.

Hard Sport Climbing Ascents by Women

Ascents by women of routes graded 9a+ or harder.

Strongest Male Sport Climbers

The best male sport climbers.

This list aims to list any male sport climber who has climbed 9b or harder. It only lists ascents at the climbers hardest grade, so each climbers has a single entry on the list.

Strongest Female Sport Climbers

The best female sport climbers.

This list aims to list any female sport climber who has climbed 9a or harder. It only lists ascents at the climbers hardest grade, so each climbers has a single entry on the list.

Many thanks to http://escalade9.wifeo.com/du-cote-des-filles.php for providing an excellent reference.

The Hardest Sport Routes in the World

A list of all the sport routes 9b+ or harder that have currently been climbed, including details of the first ascent.

Hard Sport Climbing Onsights

A fairly definitive list of onsight ascents of sport routes graded 8c+ or harder.

Hard Sport Climbing Onsights by Women

Onsight ascents by women of sport routes graded 8b+ or harder.

The Hardest Trad Routes in the World

A list of all the trad routes E10 or harder that have currently been climbed, including details of the first ascent.

Hard Trad Onsights and Flashes

A non-definitive list of some hard trad onsights and flashes.

Strongest Trad Climbers

This list aims to list any trad climber who has climbed E10 or harder. It only lists ascents at the climbers hardest grade, so each climber has a single entry on the list.

Strong British Male Sport Climbers

The best British male sport climbers.

This list aims to list any male British sport climber who has climbed 8c or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Strong British Female Sport Climbers

The best British female sport climbers.

This list aims to list any female British sport climber who has climbed 8a or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Strong British Male Boulderers

The best British male boulderers.

This list aims to list any male British boulderer who has climbed 8B or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Strong British Female Boulderers

The best British female boulderers.

This list aims to list any female British boulderer who has climbed 7C or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Strong British Male Trad Climbers

Men in the UK who have trad climbed E9 or harder.

This list aims to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Strong British Female Trad Climbers

Women in the UK who have trad climbed E7 or harder.

This list aims to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Hard Flash or Onsight Ascents by British Climbers

A list of hard flash or onsight ascents by British men and women. Focus is on ascents in the UK, but not exclusively so.

Timeline of Hard Trad Ascents by British People

A list of first ascents of trad routes that are E9 or harder by Brits, sorted by date.

Strong North American Boulderers

The best North American boulderers.

This list aims to list any North American boulderer who has climbed 8B+ or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Big thanks to eric.jerome for compiling and maintaining this list.

The Alpine Trilogy

Three exceptionally hard alpine rock climbs, each established by legends of their time.

Examples of Chipped Climbs

In rock climbing chipping is the practice of artificially modifying a climb. In practice this can mean a lot of things, from a wobbly, existing hold being removed and then re-attached with glue to preserve the character of a climb to full-scale manufacture of routes by drilling holds in blank rock for large sections of the climb.

This is a list of some routes that have been chipped. These routes have been chipped in the sense they have had holds created.

The Stonemasters

The stonemasters were an informal group who climbed extensively together in southern California from 1970 until 1980 or so. They frequented crags such as Tahquitz Rock, Suicide Rock, Joshua Tree and Yosemite.

Together the group defined an era of climbing in the USA with many notable achievements between them, such as:

• The first free ascent of Astroman (Ron Kauk, John Long, John Bachar)
• Climbing The Nose in a day (Jim Bridwell, John Long, Billy Westbay)
• The first first ascent of Midnight Lightning (Ron Kauk)

Towards the end of the 1980s the group became known for their strict ethical stance, particularly with regards to rap bolting and top rope practice.

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stonemasters

Great North Faces of the Alps

The 6 great north faces are a series of faces in the Swiss, French and Italian Alps which were a major preoccupation for alpinists in the 1930s, with many parties vying to be the first to climb each face.

The Yorkshire Triple Crown

The Yorkshire Triple Crown is three classic 8a+ routes in Yorkshire on the three big limestone sport crags: Malham Cove, Kilnsey and Gordale Scar.

Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau is a bouldering area in France consisting of many crags spread over the Foret de Fontainebleau, west of the town of Fontainebleau.

The area is renowned as one of the premier bouldering destinations in the world and has a long history. Many people will have inevitably scrambled over the sandstone boulders through the ages, but more organised climbing started in the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s when climbers from Paris, often training for larger objectives in the Alps, would get the train to fontainebleau to test themselves on the boulders.

References

[1] https://bleau.info/

Long Projects

Some examples of ascents that have taken (or are taking) many sessions.

Hard Rock

Hard Rock is a coffee table book compiled by Ken Wilson with individual articles from many notable climbers discussing high quality trad routes across Great Britain.

First published in 1974, it has since had several reprints.

References

[1] https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/h6rxAAAACAAJ

The Big Five

The Big Five are five problems in the Cuvier Rempart area of Fontainebleau. While the problems were not the hardest around when they were established, they represented a high level and together presented a stern challenge in a modern, powerful style.