UKC

INTERVIEW: Dan Varian - First Ascensionist Extraordinaire

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 UKC Articles 26 Sep 2016
Dan on The Rail 8B+, 5 kbDan Varian has more bouldering first ascents of 8A and above than anyone else in Britain. With 123 first ascents of problems from 8A-8B+ in the UK, there are few pioneers who could match this number worldwide on their home turf. The Rail 8B+, Bewilderness 8B+ and Hobbie Noble 8B - is to name but a few of Dan's cutting-edge first ascents in the UK. Born and brought up in Cumbria, Dan first explored his local areas, giving him a valuable new-routing apprenticeship.

We caught up with Dan to find out what it takes to make over 120 top-end boulder first ascents...



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 Tyler 26 Sep 2016
In reply to UKC Articles:

> To put Dan's tally of first ascents into perspective, his curve from 8A-8B+ is not far below the total number of existing problems of 8A and above in the latest edition of the Fontainebleau 7+8 guide

That's astonishing!
 Lankyman 26 Sep 2016
In reply to UKC Articles:

'Hobbie Noble 8B ...... close to home that I could potter on after work' That made me smile - anyone who's walked up to Christianbury Crags will know the enthusiasm required to head there after work.
In reply to UKC Articles:

Line graph for discrete categories...tut tut!

Pedantry aside, quite an astonishing haul and by the sounds of things plenty of quality, not just quantity!
 CW Mickey 29 Sep 2016
In reply to Tyler:

Would be interesting to see if you include repeats if Dan's line goes above the font one!
 jsmcfarland 29 Sep 2016
In reply to UKC Articles:

Maybe I'm biased but It's great to see just how refreshingly normal top climbers are. The bit about going Blackberry picking made me smile

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