Hard to believe that the early 90's represent a high watermark for British sport climbing. Since then, ascents of 8c and harder have been the preserve of a lonely elite whilst the masses consume the convenience food of bouldering and the designer danger of Hard Grit™. Well, not anymore! This year will be remembered as the year that sport climbing...

full article or forums discussion

John Watson is the man behind Stone Country - the book publisher and website that follows bouldering in Scotland. In this article John takes an illustrated look at what went on in Scotland in 2007, including ascents from the multi-talented Dave MacLeod, Ben Litster, Richie Betts, Mike Tweedley, Dave 'Cubby" Cuthbertson, Ian Taylor, Lawrence...

full article or forums discussion

Jack Geldard takes a look at the Trad achievements of 2007. With comments from some of the UK's leading traditional climbers and a run down of some of the hardest routes - both onsight and headpoint, this is an in-depth, historical record of British climbing at it's best.

full article or forums discussion

In this new article series I Want That Job! I'll be interviewing people from various professions within the climbing world. Tom Randall left his job in Finance to become a Professional Route Setter and the British Senior Climbing Team Manager. Is it all hanging out at the wall, drinking coffee and training all day? Find out more...

full article or forums discussion

Not long after cutting edge ascents on Ben Nevis - we have this: "I'm very pleased to be able to report an outstanding and ground breaking new route on Ben McNaughty, the bastion of winter climbing in Tunbridge Wells." writes Roberta Jinglestop, from Lowland Ramblers.

full article or forums discussion

Last year I did Ordinary route with my ten-year-old son on a warm summers day in June. He scampered up happily, and I lowered him down the steep worn descent route which 35 years earlier we had reversed blissfully ignorant of the consequences of a slip. No woolly socks, no steel biners or stiff...

full article

This poem is about a Cumbrian crag, some say Falcon crag, looking down on a man passing by and seeing him as transient, but the crag will be there forever. The photo "Four Small Men" by Robert Bratton in the UKC photo gallery also shows our insignificance compared to the hills.

full article or forums discussion

Sunday evening saw us 'camped' under the most infamous North Face in the World – the Eiger. The ITN film crew had set up base camp on the terrace of the Regina Hotel and were beaming live...

full article or forums discussion

Making films isn't art, at least certainly when we make them. It's more a blundering your way through. Rather than presenting the motivations for making HardXS I thought it might be nice to pick out a few interesting moments from the various films, describing how they came into existence and left an indelible mark on us as producers. It's a kind...

full article or forums discussion

Sir Edmund Hillary passed away in New Zealand on Friday, aged 88. Sir Edmund and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb Mount Everest on 29 May 1953. They were members of the...

full article

Preview-Yorkshire Gritstone Bouldering Volume 1 and 2 (Total-climbing 2008). It has been almost eight years since Rockfax published their guide to the bouldering on Yorkshire gritstone....

full article or forums discussion

In this new article series 'I Want That Job!' I'll be interviewing people from various professions within the climbing world. First up is Tim Neill. Tim is the Head of Rock Climbing at Plas y Brenin in North Wales. I asked Tim if it really was his dream job...

full article or forums discussion

A summary of all the latest content on UKClimbing.com from the past month, including: 81 new articles, 4 product announcements and 5 independent gear reviews from the UKC testers.

full article or forums discussion

"He has the common sense of a kitchen table and the climbing skill of an elephant... BUT he is awesome!" IFMGA Guide, Piolet d'Or Nominee and all round good bloke, Kenton Cool recounts his...

full article or forums discussion

Jack Geldard takes a trip to Arco, Italy. The birth place of competition climbing and home to some fantastic long mountain routes. Complete with Photo-Topo, Map and route description,...

full article or forums discussion

I knew nothing about traditional climbing when I arrived in this country. And then one day I needed to balance the passionate focus I had for my job with something that would require as much concentration. Climbing again was the obvious choice. I liked the idea of a more purist approach; more Alpine, I thought. I had to have a go.

full article or forums discussion

She told me I was firkin crazy, that the gear was shit, the rock was shit, the climb was shit. That I would have died if I'd fallen off. All I wanted to do was have a spliff and shag her. Right there, underneath the start of New Horizons, pitch two. Getting down that slab was more scary than climbing the route. We laughed our way back to the car,...

full article

Her gear didn't rip but the rope only went tight as she hit the deck. The rope did stop her breaking her pelvis but she fell backwards and whacked her head (luckily she had a helmet on). As her eyes rolled to the back of her head I felt sick. It took five hours to get her onto a spinal board and...

full article

You don't get tides in the Lakes. And more often than not, it's pretty straightforward to get to the foot of a climb. And unless it's very windy, you can hear your partner call from a...

full article

On a cold winters day not long ago, I made my first lead at a place called Cadshaw. The climb was easy, it was but a Diff, But the thought of falling made me tense and stiff.

full article

I've had the bug as long as I can remember. One problem, parents! Non-climbers, they have no idea what it's about, but they're certain on one thing - It's far too dangerous. Unlike many other people's first leads, mine was one full of lies and deceit....

full article

My first lead at the Great Orme

full article

Once upon a time seated in front of the telly I watched with a mixture of excitement and apprehension a mountaineering documentary on the Yank public television network (PBS).

full article

There were in fact a swarm of wasps stinging me all over. My left foot was imbedded in if not a wasp's nest then at least its front door; I was now perceived in some way as a threat to the...

full article

Naturally being seventeen and feeling invincible in our new climbing lifestyle we were all well up for doing something that we never had done before without an experienced person around or any leading experience in our lives. So we went to the crag and got our boots and harness on - the rubber on my boots smelt great on that day or was it just...

full article

I found that no one really wanted to climb with me because I was not a leader, so I started to buy my kit; got a rope first, then some krabs, then some slings and soon enough I had half a...

full article

I topped out, set no anchors (nobody had said anything about having to do this), sat in a nice secure stance and brought up my second, who was my Scout leader with whom I had a wonderfully antagonistic relationship. He came up quickly, commenting upon the quality of my placements. I can quote this verbatim. "Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. [tops out] All...

full article

The heady days of Autumn 1996. A lack of prior planning forced us into another bout with a Kraft cheese slice and pickled onion space raider sandwich. OK at first, but not after three...

full article

The guidebook said Difficult, but I wasn't sure what that meant. I had heard other climbers say Very Difficult was easy so presumably Difficult was easier. How could Difficult mean easy when in every other walk of life it meant what it said? Confusion undermined the search for truth, for the obvious truth, such as where did the route start and...

full article or forums discussion

This, I begin to realise, is what climbing is all about for me. It's a brutal encounter between me and the rock. There's no instructor, no supervisors or health and safety officers, there...

full article

I thought my first trad lead would never happen, but then I made a deal with myself, onsight or nothing.

full article

My gear was utterly appalling by today's standards. My clothing was a pair of old brown cords and an even older Dennison para smock that I had acquired from somewhere. I had a pair of...

full article

I've really no idea. It must have been in 1979 and it was probably on gritstone. Maybe Windgather. But despite the lack of recollection, it must have been a turning point. Because although I was never particularly any good, I did become particularly obsessed.

full article or forums discussion

Many years ago, prior to global warming there were lots of winter mountaineering routes in North Wales. These days you will find more ice in the freezer in the Spar in Llanberis but...

full article

It was only last Wednesday, so I can just about remember! "Well you sort of have the rope between your legs, rather than hanging above you...."

full article

The Whangie – a glacially plucked fin of rock or the result of a horned up Devil flicking his tail in anticipation of a night of naughtiness. Either way, the location of my first lead.

full article

I thought again for a moment. A couple of climbers were shooting up Resurection to my right. Definitley couldn't shout down 'How do you set up a belay?' now. I'd look a complete dick! ...

full article

New rack and no idea how to use it. Sometimes life's like that and you just have to get on with it.

full article

I can't remember the name of the route. In fact, I don't know if I ever knew its name but that wasn't important to me. And neither was the grade. The fact that I was about to lead my first...

full article

A long-ago March Sunday. The sky pale, the sun warm. We've been to Auchinstarry before, Jim and me. It was here that we left the security of the climbing world within for the first inept...

full article

I was in the Avon Gorge, above the tennis courts and toilets (are they still there?), and presumably only thirty foot up, but in my defence I was wearing bendy walking boots (not ideal for...

full article or forums discussion

It was then that I understood what people meant when they said 'the sharp end'. The sharp end was stabbing violently deep into my belly, and the fear wasn't leaking out. There was something else jabbing into my heart but it didn't disrupt the terror broadcast. It was digging a hole – a small obstacle for the colossal fear-monster that was charging...

full article

There I was, at the foot of Back Bowden Doors looking up, with cams, nuts, quickdraws and slings – all shiny and reflecting my midlife crisis right across Northumberland.

full article

When I moved to Cornwall in 1991 I was introduced to Bosigran, a 190 feet granite face between St Ives and Lands End. This wonderful rock mass has been frequented by climbers of great...

full article

The weather forecast is wrong again, my Dad and I are crouched beneath a small, low overhang at the base of the lower tier on the Roaches trying, unsuccessfully to avoid the August rain and wondering where “cloudy with sunny spells” has gone. There is probably a good reason why we have the whole of...

full article

Our first glimpse of that impressive granite dome we planned to climb was lit by the first rays from the rising sun: Hægefjell. Maybe Norway's most popular multi-pitch trad destination....

full article

The months started to pass and as they did I started to meet different guys around the area and I began to be known as a dedicated climber. Regular trips were made to the barn in Bude (which has now moved). I was getting strong but still I was not climbing high. All I could do was practice placing the few tatty bits of gear I could get my hands...

full article

Sometimes it's better not to know what you are getting yourself in for. Leading is a bit like falling in love- you don't want to think of the pitfalls and the pain, just the great bits that make you grin and think 'yeah, it was worth it, I'd do it again'.

full article

Adam points upwards, calmly relating guidebook certainties to the myriad lines above. He's discussing, not instructing, conveying confidence. For me he's an ideal partner, patient when I'm...

full article

Ok, try this one? Nope too big, way too big. Something smaller? No, too small...shoot, my feet are slipping!

full article

This journey to the edge started a month previously when I joined the university mountaineering club as a complete begineer! After my first trip down to the local wall I knew I was hooked. ...

full article

Great this bit, could be tricky in the wet though. Slopey holds...smooth too. Glad it's dry. Bit steeper now, ah the ledge – big one too, lovely jubbly. Now how do I get onto it...no holds to grab...mantle it...hup... yes! Huge ledge, slopes off left to... woah...that's a ruddy great gaping chasm! Am I that high already? Scary! Can't get any gear in here...

full article

It's early, far too early for a student to be awake. The door bell rings ... could it be ... yes! It's the delivery man with my new rack my parent bought me for my birthday. I open it and have the uncontrollable urge to use it right away! I ring my friend up. “We're going to Tremadog NOW!”

full article or forums discussion

Where to go for my first Trad experience? Stanage, equipped with uncountable, glorious easy first leads? Harborough Rocks, familiar limestone, not too high with some wonderful pockets and jugs, or Black Rocks, menacing, rounded, and maybe ten minutes closer to my home in Norfolk? The choice was obvious.

full article or forums discussion

We'd become friends through a need to climb. Me, to push away from my safe, soft-edged life; him to try to return to it. I looked forward to Wednesday evenings as a chance to cut away from...

full article

New life for old... from darkened days to brighter times..."The school bus door hissed shut and the belching vehicle set off, as did lead feet stomping up the path home to another normal...

full article or forums discussion

My first memorable climb was at 8 years old, jumping out of a tree because the big boys did it first – I broke my arm but it didn't stop me. The climbing was fine, it was the falling that I...

full article or forums discussion

The Haglöfs LIM (Less Is More) range is a collection of products where only the most essential features are included, and designs are pared down to a minimalist level providing the best possible weight/performance ratio. New for Spring 2008, and in the identifiable livery of grey with yellow highlights, is the LIM Ozone Jacket.

full item

A revolutionary rock shoe developed specifically for bouldering. Whatever technical problem the rock presents, the “Solution” rock shoe gives you the support you need with the most...

full item or forums discussion

With the Supercam, Metolius has gone back to the drawing board! With two years of painstaking effort, we revisited all the design assumptions that have been built into camming devices for the last 30 years. We've designed a new generation of extended-range cams, and they are improved in every way! The Supercam has extended the camming range...

full item or forums discussion

FishWithoutMeat.com is an active clothing company that believes in making higher quality, lower impact casual clothing for our sports and day-to-day lives.

full item or forums discussion

RP's are without a doubt a must have for those climbers who need protection in small places! Made with brass heads on stainless steel wire they bite well when taking a fall (the smaller sizes are meant for aid climbing only). Sizes from 0 through to 5 fitting cracks from 4mm to 12mm, probably the...

full item or forums discussion

The cult smash-hit film from Ireland: Underdeveloped. Capturing the spirit of Irish climbing with spectacular, bold routes and hilarious antics including bridge swinging and jumping in...

full item or forums discussion

Performance velcro shoe designed by Chris Sharma. Based on Chris' climbing expertise and design ideas, we created this shoe for him which he used to send his project "Es Pontas", his...

full item or forums discussion

It's never easy finding the right kind of climbing trousers that combine toughness with flexibility, and yet are light and stand up well if the weather turns wet. Luckily Metolius have reintroduce their classic lightweight Dyno Pant - one of the best summer cragging trousers available.

full item or forums discussion

Superb, precision ground Ice-Screws that bite fast and could save your bacon!

full item or forums discussion

The Filo is a simple no nonsense lightweight down jacket, but this year we have made it meaner, keaner and leaner.

full item or forums discussion

The New Climbing Wall Award is specifically designed for supervisors responsible for groups at indoor and outdoor climbing walls. The scheme comprises of a 2 day training course, a period of consolidation followed by a 1 day assessment.

full item or forums discussion

The gusseted or diamond crotch, a diamond shaped piece of material situated at the uhhhh.crotch of your pants - the region of the human body between the legs where they join the torso, is now standard in most climbing pants as they allow greater flexibility on those wide bridging moves or high step ups, and prevent the seams from ripping. The...

full review or forums discussion

Toby Foord-Kelcey and his friends recently took a Christmas trip deep into Oman armed only with their climbing gear and a copy of Rockfax's latest performance book Trad CLIMBING +. Over the following few days Toby forced his friends, not only read the book, but also have an opinion on its contents. He has summarised all the responses in this...

full review or forums discussion