UKC

Just trying to keep up to date, who's climbing the hardest grades, interested in all disciplines, male and female.

http://davemacleod.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/catalan-witness-fitness.html

That’s what prompted the Q.

Is he the “best” boulderer at the mo? Best trad too? Steve McClure for sport, Shauna for comp bouldering?

Reckon Greg Boswell might be the best winter climber these days. Both in terms of difficulty and quantity of new routes he puts up. Inspiring stuff. 

I think there are a few guys performing well at bouldering. Off the top of my head, Ned, Dan Brown, Jack Palmieri have all ticked 8B+ in recent months. That said, DM possibly has the highest grade achieved over the winter months. Be interesting to hear if that isn't the case.

The ones having the most fun...

Trad’s always a tricky question. Calum Musket is going well, as is Caff, and Iain Small the Scottish dark horse if you count new routing... 

Hazel Findley is also going well, and ticked 8c again last year.

In addition to those mentioned......

Dan Turner has had a run of big ticks including Voyager SS (8B+). 

Ben Freeman did Monk's Life (8B+)

Dave Mason, Tom Newman and Orrin Coley have all ticked at least 8B recently.

Jim Pope onsighted 8b+ and, more impressively, beat Megos on the BIFF never ending rotating campus board.

Surely Hazel gets a trad vote? Flashing the Phoenix and doing the free Salathe, 

I wouldn't bother mentioning quantity of new routes - Greg will be a long way below certain others by that reckoning. But difficulty, absolutely, and I think few would argue with the 'best winter climber' tag.

Greg McInnes. Even gnarlier and now bear proof as well. 

Guy Robertson is no slouch either. He did at least his fair share of the hard leads on their two big routes this season.

I wonder about Alpine. A lot less measurable / comparable. Probably between Bullock, Helliker and Sim.

Greater Ranges even harder to tell. Bullock and Ramsdeb I guess. 

With trad there are two categories really. Think Caff and Hazel are the king and queen of the onsight. There are quite a few people doing E9/10 head points, so hard to say there, but Hazel is the only woman I think.

Now best all rounder, there’s a good question! Excluding Greater Ranges perhaps as not many people do that. Helliker perhaps. 

I think anyone who doesn't specialize will struggle to be the 'best' in any one discipline. Even if we could come to a consensus on what 'best' means when applied to something like trad.

I was taking best in its most simple form of currently operating at the highest grade, e.g. SM doing Rainman.

Robbie Phillips. 8b. North face of the Eiger. + more

Isn't she also the only British woman to have bouldered 8B+ on rock?

Chris Bonnington

I'd say Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden are still climbing (present tense, to the top) technically the hardest in the Greater Ranges, simply because their experience and judgement allows them to do so. Their focus seems to always have been first ascents via aesthetic lines in lesser visited regions rather than technical difficulty. The Greater Ranges seem to be loosely out of fashion with a lot of younger British climbers looking to climb hard anyway. Lower areas like Alaska and Patagonia seem more popular for that.

Well Steve Mac climbed 9b this year, so that puts him in a very small group worldwide. Only two people, Ondra and Sharma, have climbed a harder grade. Will Bosi is incredibly good too. His effective second go ascent of Evolution 8c+ was incredibly impressive plus he's climbed Hubble and Rainshadow too.

Seems like there's several very impressive young climbers around at the moment that maybe haven't spent time on hard projects. Jim Pope (who just beat Alex Megos in the BIFF comp) springs to mind. Aiden Roberts is also extremely strong. The Dawson brothers are also very impressive having done fast ascents of very hard routes.

For the women I'd say Shauna is ahead of everyone else. She's mainly focused on bouldering comps the past few years but made finals in one World Cup lead event after just a few months training. Doesn't just climb indoors though having climbed font 8B+ outside. She was also close to doing Hubble - which is apparently quite a bit harder for someone of her height.

Molly Thompson Smith is also very talented making several finals in World Cups last year. She also climbed Mecca at Raven Tor (8b+) without too much difficulty.

Unfortunately both Molly and Shauna are currently recovering from finger injuries at the moment.

Several British women have climbed 8c: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk, Hazel Findlay (highest grade in trad too) and possibly Emma Twyford.

Also, he's climbed as hard free big walls as Hazel Findlay.  And he's only a boy!

Ned Feehally is the only Brit to have flashed font 8B+ (though he's never flashed 8B). He's also climbed several 8C's which I'm not sure any other Brits have done.

And I think Nathan Philips has the hardest boulder problem flash in this country having flashed an 8B in North Wales.

Aye, but can any of them get off the ground at Booden Doors?

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ukc/dan_varian_-_first_ascensionist_extra...

Shauna is not alone in being a female 8B+ boulderer:

Ashima Shiraishi has bouldered 8C and a number of 8B+’s

Alex Puccio has climbed Wheel Of Chaos and Jade, both graded 8B+

Anna Stöhr climbed New Baseline (8B+) and Steppenwolf (8B) in the same day!

The list goes on, including the recent ascent of Golden Shadow (8B+) by a twelve year old girl from Renuion Island.

She is the only 'British' female climber to have done it though.

That's all true but the post title asks: Which Brits are currently climbing the hardest?

Yes, I know, thanks. And?