Featuring: Lucy Creamer, Steve McClure and presented by John Horscoft
When Adam Ondra makes a special trip during a dismal summer to try your routes, you know your
reputation has transcended the tight-knit British climbing community. Equally, if your hardest ever
ice route has had to be bolted before anyone else will climb it, you know it has to be nails. Steve
McClure's routes at Malham and Kilnsey received the ultimate accolade this year when Ondra
confirmed the grades, even hinting that they were pretty stiff. Lucy Creamer's Mighty Aphrodite in
Colorado is still regarded as one of the hardest mixed routes ever climbed by a woman...
Come now, UKCers, while I'm a great hamster fan, surely the well of wit and wisdom hasn't yet run dry?? With two great climbers at your mercy, surely there are a some incisive, penetrating questions out there? Don't be shy......
Has there been a time in your climbing careers when you haven't been able to climb for prolonged periods ( injuries/other commitments) ? and if so what motivated & inspired you to get back to it ? (when did you know it was time ?)
Please forgive me if you have both answered similar questions many times before .
Question for Steve:
Dave Birkett has been quoted as saying that, in his opinion, E10 (and thus, by extension, E11 and E12) does not yet exist. What's your take on this?
In reply to UKC Articles: A question for both Steve and Lucy. Being at the top of any sport requires huge dedication, mental strength and also determination. In theory any person can have these attributes but what is it do you think that has allowed you both to remain at the forefront of world climbing for so long?
I'd love to know more about how Steve balances being a dad with training for 9a-whatever climbs. Also, he seems to be doing more hard trad climbing now, why the change?
Given that you seemed to do 'Rhapsody' in jig-time, could you be tempted to venture further north to try Dave Mac's 'Echo Wall'?
Okay, a second one for both Lucy and Steve:
Do you feel any pressure from others to try routes that you quite simply don't fancy, for whatever reason. (to Steve: my two questions aren't connected!)
Oh, and if you do, which routes are they and what determines which ones you aim for and which ones you just let pass?
You have both been climbing for quite a while now.
Has your climbing focus changed? Do you feel you are still progressing? Alan Austin once said that in terms of boldness, by the time your 30 'job's knackered'. Any thoughts on this and on other aspects of climbing?
In reply to UKC Articles: I think you might have covered this question, but here goes, for both of you.
Who actually introduced you to climbing, and who (if any) saw potential in you both and actively and initally encouraged you to progress to the level of climbing you are today?
Second question. Do you still climb and enjoy easier routes such as VS's or do you not even go on them anymore?
I'd like to point out that there will be NO discrimination against hamsters, not while I'm around and adhering to the UKC Equal Rights for all Small Furry Aminals policy......
What would be your five "Desert Island" climbs? This desert island is so special that it contains any rock type you can imagine, and ice lines too!
Nonetheless, you are to be marooned on it, so what are the five climbs that you could happily climb over and over again, and what makes them so special?
Press Release Alpkit and Outside Bank Holiday Hathersage Tent Show 4-5th May
Gear News The Art of Climbing – Out Now
Podcast Mountain Air - 7. Precarious Freedom and the Cape Wrath Trail, with David Lintern
Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...