Dan 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...
> 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
'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.