Dan Varian

About

Carlisle, United Kingdom

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Dan is a prolific first ascensionist based out of Carlisle. He has developed many grade 8 problems in The Peak District, The Lakes, Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Scotland. He is well known for his hard highball bouldering and is a Director of Beastmaker.

Some of his highlights include 150+ grade 8 problems, including The Rail (8B+), Dandelion Mind (8B+), Bewilderness (8B+) and several repeats of hard trad routes in a ground-up style.

Read our interview with Dan here.

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Latest News & Articles

News posts and Articles featuring Dan

Fri Night Vid Exploring Northern Ireland's Best Bouldering

In this week's Friday Night Video, a strong team of boulderers from across the pond join up with the likes of Aidan Roberts and Dan Varian for a trip to Fairhead. For the Americans, Fairhead has always been fairly under-the-radar but th...

8 Nov, 2024

Interview Dan Varian makes first ascent of Weeping Arete, 8B+

When sharing news of his ascent of Weeping Arete, Dan Varian avoided the fanfare that one might associate with the first ascent of a boulder lauded as one of Gritstone's last great problems.

10 5 Jul, 2024

News Second ascent of Bombadil by Niky Ceria

Niccolò Ceria has made the second ascent of Dan Varian's 8B+ highball testpiece Bombadil at Christianbury Crag.

4 25 Jul, 2023

Interview Dan Varian on The Magna Strata, 8B+

We got in touch with Dan to get some more details about The Magna Strata, to see how it compares to some of his...

5 21 Mar, 2023

News Third ascent of Transcendence E8 6c by Dan Varian

Dan Varian recently made the third ascent of Transcendence E8 6c, one of Northumberland's proudest and most...

12 25 Mar, 2019

News First Ascents for Dan Varian in Yorkshire and Northumberland

As usual, Dan Varian has had a prolific few months in Northumberland, Yorkshire and Scotland, combining...

3 21 Feb, 2019

Skills #RespectTheRock: Chalk Use

There is a basic rule in all forms of rock climbing: leave it as you found it. These days I'd go a little further: leave things better...

35 8 Dec, 2017

News Moonrise Kingdom: New E9 Multipitch by McHaffie and Varian

10 15 May, 2017

News Hobbie Noble, Highball 8B First Ascent for Varian

6 7 Jul, 2014

News Hard Boulders in Font & Ireland for Dan Varian

2 8 Apr, 2014

Video Series Stone Kingdom Ep. 2: The Rail

4 23 Dec, 2013

News Dan Varian Adds New 8B+ to Bowden

18 11 Oct, 2013

News Dan Varian Adds Northumberland's Hardest

12 5 Apr, 2012

News Dan Varian Ground-Ups E9 7b - The Dark Side

21 20 Dec, 2011

Video Dan Varian Climbs Dandelion Mind (Font 8B+)

8 30 Apr, 2011

Interview Ryan Pasquill and Dan Varian Go Ground Up

19 23 Mar, 2011

News Dan Varian Repeats Northumberland E2

14 23 Jul, 2010

News INTERVIEW & VIDEO: Dan Varian on Arc Royal

8 24 Apr, 2009

Review Beastmaker 2000: Back two - the future?

21 2 Mar, 2009

Latest Reviews for Dan's Sponsors

Reviews from the UKC editorial team

Performance All-Rounder Climbing Shoes

If you're only going to buy one shoe for all your climbing, then make it an all-rounder. We check out six versatile models at the performance end of the market.

9 27 Aug

Scarpa RS Pro WP-Y Kids Boots

With its forgiving fit, supportive and grippy sole, and quality nubuck upper, Scarpa's RS Pro WP-Y is a great boot for younger walkers. Apprentice reviewer Edith Bailey checks it out.

3 26 Aug

OTS 2025 - Our Best of the Show

The Outdoor Trade Show has just wrapped up, and after a few quiet years post-Covid, 2025 saw a strong showing for new ideas and interesting products. Here are our highlights of the show - the items our review team are going to be fighting over next...

20 13 Jun

Scarpa Instinct VS-R LV

Offering great all-around performance across a range of disciplines, with the crucial distinction of a narrower and lower volume fit,...

27 May

Scarpa Drago XT - One Drago to Rule Them All?

How do you make a great product even greater? This is something we were curious to find out, because both our...

4 8 May

Scarpa Rapid XT

With the Rapid XT, walking comfort may come first, but on-the-rock performance is a close second. This is a capable approach shoe that feels...

14 Apr

Scarpa Ribelle Run 2

The Ribelle Run 2.0 is a massive improvement over the original, says Rob Greenwood. Whilst marketed primarily as a running shoe, its solid...

10 3 Apr

Latest News from Dan's Sponsors

Announcements direct from manufacturers

CWIF 16-17th March 2024 - Registration now open!

Join us on Saturday 16th - Sunday 17th March, climb alongside some of the best climbers in the world on problems set by some of the world's best routesetters.

8 Mar, 2024

Scarpa Mescalito Mids - Save 35%

Save 35% and pick up a pair of comfortable, lightweight, three-season hiking boots for just £149! Get ready for summer trekking, hiking and walking adventures.

17 May, 2023

SCARPA steps forward to sponsor mountain running events

SCARPA has signed up as title sponsor of the Great Lakeland 3Day for the next three editions of the event. In addition, the brand will become the exclusive footwear sponsor of the Montane Dragon's Back Race. Both are organised by...

31 Oct, 2022