I’ve always been inspired by mountains since my first trip to the Lake District at the age of about 7. The early years for me were hill walking and youth-hostelling with my Dad in the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Peak District, and in that time I bagged over 110 “Wainwrights” in the Lakes, which I finally completed in 2016.
As a teenager, with my Dad I started to get into scrambling, and we did some of the milder classics together, such as Jack’s Rake (Pavey Ark) and the Tryfan North Ridge – Bristly Ridge (Glyder Fach) combo. I also went on a 2 week winter climbing course at Loch Rannoch in Scotland when I was 17, which was my first experience of crampons, ice axes and munros, and this led to a couple of other winter trips to the Lakes.
I got into scrambling more and more, and found myself increasingly in more and more hot water while soloing Grade 2s (especially a particularly hairy moment on the Grade 2/Mod climb “Braich Ty Du Face” in Snowdonia). In 2008 I started climbing indoors, and with my ambitions to get on harder scrambles, I went on a 5 day rock climbing course at Plas-y-Brenin to literally “learn the ropes”. Soon after, I met El Presidente at the Nottingham climbing wall, and he soon got me leading at Birchen and beyond.
I’ve now done over 900 climbs, scrambles and boulder problems (90% Gritstone), including over 100 Leads and Alt Leads, 160 solos, Multi-pitch in Wales, the Lakes and Scotland, and at least 1 near-death experience (Three Pebble Slab, Froggatt Edge), from Mod to HVS/E1 and V0- to V2. I climb for the simple joy of moving over rock and the scenery and the escape from it all, so leading a “Diff” or bouldering a V0- problem is still a great feeling for me…although I was buzzing from Sunset Slab at Froggatt for about a month afterwards! I’ve also scrambled the Cavall Bernat Ridge on Majorca, climbed Half Dome in Yosemite USA, and went on my first Alps trip in 2016.
Favourite Scramble: Low Water Beck (Lake District)
Favourite Rock Climb: Giant’s Crawl (Dow Crag, Lake District)
Favourite Winter Climb: No 2 Gully (Ben Nevis)
Favourite Boulder Problem: Eggy Scoop (Cratcliffe Tor)
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