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Johnny Dawes – a storm in a teacup?
Johnny Dawes – Moving On Interviewing Johnny Dawes is both fascinating and challenging, as much intellectual joust as interview. Compared to discussions I’ve had with some other climbers, it’s like listening to free-form jazz rather than some anodyne boy band, the melodies obscure, sometimes dissonant and prone to sudden tangents, but never, ever […]
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SHAFF2015 – Project Mina
Project Mina is a thought provoking film. Essentially the story of Mina Leslie Wujatsyk trying to make her mark in the world of competition bouldering, it ends up being an honest appraisal of the pressures that elite climbers have to tussle with. Wujastyk is a phenomenal climber, as those who have seen the short film […]
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SHAFF2015 – Redemption – The James Pearson Story
Way back in 2008, rock climbing underwent one of its periodic naval gazing episodes. James Pearson, having shaken up Peak District climbing by cruising a number of existing hard routes and nabbing a couple of last great problems, climbed The Walk of Life on Dyer’s Lookout, grading it E12. I’m sure I wasn’t the only […]
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SHAFF2015 – Valley Uprising
Valley Uprising is to Yosemite climbing what Stacey Peralta’s Riding Giants was to big wave surfing. Using a similar mix of first person testimony, original footage, photos and reconstructions, it weaves a picaresque tale of the dirtbags, heroes, villains, dope fiends and climbing superstars who contributed to the development of the big walls of Yosemite […]
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Does Sport England understand climbing and mountaineering?
The Peak Adventure Sports Alliance campaigns on behalf of outdoor pursuits enthusiasts and is determined to impress upon Central Government and the National Park Authority just how crucial adventure sports are both to the economic viability of the Peak District and the health of the nation. Many column inches have been devoted to […]
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Yorkshire Gritstone Volume One – Almscliff to Slipstones.
Remember what climbing guides once looked like, utilitarian little pocket books that did the bare minimum? They’d get you to a crag, (approximately, knowledge of grid references being a distinct advantage), get you to your climb of choice, (providing you were tuned into the nuances of the author’s directions) and, well, that was pretty much […]
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Johnny Dawes interview….
Johnny in full flow explaining the motivations behind and the challenges of writing his superb autobiography.
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Route of the day….
Debauchery isn’t obscure or arcane, too hard or too bold, just the quintessential limestone E1. I remember a friend’s reaction when we said we were heading for High Tor, “Really?” eyebrows steepling. The implication was obvious. High Tor was a step up, a Rubicon, a rite of passage. We cut our teeth on Skylight and […]
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Stanage – a nice little earner?
For some time the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) has been frantically seeking an organisation to take over the day-to-day management of the North Lees Estate. Originally at the behest of central government, they have been conducting a review of their various holdings hoping to make cost savings by entering into partnerships with other […]
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Niall Grimes interview on planetFear….
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Guide, philosopher and friend
I reread this Out To Lunch and it brought a lump to my throat as I reached the section about my Dad. I’d completely forgotten what I’d written to celebrate those times together in the Scottish hills and what a profound effect they had on my life. I hope you enjoy it too… At the […]
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Culture clash
Interesting things cultural differences, dodgy ground generally. However, I’ve no intention of risking a fatwa from the Moonies or the Tufty Club so this column will, in time honoured tradition, eschew any mention of religion. Thank God for that I hear you say. No, the cultural difference to which I refer is more parochial, namely […]
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A question of climbing
Have you seen this man? No? Do you want to? Probably not! But don’t let that put you off seeing him put fiendish questions to Lucy Creamer, Niall Grimes, Steve McClure, Dave Turnbull, Sam Whittaker and Jack Geldard. A Question of Climbing will be non-stop piss taking from the moment the curtain goes up interspersed […]
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Two’s company….
My recollection is of a steaming day spent on the cool flanks of Dinas Mot. The Missus and I were engaged on The Cracks while nearby a party did battle with Lorraine. To be exact, they were doing battle with each other, squabbling like an old married couple. “Will you give me bloody slack when […]