In case you haven't been down to your nearest climbing wall or shop recently, the July edition of Climber has been out for a wee while now sporting a cover image and destination article by yours truly to the Canadian Rockies. As our cousins from across the pond would say, I’m totally stoked with the spread!…   more »

I had an email a couple of weeks or so back from someone in Barcelona. “Where is this going”, I hear you say? Well, it turns out that María José, said person, was searching on “Trouble with Lichen” on Wikipedia and my image from climbing 07, my 2007 climbing calendar, of Sam Whittaker climbing Trouble with Lichen HVS 5b at Bamford popped up in her browser.   more »

On Thursday last, Drew Haigh pulled the crux of Mark Leach’s 1988 Malham test-piece, Cry Freedom (F8b+) to join the handful of climbers who have succeeded were all else have failed to get closure. Drew was understandably chuffed and happily shared his delight with those at the crag. In a quirk of faith, I was at Malham in 1988 when Leach ended his monumental 46 day siege and I recall that his were truly Cries of Freedom! Drew, by comparison, took a mere six redpoints over five days to nail the route.   more »

A week after the UK’s favourite climbing internet site, UKClimbing.com, linked to my blog entry Mecca: A Route in Crisis, the total page pull-downs were so high that it bust my bandwidth allowance and closed my blog down! All I can say is thanks dudes – no really, I’m serious...   more »

Peak District sport climbing cognoscenti are holding their breath at the moment as Mecca F8b+, one of Raven Tor’s most famous routes, enters its second week on the critical list! Twenty years after Martin Atkinson’s first ascent, the starting block of his test-piece route is in grave danger of falling to bits. Climbers are currently staying off the route whilst the ‘repair committee’ hastily muster their thoughts and resources’!   more »

Different photographers have different holly grails but all will include basic elements that are the same; good composition, eye-catching lighting and subject empathy. I like to shoot different subjects away from my staple diet of climbing photography as much as possible hence I make a point of heading into the woods for a short walk with my camera to capture mother nature every once in a while.   more »