Johnny Dawes (born 9 May 1964) is a British
rock climber
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and author, known for a dynamic climbing style and for establishing bold
traditional climbing
Traditional climbing (or Trad climbing) is a style of rock climbing in which the climber places all the necessary protection gear required to arrest any falls as they are climbing, and then removes it when the pitch is complete (often done ...
routes. This included the first ascent of ''The Indian Face'', the first-ever route at the
E9-grade. His influence on British climbing was at its peak in the mid to late-1980s.
Climbing career
Dawes' main climbing career roughly splits into an initial period pre-1986 where he focused on
gritstone
Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...
in the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
, which was suited to his unique climbing style (e.g. ''Gaia'', and ''End of the Affair'').
[ From 1986, Dawes focused on Wales and on a diverse range of rock, from the slate quarries of ]Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
(e.g. ''The Quarryman'', ''The Very Big and the Very Small'', and ''Dawes of Perception''), to the quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
cliffs of Gogarth North Stack (e.g. ''Conan the Librarian'', and ''Hardback Thesaurus''), and the rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...
mountain crags of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing rhyolite set of cliffs located on the northern flank of Snowdon mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best traditional climbing a ...
(e.g. ''The Indian Face'').[ Dawes is mostly remembered for intimidating traditional climbing routes, in the legacy of ]Pete Livesey
Pete Livesey (12 December 1943 to 26 February 1998), was an English rock climber who raised the standard of technical difficulty in traditional climbing in Britain during the early to mid-1970s. Livesey was renowned for the intensity and competi ...
and Ron Fawcett
Ron Fawcett (born 6 May 1955) is a British rock climber and rock climbing author who is credited with pushing the technical standards of British rock climbing in traditional, sport, bouldering and free soloing disciplines, in the decade from the ...
,[ and less for sport climbing routes, unlike his contemporaries ]Jerry Moffatt
Jerry Moffatt (born 18 March 1963), is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the ...
and Ben Moon.[
Dawes came to prominence outside of the rock climbing world with his 4 October 1986 ascent of ''Indian Face'', the first E9-graded traditional rock route in Britain,][ and at the time, considered to be the hardest and most dangerous traditional route in the world.] The guidebook described it as "A pitch of such appalling difficulty as to be almost beyond the realms of human comprehension". In a 2011 interview, Dawes said: "As you set off it's best to consider yourself already dead. You just do it".[ The climb, and rare repeats, are the subject of a 2006 documentary, ''Johnny Dawes and the Story of Indian Face''.]
In 1993, Dawes was a member of an expedition funded by the Mount Everest Foundation
Mount Everest Foundation is a non-political, non-sectarian, non-governmental, non-profit making humanitarian organization. MEF/Nepal is registered in the District Administration Office of Kathmandu under the Social Organization Act of His Majesty ...
to attempt the first ascent of ''The Shark's Fin'' on Meru Peak
Meru Peak is a mountain located in the Garhwal Himalayas, in the state of Uttarakhand in India. The peak lies between Thalay Sagar and Shivling, and has some highly challenging routes. The name Meru likely originated from the Sanskrit word f ...
in Gangotri Himalaya, India; a dropped boot led to a forced descent from 6,000 meters to avoid frostbite.
Dawes is noted for the dynamic nature of his technique, leaping between very small holds, and also for his levels of balance and foot-control that enable him to climb extreme-grade routes without using his hands.[ Welsh climber George Smith said: "His climbing seemed choreographed rather than constructed in a gym. If there's perfect pitch for movement, he has it".][ Aspects of his unique technique was captured in the 1986 climbing film, ''Stone Monkey'', considered one of the best-ever films in the genre,] as well as the 2015 climbing series, ''No Handed Climbing'', and other "no-hands", and "no-feet" videos.
His unorthodox climbing style, coupled with his reputation for a keen intellect and an artistic or bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
bent,[ made Dawes an enigmatic and mercurial character in British climbing.][ His writing has been called "quirky, convoluted, and often obscure",][ and a tendency to "speak in riddles" earned him the titles of "nutty professor", and of "mad genius" from some commentators.] His approach also made it difficult to secure commercial sponsorship, with Dawes saying in a 2019 interview, "I wasn’t supported by the climbing industry because I didn't fit the commercial template".
Legacy
Dawes is widely considered a legend of British rock climbing,[ and one of the most influential figures in British rock climbing history.][ Over a career spanning the early-1980s to the early-1990s, he pushed the technical level of traditional climbing with routes that were unprecedented both in terms of difficulty, and the style in which they were climbed.] In 2012, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called Dawes a "defining figure" and that: "His climbs were rated among the very hardest in the world, test pieces of both balance and nerve, some with a reputation for terrible danger". Some of his routes are still considered so intimidating that they are rarely repeated, and several feature in climbing films focused on Dawes (e.g. '' 80s Birth of Extreme'') and his routes (e.g. ''Hard Grit
''Hard Grit'' is a 1998 British rock climbing film directed by Richard Heap and produced by Slackjaw Film, featuring traditional climbing, free soloing, and bouldering on gritstone routes in the Peak District in the North of England. It is consi ...
'', ''Quarrymen'').[
]
Personal life
Dawes was born in 1964 in Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, into a wealthy family, whose parents were part of the 1960s British motor racing scene,. His education at the Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...
was a difficult one, with Dawes suffering from periods of depression and bullying.[
Dawes rejected the career path of his contemporaries into third-level education and then a likely London-based career, choosing instead to obsess on climbing, telling ''The Guardian'', "I was in a shut-off state, to a certain extent. When I was doing something dangerous it would wake me up".][
Around 2011, Dawes was diagnosed with ]hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism (also called ''underactive thyroid'', ''low thyroid'' or ''hypothyreosis'') is a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as po ...
, which he called "depressing and heavy", but by 2018, his treatment enabled him to climb at .[
]
Notable ascents
* 1986: ''Gaia'' (E8 6c), Black Rocks, Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. First ascent.[ Britain's first grade-E8; featured in the 1998 film, '']Hard Grit
''Hard Grit'' is a 1998 British rock climbing film directed by Richard Heap and produced by Slackjaw Film, featuring traditional climbing, free soloing, and bouldering on gritstone routes in the Peak District in the North of England. It is consi ...
''; repeats are still coveted.
* 1986: ''End of the Affair'' (E8 6c), Curbar Edge
Curbar Edge is a gritstone moorland escarpment above the village of Curbar, in Derbyshire, England and close to the villages of Baslow, Calver, and Froggatt. It is located within the Peak District National Park at an altitude of . It is regard ...
. First ascent. Dawes' hardest gritstone
Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...
route, and the end of a period of focus by Dawes on gritstone.[
* 1986: ''The Indian Face'' (E9 6c), Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, ]Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
. First ascent.[ Britain's first grade-E9,][ and considered the world's hardest climb at the time; features in the 2006 climbing-film, ''Johnny Dawes and the Indian Face''.][
* 1986: ''The Quarryman'' (E8 7a), Twll Mawr, Dinorwic quarry, ]Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
. First ascent, 4 pitches on Welsh slate
The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the l ...
, one of the hardest climbing routes at the time, now part of a 2019 climbing film, ''The Quarrymen'', and its notorious ''Groove'' pitch features in the 1986 climbing film, ''Stone Monkey''.
* 1987: ''The Scoop'' (E7 6b), Strone Ulladale, Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...
. First ascent with Paul Pritchard of 8 pitches of Doug Scott
Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English mountaineer, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest hon ...
's 1969 grade- A5 aid climbing
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress.
The term contrasts with free climbing in which progress is made without using artifi ...
route;[ considered in 1984 to be one of British climbing's "great challenges"; partly shown in the 1988 film, ''80s Birth of Extreme''.][
* 1988: ''Hardback Thesaurus'' (E7/8 6c), Gogarth North Stack. First ascent and one of the first-ever onsights of an E7; is shown in the 1988 film, ''80s Birth of Extreme''.]
* 1990: ''The Very Big & the Very Small'' , Rainbow Slab Area, Dinorwic quarry, Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
. First ascent. Only 3-bolts, hardest slate route at time; rarely repeated; Dawes believes grade is 8c.
* 1994: ''Angel's share'' (E8 7a) or , Black Rocks, Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. First ascent. Gritstone slab graded E8 7a without bouldering pads, or a boulder with pads.
* 1995: ''Face Mecca'' (E9 6c), Clogwyn Du'r Arddu
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing rhyolite set of cliffs located on the northern flank of Snowdon mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best traditional climbing a ...
, Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
. Second ascent. FFA Nick Dixon in 1989.
Bibliography
*''Peak Rock – The History, The Routes, The Climbers'', (Phil Kelly, Graham Hoey, Giles Barker), 2013. .
*''Full of Myself'' (Johnny Dawes), 2011. .
Filmography
* Documentary on ''The Quarryman'' (E8 7a) at Twll Mawr, Llanberis
(; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...
:
* Documentary on ''The Indian Face'' (E9 6c) at Clogwyn Du'r Arddu
Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing rhyolite set of cliffs located on the northern flank of Snowdon mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best traditional climbing a ...
:
* Documentary on the hardest gritstone
Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...
routes in Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
:
* Documentary on leading UK climbers:
* Documentary on Dawes, Ben Moon and Jerry Moffatt
Jerry Moffatt (born 18 March 1963), is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the ...
:
* Documentary on Dawes' technique:
See also
*History of rock climbing
In the history of rock climbing, the three main sub-disciplines: bouldering, single-pitch climbing, and big wall (or multi-pitch) climbing can trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe. Bouldering started in Fontainebleau, and was advan ...
*List of first ascents (sport climbing)
In rock climbing, a first free ascent (FFA) is the first documented redpoint, onsight or flash of a single-pitch, big wall (multi-pitch), or boulder route that did not involve using aid equipment to help progression or resting; the ascent must ...
*Dave MacLeod
Dave MacLeod (born 17 July 1978) is a Scottish people, Scottish rock climber, ice climbing, ice climber, and climbing author. MacLeod is best known for being the first climber in the world to climb in free solo style (without rope) a route ('' ...
, Scottish traditional climber
* Sonnie Trotter, Canadian traditional climber
*Rock climbing in the Peak District
Rock climbing is a popular activity in the Peak District; particularly on edges such as Stanage or Froggatt. Generally the climbing style is free climbing (as opposed to aid climbing) and the rock is either gritstone or limestone. Climbing has ...
Notes
References
External links
*
Johnny Dawes, rock climber: 'You've got to mess about'
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (video interview, 2012)
Johnny Dawes
Old website of Johnny Dawes (archived, 2013)
''ClimbandMore.com'' (archived, 2019)
Johnny Dawes Filmography
''MNTN Film Database'' (January 2022)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Johnny
1964 births
Living people
People educated at Uppingham School
British rock climbers
Free soloists
Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands
English male non-fiction writers
21st-century English male writers
English non-fiction outdoors writers