I say I came here for university, but really, I came here to go climbing!
Three of us founded the Climbing Works which opened in 2006 as the biggest bouldering wall in Europe – and possibly the biggest outside of Japan, too. Before that, I’d worked as a route setter at the Foundry on Mowbray Street and at various Climbing World Cups.
I say I came here for university, but really, I came here to go climbing! For decades now Sheffield has had a great climbing scene and attending university was a great way of exploring it. As a student, we’d get on buses out to the Burbage Valley, Froggatt Edge or sometimes more inner-city spots like Bell Hagg.
My brother climbed, and so did my dad, so I suppose it was a case of ‘when’ for me. I think I was eight when I had my first climbing experience; there was a climbing wall at a leisure centre in Sunderland, where I’m originally from, and I started going there during the school holidays. I was hooked. I don’t actually climb anymore due to a condition I have following a spinal injury, so I’m now more involved in the organisational side of climbing, such as working on the CWIF [Climbing Works International Festival] and as a technical delegate for the IFSC [International Federation of Sport Climbing].
“My brother climbed and so did my dad, so I suppose it was a case of “when” for me.”
When we first opened Climbing Works, we were always interested in hosting events and deliberately built a competition wall at one end, which is now the RAB Competition Wall and hosts the semi-final and final of the CWIF. The idea behind the competition was that punter climbers could take part in the qualifier and potentially climb next to world-class climbers. It is now established on the international circuit, and we get climbers from all over the world – often ones who’ve performed at the Olympic level!
There are a large number of high-standard climbers who’ve moved here for climbing, as the three directors of Climbing Works did. However, we cater for all ages and abilities. The physical attributes that can be improved by climbing are obvious, but there are also the mental attributes to consider – it’s very much a problem-solving exercise.
There’s the old saying that Sheffield is the biggest village in the country, but it does hold true. The climbing community is a particularly friendly one. I’m lucky enough to live near Graves Park, so from my back window I can see the biggest park in the city, and from my front window I can see the Peak District. It doesn’t get much better, does it?
Learn more about Climbing Works at climbingworks.com // @climbingworks
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