Pete Whittaker

Pete's one of those guys that makes your heart skip a beat if you are a climber... his audacious burst onto the scene with the incredible 'Dynamics Of Change' E9 7A, and it's mindbending photo and video coverage was one of the higlights of the last few years grit seasons and for me one of the most amazing grit ascents ever. So I for one am mega-psyched to have him on the Wild Country team for 2011 and pretty keen to see what he'll get up to next...

Pete tells us more about himself:

"Some stuff about me - I got into climbing through my parents, they are really into the outdoors so I didn’t have much choice really. (Not that I would have had it any other way!) We used to have family days out walking, scrambling and multipitching in The Peak, Wales, The Lakes and places like that, we would all follow Mum up as she lead the pitches. This started when I was about 6/7. From this age I also did the usual thing of entering the local comps, I was on the British Competition Climbing Team for about 5 years as well and managed to get to compete internationally which was good. The team trips were usually pretty eventful too!

Throughout this period I gradually progressed with my trad climbing. But it wasn’t until I met Ben Cossey, when I was 16, who came over from Australia that I realised I could climb significantly harder then I was climbing at the time. I started to progress through the grades at a pretty rapid rate, cramming in absolutely piles of routes, climbing everything I could and having a right laugh.

I keep a diary of routes that I have done and looking back at that period of time is ridiculous even for me to look at, I went from climbing E3 5c to putting up a new E9 7a and climbing English 7b, in a year! At the time it didn’t feel like I had taken that big a step, as my progression was fairly even just very quick.

Since Ben went back I have found a new regular climbing partner who can often be found hanging upside down in an offwidth somewhere. Yep that’s Tom (Randall.) He is pretty much as stupid as me and is always up for a good laugh, so since meeting him the climbing trips have been some of the best ever with a lot of my best climbing achievements incorporated in there somewhere. I don’t know how because usually the trips consist of complete epics and ‘Where the hell are we?’ Sometimes I wonder how we even get any climbing done!

Anyway, since this time I have managed to climb at lots of different places and widen the variety of rock I have climbed on, mainly trading it with some sport climbing and bouldering thrown in there if my biceps can take it (they usually say ‘no’ though, but I’m working on it!)

Over the last year I have been getting into the wider variety of cracks (that’s offwidth cracks by the way), I’m pretty psyched for this climbing as it requires a different type of strength that most other climbers aren’t up for using. It makes you try really hard and you know you’ve given every bit of effort after coming ‘out’ an offwidth route, which is what it’s all about.

I have done quite a few new routes in the last couple of years and this is what I really enjoy doing. I have some routes in mind that I want to try in the future, I just need to train harder to make sure I get up them.

Overall, I just love to go climbing whatever the weather with good friends and try and climb to my potential.

Climbing achievements - A few first ascents:

  • Dynamics of change E9 7a
  • Loose Control E8 6c
  • Inspiration dedication E8 6b/c
  • Grandad’s slab E7 6c,
  • Re-mastered edge E7 6c
  • Gobbler’s Roof E7 6c (completely recommended………….)
  • Gloves of war E6 6c (first new route abroad)
  • Back Down Under E6 6c (my first, first ascent)

Few of my best or favourite repeats:

  • Braille Trail E7 6c
  • A little Peculiar E7 7b (2nd ascent, first repeat for 16 years, also climbed it without the bomber side runners)
  • Ugly E7/8 6b or XS (2nd ascent, first repeat for 17 years)
  • Quarryman E8 6c (groove pitch, although I want to go back and do the whole lot)
  • Ray’s Roof E7 6c (5th ascent)
  • All Elements V11 (2nd ascent)
  • A lot of E6’s and E7’s ground up, a couple of E7’s flashed.

Other 'stupid' things:

  • Traversed the length of Stanage (4 miles) 2nd ascent
  • Record for most outdoor routes climbed in a day, 550 each (with Tom Randall)
  • First pair to complete Staffordshire Brown and Whillans Challenge (with Tom Randall).

14th Sep 2011 Pete and Tom Interview Each other before their trip...

"For our final blog post before we go away we thought it would be good to see how each person was feeling about the trip. We decided to do this by asking each other some questions – some sensible, others not so!"

QUESTIONS BY PETE
(Q)PETE: Tom, I've heard and witnessed that you travelled back from Ilkley to Sheffield via Birmingham and that when checking weather forecasts on the internet for Yorkshire you used the postcode for Llanberis. How do you actually expect to find any of the crags you want to climb on whilst out in America?

(A)TOM: It is true that I get lost even trying to find the bathroom in my house, but I have a secret weapon up my sleeve; a MAP! Yup, I've heard (from your Dad) that you're a reliable map reader and boy am I going to be using this resource a lot. I'd say that Alex Ekins might help out, but I know he's absolutely diabolical with directions as well, so we might end up waiting in a US airport until Kim arrives!
PETE: If you make it to the crag, you may realize that we've actually climbed very few offwidths on real rock, how do you think the training that we have done will transfer?

TOM: My suspicion is that the training will transfer pretty well on the really steep stuff, but we'll still be pretty rubbish at the vertical stuff. I'd like to say that it's because the American's have so many more vertical offwidths to practice on, but in reality it's the size of their biceps and cowboy boots that really counts....
PETE: What part of the trip are you most looking forward to and what part are you most nervous about?

TOM: I've been told by Kim (my wife) that I have to say it's our daughter coming out to visit, that I'm most looking forward to... I might also add that I'm psyched out of my tree for Belly Full of Bad Berries, The Crack House and more new routing shenanigans with your good self.  The part of the trip I'm most apprehensive about is trying Lucille in Vedauwoo (it's such a hugely significant route) or realising that I've actually booked our flights for the wrong country and we're off to Yemen.

QUESTIONS BY TOM

(Q)TOM: So Pete, we've done loads of training and preparation for this trip now. What shall we do if we start falling off all the 5.9s?!

(A) PETE: I'm actually expecting to fall of all the 5.9s, especially in Vedauwoo where its meant to be sandbag city. However whenever you fall off something easy its best to just get on something much harder and steeper and fail on that instead because it will make you feel better and your mates won't think you're as much of a punter. Failing that i'll send you up everything and say i'm still jet lagged from a month ago.

TOM: What do you reckon of all these American offwidth wads?

PETE: America isn't just known for its offwidths, but like you say, the offwidth wads that it breeds. I have spoken to a few of the wads by email and my assessment is...that they are going to be well hardcore and I might get scared and run away!!! From the stories I've read and pictures I've seen these people feel no pain brother.

I also think they will have really slick technique and I may get to witness something really special, which is the illusion they can create when it looks like they slip up offwidths. I'll be psyched to see this as i've only ever seen you stuck in one...

TOM: What part of the trip are you most looking forward to?

PETE: I think 99.9% of people wouldn't look forward to anything we have planned on this trip, (offwidths, crying babies and no sense of direction...hmmmmmm!) However I couldn't be more excited. There are so many parts I am looking forward to...getting to climb a load of different offwidths; meeting new people; coming away from Vedauwoo with some skin and alive; climbing new routes; getting jet lag (never had it, want to see what all the fuss is about); getting to watch you and others feel pain; Kim, Laura and Hannah coming, man the list is endless.

But really there is one part and route that stands out...I think you know what that is. Should be a good adventure!!

3rd Sep 2011 Ireland and Ravenstones

 

Had a bit of an offer from a friend to go to the Mournes in Ireland at the weekend, so just couldn’t turn that down!! It was kind of risky only going for 3 days as the weather could have just been pants, but in the end it did turn out ok.

 

Day 1:

The mist was a bit low to go onto the tops so we went to a roadside crag and pottered around on some easy things.Although I did do this E4 6a/b and it was probably the most runout 6a/b move I’ve done on an E4 – ever. The route had never seen E4 in its life!! I’d say it was much closer to E5/6, unless I just miss read it slightly.

 

Day 2:

We decided to quest on to Binnian. We set off in the rain, but optimistically carried on and it did brighten up to be a really nice day. Unfortunately I couldn’t do the routes I wanted to do up there because of the wind, but it was good to check it out for a future trip and we did get some other nice things done.

 

Day 3:

We visited the recently developed Lower Cove East Buttress, really amazing place. Steep pumpy routes with good gear and long runouts. After leading a few routes we got abit held up because the army came and had to set off an old World War 1 bomb off just below where we were climbing. Probably the loudest thing I’ve ever heard!!

After that I decided to give a new route a go onsight. I wasn’t sure whether there would be any holds in the middle section but thought it looked easy enough to reverse if not. Anyway it ended up that there were holds, however with a lack of gear I managed to get myself very runout. After a bit of a spicy little mantle I came across a perfect friend 1 slot (good job I hadn’t used it already) and pushed on to the top.

Anyway I found out that the route I had done wasn’t really a new route. Ricky had done it a few years ago and called it ‘Freshly Baked’ and gave it E7 6b. However I did take a slightly different start, so the variation I did was slightly easier. Still good though. Can’t wait to get back for a longer trip and check out some other crags, along with Fairhead. It all looks so good.

 

Ravenstones:

When I got back from Ireland I had another little project to go and finish before going away to America. It was a new route at Ravenstones. I had tried it briefly previously after completing another project up there a while back but didn’t have the correct gear. Anyway I went back with the correct gear and managed to do the route ground up. It just goes through a seam in the roof right of ‘No Time to Pose’. Probably E6ish or something and I called it ‘Jelly Full of Bad Cherries’ in anticipation for the up and coming America trip!!

 

So now, I’m sooooooooo pscyhed for America, only a week and a half before me and Tom are shuffling about in some Vedauwoo sandbag 5.9.