This winter issue of Vertical Life feels particularly special to me. After recently spending time in the UK, I came away with a bunch of stories worth sharing. With summer just around the corner there, it felt like the perfect time to turn our attention north and explore some of the people, places and adventures shaping climbing across the UK.
In this issue, we step inside the world of influential UK photographer and editor Ian Smith, whose images have helped define the visual identity of a generation. We also go behind the doors of DMM in North Wales for a rare look at the craftsmanship behind some of the world’s most trusted climbing hardware, and follow one of the UK’s sketchiest unofficial via ferrata adventures through rusted ladders, dripping tunnels and questionable route-finding.
Left: Alison Hargreaves on ‘Right Unconquerable’ (HVS 5a) Stanage Edge, UK. Right: Jerry Moffatt solo on ‘Fern Hill’ (E2 5c) Cratcliffe Tor, UK. Images by Ian Smith
While in the UK, I also caught up with the man behind Unleashed Climbing to trace the evolution of the Australian-born company from a garage start-up to a presence on the World Cup stage, and headed backstage on a deep cave climbing film featuring Steve McClure and Olympian Molly Thompson-Smith.
Queensland finally claims the cover this issue, celebrating the Sunshine State’s crags and community while also serving as a reminder that there are still so many stories waiting to be told from Australia’s often underrepresented climbing regions. We also revisit one of the country’s most elusive testpieces as Conor White makes the long-awaited second ascent of Shifting Sands (28) at Mt Buffalo, 26 years after Malcolm Matheson’s visionary first ascent.
Left: Lucy Stirling on Space Odyssey (29), Mount Flinders, QLD. Right: Adam Aiken on Evil wears no pants (30) Mt Coolum, QLD. Images by Nathan McNeil
This issue also welcomes several new voices to the magazine. Lucy Stirling reflects on fear, identity and trust in her debut column, while Simon Carter weighs in on the evolving conversation around guidebooks from a publisher’s perspective. We’re also excited to introduce Sensational Sandbags, a new regular column from Tommy Hutchinson.
Elsewhere, Zorba Parer shares his thoughts on free soloing, while James Hockey delivers practical big wall tips. We hear from four female climbers operating at the sharp end of 8000m mountaineering, sharing what drives them to the highest places on earth. We also follow Steve Chadwick’s powerful journey from stroke recovery to a 9a goal, alongside the story of an epic rescue mission in Tonsai, Thailand.
Left: Team Illawarra on Lord of the Thais, Tonsai, Thailand. Image by George Broadfoot. Right: Buffalo Boulders Community, Image by Claire Williams
All of that, plus gear reviews, Rock Revival, cooking and the regular favourites, makes for a winter issue that spans continents, generations and every corner of the climbing experience.
I hope you enjoy the issue just as much as the team & I enjoyed creating it for you.
Claire Williams
Editor, Vertical Life Magazine
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