UPDATE: Giles Barker Interviews Andy Pollitt

The second in the Giles Barker series of interviews sees Giles talking climbing with Peak and Wales legend Andy Pollitt.

In these 6 episodes, the man with many pairs of garish tights - the 80s were full of them and everyone wanted the loudest. Andy usually won! - talks about the classics, being a full-time, sponsored climber, Raven Tor and the state of bolting in the Peak District.

Andy tells us about the rebolting of Tequila, as well as his first ascents of Chimes of Freedom, The Whore of Babylon and Knocking on Heaven's Door, amongst many others.

Listen to the first episode here, or alternatively to access the full series click here

UPDATE: Giles Barker Audio Archive

The RockArchivist project is pleased to announce that over the next few months we will publish online the audio interviews recorded by the late Giles Barker which he performed whilst doing research for his planned book on the history of Peak District climbing.

Sadly, Giles died in a caving accident in spain in 1992, leaving his manuscript unfinished. His extensive research led him to make over 40 hours of recordings and these make fantastic listening. [more ....]

UPDATE: Archives of the Cioch Club

The original Stoney Middleton club! The legendary log books and partial new route record have been reproduced on the RockArchivist site.

Amongst the log entries short details of choosing the finish to the 30/- bunk, disappointment at ending an evening with the "best of the terrible trio", and other notes, as well as the long-lost tales such as "The Ballad of Starkey the Fang", "The Saga of Scoopio Walletti", "The Downfall of the Cioch and its Followers", and "The Saga of Vector Buttress". [more ....]

RockArchivist!

For years climbers have kept journals of their exploits, diaries of the things they've done, and recorded their first ascents. Over time many of these records are lost or forgotten, which is a huge shame as these items are a unique view into the history of the sport.

RockArchivist is a unique project to bring together many old archives, diaries, new routes books and other historical records.

We have started off by bringing together what many would consider the cream of the crop - the Stoney Cafe new routes book series, 20 volumes of the Pete's Eats new route books from Llanberis, plus Brian Cropper's 'YHA' new route books.

Why?

The answer is simple. For years the new routes books and individual archives have been the key to unlocking many of the mysteries behind the history of climbing. The books and archives give us a written window on the past, the actual words used by the first ascentionist, the controversy and the comments. Without these, climbers would remain blind to the true and colourful history. A history which would otherwise be lost into individual collections or disposed of.

Zippy.... Unleashing the Wild Physique artwork

Please Remember

Please remember that RockArchivist is a completely free service with no commercial ties of any kind. You won't see endless advertisements on this site because the site is provided as a completely free resource to all climbers. Please respect it as such; the RockArchivist project is a personal quest brought about from a simple spell of being out of work and remembering an idea I had in Stoney Cafe in the late 1980s.

If you would like to donate to the upkeep and development of the RockArchivist web site, please consider donating to the project via the donate button above.

Copyright

Also, please be aware that all images on this site remain the copyright of their various owners and must not be copied or reproduced in any other place without the express written permission of the copyright owner.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are given to the following for allowing material in their posession to be displayed on these pages: Graham Hoey, Pete Norton and Tom Potter at Pete's Eats in Llanberis, Steve Bancroft, Eric Jones, Ian Lonsdale, Brian Cropper, Chris Hamper, Dominic Stanforth and the Outside (Hathersage).

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