Jacob likes getting away from the every day and uses climbing to find ‘wild things and real experiences’. Whether it’s bold grit routes, big walls or solo aid missions, you can be sure that Jacob is having fun doing it.
Originally from London, Jacob first started climbing with his Dad at the age of seven. After an apprenticeship on gritstone, which was helped by working on a PhD at Leeds University, Jacob worked his way through the grades. After climbing the many of the classics hard routes, it was time to leave a calling card. Finding new routes on the best known crags isn’t easy but first ascents such as The Lizard King (E9 7a), beside one of the most iconic hard grit routes, shows it is possible.
This attraction to the new and unknown led Jacob onto a two month expedition to Greenland to climb some untouched walls rising straight out of enormous Arctic fjords. The highlight was a 31 hour push making the first ascent on the 1200m high Horn of Upernivik. Cosmic Rave (E6 6b) earned a Piolet d’Or nomination.
Since then Jacob has continued to find interesting and unusual things to do in the world of climbing. He can probably claim to have hosted the world’s first Hawaiian themed portaledge party half way up El Topo (8a) after hitching from the UK to Verdon Gorge. He may also be the first to have ridden an inflatable shark on El Capitan. One thing’s for sure, you can always expect things to be hard, silly and often both.
“I find I don’t actually function very well in everyday life unless I go out and do crazy things. But for me it’s about finding a balance between going out and doing these things and day to day life.”
Notable Ascents:
- The Lizard King (E9 7a) Ilkley - first ascent (currently unrepeated)
- The New Statesman(E8/9 7a), Ilkley
- Point Blank (E8 6c), Stennis Ford - ground up
- From a Distance (E7 6c), Stennis Ford - onsight
- Totally Free II (8b, 70m), Malham Cove - third ascent
- El Topo (8a, 300m), Verdon Gorge - first continuous free ascent
- Cosmic Rave (E6 6b, 1200m), Greenland - first ascent of the Horn of Upernivik
- Freerider (5.13a V, 900m), El Capitan
- Moonlight Buttress (5.12d V, 350m), Zion