It was, with a degree of hesitation, that I plucked up the courage to call Malcolm. Knowing what he was like, I thought that he might not take to the idea of being interviewed. If Malcolm didn't want to do something, he wouldn't - it was that simple.
I called him on his mobile "Hi Malc, it's Jo here, can you speak right now".
"Yeah, sure." A good start, he sounded chirpy, "I'm in Norway, bouldering on these amazing granite boulders."
He told me he'd be out there for another week, then back for a few days, then jet setting off to America again. And after that he was moving back to Sheffield so I could catch up with him then.
Some two months later, on Christmas Eve we finally met at Granton's Harbour Inn bar in Edinburgh. Admittedly, I did feel slightly privileged that he had kept his word, and even seemed relaxed about the interview.
Over the din of the loudspeakers blasting out Christmas tunes, we chatted as I tried to find out how a young lad from Dunbar became one of the world's strongest climbers?
Let's find out...
"That same year, he climbed Fated Path, a 7c+ in Glen Coe. That's a jump from E2 to E6 in the space of one year!"
Malcolm was first introduced to climbing by his dad, Alan, a member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club. Once or twice a year, from the age of seven, Alan would take him out climbing. However, it wasn't until the age of fifteen that he began to take a more serious interest in the sport. To begin with, during those first few years Malcolm's interest lay mainly in traditional climbing - doing mountain routes in the Highlands, on the Shelterstone and Creag an Dubh Loch in the Cairngorms, and cragging closer to home, at venues such as Dunkeld, Trappain Law and Northumberland.
Despite his trad upbringing, training for climbing was in evidence right from the start, and even at age fifteen, Malcolm had the insight to see that weights could help to improve his standard. At first, every second day, he would do 1½ hour weight sessions, but these soon increased to 3½ hours every morning.
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The Man himself - Mr Smith
Pic: Cubby Images
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He now admits that "I went totally overboard and eventually burnt out". However, the training began to pay dividends and after two years, Malcolm made the first ascent of Hitchhikers Sitting Start, a Font 7c/7c+ boulder problem at one of his favourite haunts, Kyloe in the Woods in Northumberland. That same year, he climbed Fated Path, a 7c+ in Glen Coe. That's a jump from E2 to E6 in the space of one year!
During the following year his standard took a quantum leap again when he red pointed Magnetic Fields at Malham in Yorkshire, at 8b. His training methods were clearly working and he was now reaping the rewards
of all the hard work he'd put in.
Rumours began to spread across Scotland of this powerful young phenomenon who trained in his converted bedroom in Dunbar, south of Edinburgh. In a conversation with Dave 'Cubby' Cuthbertson, Kenny Spence (the highly respected 70's climber) was heard to say: "the boy is strong - now we're talking strong here!"
"The rumours were being confirmed - the boy was strong!"
Intrigued and always keen to encourage young up-and-coming talent, Cubby called Malcolm to meet up and they soon began training together. At that time, with the exception of the tenacious Mark McGowan, the powerful, young Dundonian Stuart Cameron and Cubby, few other Scots were operating at the top levels in sport climbing.
Cubby was certainly impressed and - secretly - hoped that Malcolm would stick with it and show some of our southern counterparts a thing or two!
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Working La Plafond, 8c at Volx in France.
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In 1990, aged just 17, he did just this when he snatched first place at the Berghaus Bouldering event in Newcastle. Present at this competition were many of Britain's best - up and comings like Ian Vickers and the more established powerhouses, such as John Dunne & Cubby. At this competition, many would truly witness Malcolm's power as he cruised a problem which even the route setters could not complete.
The rumours were being confirmed - the boy WAS strong!
In 1992 he upped the tempo. Aware of a need to improve his on-sight ability, Malcolm soon dispensed with several 7c+s. Even today, this is a very respectable level, but ten years ago it proved that he was already up there with the best of them. Shortly after he went on to flash two 8a+'s, Chimes of Freedom at Ravens Tor in the Peak, and Energy Vampire at Malham in Yorkshire. At that time, these were the hardest flashes ever by a British climber, matched only by Simon Nadin's ascent of The Groove at Malham.
