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| Name: |
Simon Richardson |
| Age: |
40 |
| Occupation: |
BP Reservoir Engineer |
| Base: |
Aberdeen |
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| Description: |
Simon is a key Scottish winter activist and prolific new router. He has always enjoyed exploring new areas and spotting possible new routes and has left his mark throughout the Scottish Highlands with scores of classic and testing new routes - 30 of which are graded VII and VIII?s and over 100 at grade V and above.
Many of these first ascents were climbed on remote cliffs, most noticeably perhaps, The Cardinal on Beinn a?Bhuird (VIII,8) - a hard and technical mixed route in a committing environment. Simon has also made an important contribution to high standard mixed climbing on Ben Nevis, with his triptych of outstanding lines Cornucopia (VII,9), South Sea Bubble (VII,7) and Darth Vader (VII,8).
As well as being a guidebook author he was the major instigator behind the expansion and improvement of the new winter grading system. The new two-tier system is more informative than the previous system and has played a significant role in making Scottish winter climbing more accessible.
Other recent outstanding first ascents include Redemption (VIII,7) and The Link Direct (VIII,7), both on Lochnagar. |
| Finest Moment: |
"The one that immediately springs to mind is the first winter ascent of The Crack (VIII,8) with Chris Cartwright on the Ben last winter. It is a stunning line which I had been dreaming about for over 10 years. Arriving on the summit of Carn Dearg at midnight with 11 pitches and 18 hours of brutally hard climbing behind us put me on a high for weeks!" |
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