Ron Fawcett

Biography

Ron Fawcett (born 6 May 1955) is a British rock climber known for pushing the technical standards of British rock climbing in traditional, sport, bouldering and free solo disciplines in the mid-1970s to mid-1960s decade. 1980s, and for pioneering a career as a full-time professional mountaineer. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Fawcett was widely regarded as Britain's best and most outstanding climber. Fawcett is considered a legend of British rock climbing and a prolific developer of innovative new routes which have brought him international recognition. In the early 1980s, Fawcett was considered Britain's most famous climber, with a reputation for high levels of physical fitness and mental toughness. He produced daring routes that embraced both traditional climbing and early sport climbing techniques, and are still considered test pieces for climbers. Fawcett's dominance in British climbing from the mid-1970s was succeeded by British mountaineer Pete Livesey, with whom Fawcett had an unusual friend-rival relationship; Livesey was Fawcett's first mentor and climbing partner. Fawcett's dominance waned in the mid-1980s as emerging British climbers such as Jerry Moffatt and Ben Moon began to push the technical levels not just in British climbing, but in international sport climbing. "In 1986, Fawcett soloed over 100 extreme sandstone bouldering routes in one day (rated E1 and above, with half above E2 5c and 4 to E5 6b) in the Peak District. His free solo extended to highball bouldering, and in 1987 Fawcett climbed Careless Torque 8A (V11) at The Plantation at Stanage Edge, considered one of the very first boulders climbed at this level in history, and which is still one of the most intimidating bouldering routes in Britain. Fawcett, although very introverted, had a strong determination and competitive drive to stay at the top of his emerging professional sport. In 2011, The Guardian told About Fawcett: "As Moffatt rose through the ranks of British climbing, the man who stood firmly at the top was Ron Fawcett - and you could never meet a man less likely to be described as an extrovert. Fawcett was almost pathologically shy. He pr It was a far cry to climb alone, hundreds of feet above the ground, than to have a casual conversation with a stranger." Facwett won the 2010 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature with Ed Douglas, for their book Ron Fawcett, Rock Athlete.