Why Are UK Trad Climbers More Sketchy?

One of my favorite illustrations of Grit climbing. Photo from Moja Gear

Ever since the film Hard Grit was released, it’s indisputable that many Brits are masters of utterly terrifying “trad” ascents. I say “trad” because a duct-taped pecker held in with cardboard is hard to qualify as “gear”. While America touts a selection of amazingly bold trad climbs, its hardest lines are all less dangerous. Is this due to the nature of British/Scottish climbers or the nature of the climbs? Here’s a quick comparison:

The most obvious characteristic shown by the British routes is that their danger ratings, if likened to movies, are as serious a pornographic film. But the second thing that jumped out to me is that none of them are cracks. Infamous lines like Echo Wall and Rhapsody (shout out to Dave Macleod, by the way) are gently overhanging face routes with few opportunities for pro. The American equivalents (regarding grade, not seriousness) all require jamming in a protectable feature of some sort (ie. Blackbeard’s Tears or Century Crack). 

The answer to our question seems quite apparent; nurture not nature… but I think there is at least some cultural influence, enough to not credit all of the palm-sweating belaying to a lack of cracks. There are several traits commonly typified with Brits that breed their bold climbing style. For example, having a “stiff upper lip”; there’s no point in whining about a runout, and Brits exhibit that with stoicism. Their dry sense of humor, their bluntness, and their suppression of emotion also create valuable traits for dangerous ascents. Keeping one's emotions at bay in a serious moment is handy skill on a Grit route.

 

While we can conclude that it’s a fair assumption to chalk up a majority of a UK climber’s boldness to the nature of the rock, we shouldn’t dismiss how their culture adds to it. Americans could learn a thing or two about trad climbing from both a friction slab with hooks and a dry sense of humor. We could also get a few more gold medals in Olympic track events if we could learn to sprint like British belayers…

One of my favorite Grit videos… go to 5:40 for the worst piece of “gear” I’ve ever seen.