Ben Moon (rock climber)

Ben Moon
Personal information
Nationality British
Born (1966-06-13) June 13, 1966
London
Retired from competitions 2003
Website www.moonclimbing.com
Climbing career
Type of climber Sport climbing, bouldering
Highest grade
Known for
  • First man to climb 9a (5.14d)
Updated on 13 May 2013.

Ben Moon (born 13 June 1966) is a rock climber from England.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Moon, along with his climbing partner Jerry Moffatt drove forward the level of sport climbing in the UK especially, but also throughout the world. He was the first person to climb a route at the grade of (French) 8c+, establishing Hubble at Raven Tor. At its inception, Hubble was the hardest sport route in the world, where the crux consists of a Font 8B boulder problem. After very few repeats despite attempts from some of the world's best climbers, the route is now considered 9a by some.[1] The 8c+ grade was confirmed by Alex Megos though[2]. Moon is best known for short and powerful routes and boulder problems.

Moon's first officially declared 8c routes had somewhat controversial names. The routes were both in France and had been previously attempted for a long time by local climbers. After climbing them Moon named them after French military disasters, first the Maginot Line, at Volx,[3][4] and secondly Agincourt, at Buoux.[5] Apart from his choice of naming, and the inevitable rivalry that comes from being part of the British Competition Climbing Team, Moon's relationship with French climbers seems to be on a friendly basis.

In 2004 Moon was still climbing, although he was concentrating on bouldering and giving courses to climbers. He also started an equipment company, moon, his second after splitting from his partner in his previous company, S7.

On 8 June 2015, Moon redpointed the Steve McClure route Rainshadow, 9a, at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire, England.[6][7]

Films

  • One Summer, Bouldering In The Peak (1994)
  • The Real Thing (1996)
  • Hard Grit (1998)
  • Stone Love (2001)
  • Winter Sessions (2006)

References

  1. ↑ "Adam Ondra, the routes I cannot climb! - Planetmountain.com, climbing, News, mountaineering". planetmountain.com. 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/alexander-megos-climbs-hubble-the-raven-tor-interview.html
  3. ↑ "Sport Climbing World Powers". ukclimbing.com. July 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Entrevista a Ben Moon" (in Spanish). desnivel.com. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Jim Thornburg. "Buoux: Revisiting France's Crag of the 1980s". climbing.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ben Moon storms through Rainshadow 9a at Malham Cove - Planetmountain.com, climbing, News, mountaineering". planetmountain.com. 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Ben Moon on Rainshadow 9a - "I'm Over the Moon!"". ukclimbing.com. 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.


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