Johnny Dawes: What Climbing Has Taught Me

Johnny Dawes is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the most talented and influential British rock climbers of all times. During the mid '80's and early '90's Dawes, with his hallmark creative genius, created a nigh endless list of testpieces which took British trad climbing into a hitherto unimaginable realm, both in terms of sheer difficulty and style in which they were climbed. His routes spanned the width and breadth of Britain's rock, from Gogarth sea cliffs to Llanberis slate, via the Scottish and Welsh mountains and, his primary love, the Peak District gritstone. These include "hallowed ground" such as Gaia, The Quarryman and Indian Face, to name but three of the most famous. Here's what climbing has taught him over all these years.