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About Me..
Eight years old, bored and restless on a Saturday morning, I was whisked off to the kids climbing club at Eldon Leisure centre, and it was here the obsession began; I was there religiously.
At fourteen I started entering comps; and had some success, I came fifth in the British Regional Youth Competition Series in the North East and Lakes category, and then went on to win this category the following year. I entered and won the local bouldering and leading competitions held at Sunderland Wall and Newton Aycliffe. At the age of 15 I was offered a job assisting in teaching at Sunderland Wall and by the age of 16 I was running teaching sessions. My last experience of junior competitions saw me take fifth place in the British Bouldering Championships, which I promptly celebrated with my first ever trip to Fontainebleau :0)
My first experience of adult competitions began with me failing miserably during an invite only comp at Sunderland wall with Andy Earl and Malcolm Smith. However, i was un-deterred as I was now the proud owner of a driving licence and a Peugeot 306, this is where it really began. For the next year me and my 306 took a break from competitions and began working our way round Northumberland, I built myself an extensive tick list of problems climbing anything, routes or boulders that looked interesting and exciting. All this climbing, and teaching meant I flew through my SPA log book, and was awarded the qualification at eighteen. 
18 now old enough to explore further a field without parents! first stop a two week road trip to Font. Ticking problems such as, le toit du cul de chien, L’egoiste, Helicoptere, Carnage, and many more classics. I get a huge sense of satisfaction from working a problem over time compared to getting a flash or a quick ascent of a problem at a competition.
In the years that followed I put up some problems in Northumberland, including Pocket Rocket at Shaftoe, Rheumatology at Hepburn and most recently Frog Rape Arete at Hepburn. Starting to make a mark in the guide books was encouraging and I slowly worked my way through most of Northumberland and Yorkshire. For my 21st I had a sports climbing holiday in Alicante, ticking most of the guides classic climbs. Shortly after this I met my partner and we re-visited Alicante exploring the rest of the Costa Blanca region. Since then we have visited several climbing areas such as, Albaraccin, Ploumanac’h and Kerlouan on the North West coast of France, Switzerland visiting the more popular areas Chironico, Cresciano and Magic Woods, and not forgetting our now annual trip to Fontainebleau.
I continue to work in the Industry however, in 2010 I began working for Northumbria University as the Senior Climbing instructor for their brand new wall. I have recently been taking part in local competitions and bouldering ladders to act as training sessions for my projects outdoors.
I was mentioned in climb magazine for my ascent of Working Class, 8a+, an ascent which I worked at for a while and one that I feel kick started my ‘hard’ climbing. Breaking through that 8a grade barrier with Working Class was also a break through in confidence and I started and flashing/repeating several problems graded 7a - 8a+, culminating with a repeat of Andy Earl’s Back Bowden classic, the Bitch 8a+ (by no means a flash). This was soon followed with a repeat of the Bowden classic the Crack 8a, and Hepburn’s test piece Preparation H. Further to this, I recently made a quick ascent of Working Class SS, 8b, my first of the grade, Chuffed! 
As for the future, we have been planning a trip for the last 18 months, and we finally hand our notices in at the end of the year; with the intention of leaving on New Years day, for a yearlong climbing trip of Europe. Until then you will find me and my battered hands preparing for this by working my way through as many climbs and competitions as possible.
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