Last Thoughts on being a Climber

03 Jun 2026 - Richard Horridge

Wed 03-Jun-2026 20:53

Aiguille Verte (in cloud)

Aiguille Verte (in cloud) from above Lac Blanc, Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

As of today I am no longer a Climber.

My climbing journey began in 2017 when I first visited Redpoint in Birmingham, although it really began much earlier than that.

As a child we visited Youth Hostels with a large group of my parents' friends. It was there that I first fell in love with the outdoors through walks led by my father and his close friend Steve, whose recent death was very sad. Poignantly, we attended his funeral just before I set off on what was to be my last climbing trip.

Thanks to my knowledge of hiking, navigation and the great outdoors, I became a pivotal part of Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition groups during my time at school between 2006 and 2011. Many of the teachers who assisted with the Award were also mathematics teachers and were great mentors in both the academic and outward bound pursuits. It was thanks to them that I resolved to join a hill-walking club at Durham University.

During my time at Durham I became heavily involved in the hill-walking club, joining the committee and becoming a walk leader. Throughout this time I led many walks in the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Scotland and became confident at leading a group through both summer and winter conditions. It was during this period that I first learned winter skills (the use of crampons and an ice axe) and completed Mountain Leader Training.

After leaving university I started indoor rock climbing in 2017 at a local gym in Birmingham, Redpoint. I quickly fell in love with the sport and pushed to do up to 6b/6b+ on slab routes on a top rope, and even recorded one 7a! I was not so well-rounded on the more technical routes, crimp holds and overhangs however!

When the Depot bouldering gym opened my climbing group started going there instead, which was my first introduction to the sport of bouldering. Over the next few years I would gradually work up to V4/V5 level.

My true passion, however, was always for the outdoors and the mountains. In 2018 I started my master's degree at the University of Birmingham and knew that I needed to join the Mountaineering and Climbing Club. Within a year, I went from doing my first outdoor climb on the fresher's trip at the Llanberis slate quarries, to my first trad climb (a HVS!) and alpine-style climb in Eryi (Snowdonia), to my first winter trip to the North Cairngorms along with my first grade I and II routes, to leading 6b sport climbs on Portland, to attending the first Midland Association of Mountaineers Alpine training course in Arolla, Switzerland. I even won the "Keenest Fresher" award at the tender age of 24!

Alas, the Covid 19 pandemic soon put a stop to climbing. I didn't really get on with the supposed anti-viral properties of climbing chalk (although there is a paper about it!) so did not frequent the gym much during this period. I did manage to make a trip to the Lake District in December of 2020 and did a couple of winter outings with Tom. This was also the period where I was Team Captain for the ballroom team at the university and my focus shifted away from climbing somewhat (there will be more posts about dance to come as my series is a little out of date!).

I rekindled my winter climbing through a trip to Aviemore in January 2023 with friends James, Jake and Chelsea, aided by Tom who instructed us all during two day Winter Skills course.

In spring of 2022 I saw that the Midland Association of Mountaineers and the University of Birmingham Mountaineering and Climbing Club were organising a joint meet in Chamonix, France. I saw an opportunity to return to Alpine climbing and signed up for the training meet in the Lake District as well as the trip itself. This was a great trip and I made many new and old friends.

However, my connection to and desire for the sport was soon to be tested. In September of 2022 I took a ground fall leading Grooved Arête (HVD) on Tryfan. I was thankfully not seriously injured and was able to complete the route without need for rescue. However, it greatly affected my confidence and passion for outdoor climbing.

While I had done a lot of climbing by this point in my career, I felt I had a blind spot – my skill and knowledge of gear placement and advanced ropework techniques. This was put into sharp relief through my accident and I resolved to properly learn to trad climb. This was to take a lot longer than I had planned due to my life and work situation not allowing as much space for climbing.

Months went by. The summer of 2023 was tough and I cancelled several trips due to challenges in my life circumstances. During this period I shifted away from the university climbing club and towards the Midland Association of Mountaineers, though I struggled to find time and space in my life to attend the necessary 3 meets to get full membership.

I was thankfully able to fit the 2023-24 University of Birmingham Mountaineering and Climbing Club Scotland Winter trip in. This was a great trip and I took several groups out on their first winter walking and mountaineering adventures, and successfully joint-led the Aonach Eagach Ridge (II) and led two spectacular ridges: Ballachulish Horseshoe (I) and Ring of Steall (I). I also was fortunate enough (along with Georgia) to second a grade III route led by Steve, though we backed off as it was not in condition.

While it seemed that climbing was back on the menu, the first half of 2024 was full-on with other life stuff and I did not climb much apart from a memorable trip to Froggatt with Dan and Georgia where I led my first Severe and Hard-Severe trad climbs. While I had thought about travelling to Chamonix again I instead opted to go to Skye for the annual Midland Association of Mountaineers trip. I drove up with a local climber Ursula and I had keen plans to do the Cuillin ridge traverse.

However, the weather was not so kind to us (shocking, I know!) and we agreed it was not a good idea. I elected instead to do a solo scramble and set off alone.

While I many years of walking, scrambling, rock climbing, winter climbing and Alpine climbing experience under my belt, I was at this time rusty and had not been out climbing for some time – a recurring theme for me post-pandemic. I set off confidently and quickly. My fitness has been generally good for some time now and I was feeling good. I set off up what I thought was the scramble route though soon ran into route-finding issues (with echoes of my previous ground fall) and ended up on a ledge above a 15 metre drop which was too difficult to down climb safely.

I immediately attempted to contact Mountain Rescue though I had no phone signal. I had three options:

  1. Wait for someone to come by to hear my whistle (not likely, given that I was quite far away from any footpaths and it would be over 10 hours until someone sent out Mountain Rescue)
  2. Continue climbing up and attempt to find a path (difficult and potentially getting my further away from safety)
  3. Attempt to climb down to safer ground with improvised aid (dangerous and could result in serious injury from a fall)

I had my harness and several slings and nuts with me (though no rope, which would have greatly simplified the escape). With the aid of an improvised daisy chain of slings and abseil tat which I had found on nearby rocks I successfully climbed down approximately 8 metres to a ledge. I reckon this was about a Severe grade rock climb.

Around 3 metres from the ground I came off the rock, but the nut to which I had attached my Rube-Goldberg rope held firm and I was suspended around 2 metres from the ledge; I could unclip myself and drop to relative safety. With the first major difficulty passed, I found another bit of abseil tat and used this to aid my down climb to safer ground.

I was profoundly traumatised but also elated – I had used my skills to self-rescue from a potentially life-threatening situation and did so in as safe a way possible given my available gear. However, my faith in my own judgement was permanently damaged and I could not face spending any more time in the mountains. I left my car for Ursula and returned home the very next day.

Despite these traumatic events I was keen to ensure that I did not fully detach from climbing and opted for some exposure therapy at Redpoint. I was able to climb (and fall off) indoor lead routes within several days of the accident. Some of my confidence was restored.

Over the following months and years I became slightly more regular in attending Midland Association of Mountaineers meets. I eventually made it to three meets and successfully joined the club as a full member in May 2026. I continued climbing indoors and started teaching several dance friends, three of whom have (to date) successfully passed their belay test. I travelled to Krabi and spent a half-day with a local guide throwing myself at the challenging tufa limestone sport routes.

I still held out hope of a return to the Alps and planned a 2026 trip with Georgia, who has been my most regular climbing partner and supporter since 2022. However, I did not account for how much my life has changed since then. Somehow, along the journey, my passion for climbing had extinguished and I had been pulling myself forward by grabbing hold of echoes of my past. While outwardly enthusiastic and knowledgeable, I was merely going through the motions and unaware of the inner spirit which willed me to stop.

I managed to get myself to Chamonix on 30th May 2026 and set up camp at Camping du Glacier d'Argentière. I met with Georgia and we talked through routes and outwardly I seemed fine. As time passed, however, I felt more and more anxiety and a deep aversion to going out and doing those spectacular Alpine routes we'd discussed – Arête des Cosmiques (AD) on the Aiguille du Midi, Aiguille d'Entrèves Traverse (AD-), Forbes Arête (AD) on the Aiguille du Chardonnet.

On the first full day we set off up to Lac Blanc on the Aiguilles Rouges with the aim of summitting the Aiguille du Belvédère (PD), the highest point in the range, and then bivouacking. The walk up felt good despite the heavy rucksack and we reached a very snowy lake in reasonable time. However, tiredness caused us to stop just beyond the lake. We enjoyed several hours in the sun watching the cloud formations over the Mont Blanc massif. I felt at peace in the mountains and I knew that Steve would have loved the place. This alone made it worth my trip.

Later, upon settling in to the bivouac, I felt the anxiety return. I had several restless hours trying to sleep – something I usually find difficult – distracted and agitated by all kinds of noises and lights around. However, I saw some fantastic things: sunset over the Aiguille Verte, a satellite in the sky, and even the blinding lights of the Swiss military beyond the tripoint of Mont Dolent.

This agitation was causing me a large amount of distress. Around 01:30 I awoke Georgia and we agreed to descend back to the campsite. This was another memorable excursion. We had the mountains completely to ourselves and we revelled in the peace and tranquillity of a world few choose to see.

The next day we discussed things further. I had finally admitted to myself that climbing, and particularly Alpine climbing, no longer drew my soul in the way they used to. I had simply moved on and was sustained now by old and new activities which fit into my life better. Fortunately we were able to sort things out so that she could continue her trip (with success so far in Italy!).

Does this mean that I will never climb again? No, far from it – I have simply let go of the nagging need to keep going at it the way I used to. I have let go of my identity as a Climber, and now I am simply "someone who climbs". I plan to return to Redpoint soon and continue as a teacher and mentor on Jenny's climbing journey. I'll continue to boulder at Depot. I would like to spend time in Midland Association of Mountaineers' huts – with Jenny, now that I'm a full member – and get out into the hills with no expectations. I may still develop my skills further, but without the expectations that I have been living with. Maybe I am slowly learning to let things go with grace.

I am proud of my time as a Climber. Here are some of my favourite memories:

I'd like to thank the following people in particular for their influence on my climbing journey. In roughly chronological order: Gary, Tom, Ali, Alex, Ed, Fran, George, Richard, Jake, Lottie, Andy, Nick, Teddy, Nat, Tom, Matthew, Tom, Phil, James, Matthew, Max, Cem, Georgia, Tash, Tymothy, Steve, Austyn, Dan, Ursula, Juliette, Saq and Tom. I've learned much from each of you and will continue to pass on my knowledge and experience. To all of the people to whom I have taught something, and there are many of you, know that teaching has become one of my most cherished passions and that alone will keep me climbing, if not as a Climber.

Lastly, and most importantly of all, thank you to Steve for starting me along this journey, and I will always carry your joy and love for nature in my heart.

So long, it's been good to know ya!

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