UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => news => Topic started by: shark on May 19, 2020, 10:37:39 am
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Shocking news. Had two separate reports that John Allen died. Climbing accident at Stoney it seems. Had only got to know him recently. Huge character and legendary contribution on grit.
RIP :'(
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That's horrible news. So sorry to hear that. He put up so many absolute amazing lines. What a tragedy.
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Gutted to hear that, he was a legend and someone I always looked up to.
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Reported on UKC too. Tragic. His routes are a genuine legacy.
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This is just awful news. John was obviously a remarkable prodigy in the 70s, leaving one of the finest legacies on grit. But I find his return in the 1980s just as inspiring really. Looking at the old edges with new eyes he put up scores of brilliant new routes that others had not seen - there are so many from that period I've enjoyed. Not bad considering the competition he was operating against. It's a terrible loss.
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Fuck. Thats awful. His routes are visionary.
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Horrid news!
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That's tragic, was hoping to bump into him at a crag one day.
I really enjoyed his chat with grimer:
https://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/jcpc-032-john-allen
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Terrible sad news. RIP. So many great routes.. Profit of Doom is one of my most memorable trad experiences.
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Iconic routes. Very sad news. Hartless Hare sticks in my mind - as well as West Side Story of course.
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Fuck.
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Oh no. That’s terrible news. He was such a lovely bloke. Absolutely tragic.
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Absolutely dreadful news. RIP
(https://i.ibb.co/y0Bf1cG/92938294-37-D3-46-FA-BB57-236-D191108-C9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Mn524xW)
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I'd love to see a John Allen FA tick list. Strangely, I never met him.
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RIP John. You'll be missed. One of the true gritstone gods.
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RIP. Hope his ghost will sit forever cross legged on a ledge at Millstone, nodding quietly.
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RIP john x
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That has just knocked me for six today. :no:
RIP John.
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That's really sad news - as well as his huge contribution to gritstone climbing, John was a really friendly and encouraging person on the few occasions I was lucky enough to get to talk to him
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Fuck, what a legacy of routes. As Andy says some of those ‘80s routes are so special and were ahead of their time. And enjoyed by many more people since bouldering mats. Chip Shop Brawl and Stanage Without Oxygen are two of the best in that vein, bookending one of the world’s finest crags.
Trailblazer.
Such sad news 🙁.
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Awful sad news.
John was an absolute legend and a visionary. Huge inspiration to me and many others. A climber's climber, and a great bloke. He's most famous for the big name grit routes, but for me it's the perfect highballs climbed before highballing was a thing that really impressed. Both on the grit and many of the great early lines at Castle Hill NZ, which he often named after places in Sheffield.
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Bloody Hell.
I can’t say much about John’s contribution to Grit climbing - his routes require talent, not just endeavour - but he had quite an impact on me and I would like to share a couple of stories.
I got to know John in Yosemite in the autumn of 1981. He was on a comeback after some low-profile years in New Zealand. He was crushing 5.12 and bouldering brilliantly, despite nursing a recurrent dislocating shoulder that would pop out if he rolled over in bed. My abiding memory is of how effortless he made it all look, one of the best movers on rock I’ve had the pleasure to witness. I couldn’t hope to emulate this but his fearless attitude to reputation had more impact. A little of his try-anything spirit rubbed off and I had a big breakthrough in my climbing the following year.
My other memory was what a warm character he was. I was a lost soul at the time and he was a major reason why I stayed in California for the winter. I ended up sharing a house on Lake Tahoe with John, his girlfriend Carol, and a couple of other flotsam. In the tradition of illegal aliens we packed 5 into a two up, one down shack (aka The Cardboard Box, such was its structural integrity and insulating properties). Life seemed a huge game and he delighted in winding people up. Many stories are unrepeatable but in response to the local popularity of conspiracy theories (some things don’t change) he took to wearing a pair of hand-crafted wire aerials when visiting the local bar. When this sight triggered the desired inquiry he’d deadpan “for communicating with aliens”. You have to have considerable chutzpah and charisma to carry this off without getting your lights punched out but he always managed it.
It was frequently impossible to judge where the real John started and the piss-taking showman ended. He enjoyed playing up to the northern hardman stereotype and simultaneously subverting it. He had shoulder surgery that winter - a risky procedure then - and was fairly terrified this might be the end of his climbing. Preoperative adrenaline meant he needed an extra dose to put him under. Asked to count to ten a second time, John responded, in his best flat cap accent, “I’m from Glossop, anesthetics don’t affect me”.
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Iconic routes. Very sad news. Hartless Hare sticks in my mind - as well as West Side Story of course.
Think Heartless Hare was Bancroft, you maybe mean Hairless Heart? That was certainly the first time I became aware of him - sat in the FRCC library at Lancaster Uni reading the Extreme Rock essays for Quietus/Old Friends and Hairless Heart/Strapadictomy. Haven’t read either for a while, but can still remember a lot of the detail - Drummond’s water cooled helmet on Hairless Heart and leading Quietus naked with the rope tied round his waist. When you see size of his contribution to Peak climbing, it’s pretty staggering.
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Thanks for those great stories Duncan. Strangely, I never met him, neither somewhere in Sheffield nor somewhere out on the grit.
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RIP indeed.
Years ago, when I was much younger, I ended up climbing with a bunch of climbers from the NE including Mawson's Dad (I think Neil had left for Uni), Howard. I wasn't overtly aware of it at the time but Howard was keen on targeting Allen and Bancroft routes every time we went out. I can clearly remember belaying/spotting him on Old Friends expecting to be flattened at any moment.
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Stunned.RIP
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A tragic loss of a climber who inspired so many.
RIP
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Great stories, Duncan.
I remember opening up my copy of Eastern Grit and looking for mid-grade classics. Allen and Bancroft's names stood out above all others. It seemed like every page bore John's mark, and seemingly always with proud lines. What a canvas to have in front of you as a gifted teenager the eastern edges must have been. Terrible news.
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Mrs S has just completed the BM 5A for the first time. She tells me she used a little extra chalk in memory of the famousMountain headline " John Allen frees Great Wall but uses Chalk".
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I never met him but climbing West Side Story was (and still is) one of my proudest moments on grit.
He was great at the Peak Rock book launch where he explained why he called it West Side Story.
For anyone who wasn't there, 4 minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCq6zyvYKUQ
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The humour Duncan describes comes across in that clip, shame its an edit of what I imagine must have been a fun evening.
John Allen what a fucking ledge.
RIP
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I never met him sad to say. But, through his routes, the man gave me some of the most vivid memories of my life.
RIP
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Never met him, but his legacy is huge. A very sad loss RIP
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Heard the news today when I was up at Targasonne (granite, not grit - but close enough to the real thing and perfect for a quiet bit of bouldering and solitary contemplation as a token of remembrance). John was a legend, and one of the most gifted climbers I've ever seen. A sad day. My condolences to all who knew him.
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I never met him but climbing West Side Story was (and still is) one of my proudest moments on grit.
He was great at the Peak Rock book launch where he explained why he called it West Side Story.
For anyone who wasn't there, 4 minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCq6zyvYKUQ
He owned the room that night
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Totally gutted about this.
I'm probably not the person to set it up as I'm rarely on here or the other channel but could someone set up a justgiving account for donations to the family?
I would like to donate something, it seems like all I can do to show my sympathy to a family I have no contact with. I feel a need to contribute something to say thank you for being a legend of our sport.
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I never met him but climbing West Side Story was (and still is) one of my proudest moments on grit.
He was great at the Peak Rock book launch where he explained why he called it West Side Story.
For anyone who wasn't there, 4 minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCq6zyvYKUQ
Lovely stuff, thanks for that. Having taken the lob off the very top of West Side Story back in October I can't imagine the kind of talent, ability and nerve it would have required to do it when he did, without pads etc. A fantastic achievement and legacy to leave behind.
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This is just so, so sad.
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I never met him but climbing West Side Story was (and still is) one of my proudest moments on grit.
He was great at the Peak Rock book launch where he explained why he called it West Side Story.
For anyone who wasn't there, 4 minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCq6zyvYKUQ
He owned the room that night
7.00mins in, forgot that. So funny. Aw man I’m gutted.
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I'd love to see a John Allen FA tick list.
I started putting one together before Paul from UKC offered to try and automate something. You can't help be struck by the sheer quality and depth.
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I started putting one together before Paul from UKC offered to try and automate something. You can't help be struck by the sheer quality and depth.
Apart from Night Owl! :shit: :lol:
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Is there a photo of him on Moolah in an old guide? Remember looking at the photo in the guide thinking "that looks great" then looking at the route thinking "that looks nails"!
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Yes, wearing a really strange shit looking pair of shoes. Moolah is awesome.
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49920030596_422948de38.jpg)
Moolah from the Stanage 89 guide
Sadly I never met him but his contribution to UK climbing can't be understated. This year gets worse and worse. RIP John
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Yes, wearing a really strange shit looking pair of shoes. Moolah is awesome.
EB's that didnt quite catch on.
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For every new route it seems he had a strong look to match. Technical and sartorial vanguard
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Write up of John’s career by Keith Sharples
www.climber.co.uk/news/news/john-allen-god-of-grit-the-legend/
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I think you will find that in the last picture it’s the late Simon Horrox eating the ice cream not the late John Bacher. He did the Nose and the South Face of Mount Watkins with John.
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Lovely Yosemite photo, who took it? As Webbo says, that’s Simon Horrox with the ice cream and chocolate milk. On the same bench as John is another Brit. who I also climbed with. Paul Clarke?
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I will ask Paul whether it's him, but if it isn't then they must have been separated at birth!
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Yes, wearing a really strange shit looking pair of shoes. Moolah is awesome.
EB's that didnt quite catch on.
Those things were sooooo stiff, full on edging shoes, how he climbed anything in them is beyond me, think he did the fall at Curbar in them as well
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I will ask Paul whether it's him, but if it isn't then they must have been separated at birth!
It seems that your Paul Clarke is different to my Paul Clarke.
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Thanks for asking. I’m probably wrong, it was nearly 40 years ago. I recognised the guy instantly, and have climbed with him, but the name is proving harder to retrieve!
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Could it be Martin Moran?
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Graham Hoey remembers John Allen:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_day_the_music_died_-_remembering_john_allen-12803
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Gritstone ticklist - https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=4080 - stunning.
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No West Side Story?
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Mega! I've done about 60 (give or take, there's a few I think I've done but can't be sure).
Also Body Pop is recorded as Body Popp, and much as I'd like to think JA named a route after me, I'm pretty certain he didn't.
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Graham Hoey remembers John Allen:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_day_the_music_died_-_remembering_john_allen-12803
Great article. I'm glad this thread is still going.
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57 from that list, and it’s highlighted some obvious things I’ve not done. So many classics
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Twenty for me I think. Andy, I remember holding your ropes on a few of those that I was far off from doing.
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No West Side Story?
Original list mostly from FA data on UKC. Few boulder problems added from http://peakbouldering.info/search?first_ascentionist=John%20Allen Unsure on Technical Master. Anyone?
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I think that John and Ed Drummond both climbed it around the same time. Having thought about this a bit more I’m thinking that one of them climbed it on the left and one on the right.
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What a list! I'd never really appreciated the enormity of John's FA contribution. Such genre defining classics as well.
I never met John, but his routes did give me what was probably (still) my best day of climbing. Back in February 2007. We spent the morning at Curbar where we did Canoe and got utterly spanked by The Toy. It was too hot! So we abandoned and headed to Burbage South for the afternoon where we did The Boggart, Boggart Left Hand, The Knock and Pebble Mill. What a great day that was!
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Twenty for me I think. Andy, I remember holding your ropes on a few of those that I was far off from doing.
No doubt!
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Does any footage exist of him climbing?
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Off the top of my head was there a short clip of him on Jackaloupe from Best Forgotten Art?
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I never met John, but his routes did give me what was probably (still) my best day of climbing. Back in February 2007. We spent the morning at Curbar where we did Canoe and got utterly spanked by The Toy. It was too hot! So we abandoned and headed to Burbage South for the afternoon where we did The Boggart, Boggart Left Hand, The Knock and Pebble Mill. What a great day that was!
That was a great day! Although I thought we managed the toy? Maybe not. Burbage felt like velcro as I recall. I certainly remember that I wussed out of the Pebble Mill after your ascent though.
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That was a great day! Although I thought we managed the toy?
I think you're right, but I remember finding it really hard and I think I fell off? I remember your hand slipping on the topout of the Knock and you just checked the momentum, I thought you were off! I'd had a sneaky toprope so it wasn't so bad.
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Off the top of my head was there a short clip of him on Jackaloupe from Best Forgotten Art?
Yep. He climbs Stonnis Crack (and possibly more that I’ve forgotten) too.
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I seem to recall that. Shame there isn't much from his prime years
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Not sure if this has already been linked but got around to listening to Jam Crack 080 John Allen's Routes and Me (http://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2020/5/27/jcpc-080-john-allens-routes-and-me) in the car the other day. Nice tribute to the man and his routes.
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Not sure if this has already been linked but got around to listening to Jam Crack 080 John Allen's Routes and Me (http://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2020/5/27/jcpc-080-john-allens-routes-and-me) in the car the other day. Nice tribute to the man and his routes.
Yeah, 2nd that - drove up to St Bees Sunday evening (work engagement in Egremont 8am Monday morning - not just for the hell of it!)
Was absolutely perfect accompaniment to the crazy drive up the west coast of the lakes prior to a sunset bouldering session.
Nice one Grimer!
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Climber host Crags interview with John before he emigrated.
https://www.climber.co.uk/people/interviews/the-john-allen-interview-crags-8-1977/
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I saw a beer from Buxton Brewery called Chip Shop Brawl. Is it a coincidence or is someone there doffing a cap to JA?
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Looks like a Cap Doff, a few other climbing related names in their range and lots of local landmarks.
https://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/item/189/Buxton/Chip-Shop-Brawl.html
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From that Crags interview, 1977
Crags: How can you justify grading London Wall on Millstone 5c? It did after all take Pete Livesey, one of today’s very best climbers, all day with much upping and downing to repeat it.
JA: But it is for each move. There’s no move harder than 5c. That’s my view on technical grading.
It just shows John’s ability. Or propensity to sandbag...
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Great stuff, thanks for that mjr.
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Looks like a Cap Doff, a few other climbing related names in their range and lots of local landmarks.
https://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/item/189/Buxton/Chip-Shop-Brawl.html
Alfie, who I think Ben Heason used to or maybe still lives with, is or was part owner of the brewery and is a climber, albeit more of an alpinist when he gets the chance. He brought a few slabs with him to Ben's birthday bash in Pembroke a while back. Good lad, fantastic beer.
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:2thumbsup:
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That's brill :2thumbsup:
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Again you have a conflict of opinions. While you argue for the romantic notion of climbing you admit to being obsessed by technicality.
I have actually. I’ve just realised that.
Brilliant answer :clap2:
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From that Crags interview, 1977
Crags: How can you justify grading London Wall on Millstone 5c? It did after all take Pete Livesey, one of today’s very best climbers, all day with much upping and downing to repeat it.
JA: But it is for each move. There’s no move harder than 5c. That’s my view on technical grading.
It just shows John’s ability. Or propensity to sandbag...
...or delight in winding-up Livesey.
Chip Shop Brawl is a brilliant name for a beer. John would have approved hugely and I hope he was able to appreciate it.
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https://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/item/189/Buxton/Chip-Shop-Brawl.html
Bit pokey at 10% TIPA but as 10% of the proceeds go to Mountain Rescue teams it would be rude not to order a few!
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Could just order some you're more likely to enjoy and make a donation to MRT anyway. Reckon I'll order a selection from them next time I'm in the market.
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Yeah but being practical like that removes a vague reason to buy a 10% beer which I’m sure to enjoy anyway 😄
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Looks like a Cap Doff, a few other climbing related names in their range and lots of local landmarks.
https://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/item/189/Buxton/Chip-Shop-Brawl.html
Alfie, who I think Ben Heason used to or maybe still lives with, is or was part owner of the brewery and is a climber, albeit more of an alpinist when he gets the chance. He brought a few slabs with him to Ben's birthday bash in Pembroke a while back. Good lad, fantastic beer.
They have a few other beers with definite / possible climbing links, Rotpunkt, Far Skyline, Rain Shadow, Shelterstone etc. Picked a few cans up from our local makers market a couple of months ago, very nice :icon_beerchug:
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And Wyoming Sheep Ranch (https://rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/California/Yosemite_National_Park/Yosemite_Valley/El_Capitan/Southeast_Face_El_Capitan/Wyoming_Sheep_Ranch_49926.html).
An appropriate name for a 9% IPA since hard aid climbing is nearly synonymous with being a pisshead. Although the most popular tipple (https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXnHgthhqR/?igshid=1okouzgsjw3ac) amongst the El Cap. bridge crew probably offers a greater bang for the buck!