First British Woman to Climb 7c+

remus · Nov 6, 2023

I need to pick the collective UKB brain. I was cleaning up the climbing-history.org entry for Let the Tribe Increase and noticed both Ruth Jenkins and Rachel Farmer are down as having climbed it and being the first British woman to have climbed 7c+, which obviously can't be true.

Anyone know who was first? And if they've both climbed it? And, for a bonus point, the date of the ascent(s)?

haydn jones · Nov 6, 2023

i thought rooster booster was the first 7c+, or maybe it was first under18 7c+ for women... im sure zippy told me that at one point. i might be completely mis remembering though.

grimer · Nov 6, 2023

I would have thought Rooster Booster too but maybe Fliss Butler?

Stabbsy · Nov 6, 2023

My OTE collection only goes back to 1994 with a few odds and ends older than that, so available info is scarce! However, in Rock Stars (Heinz Zak coffee table book), Rachel Farmer's ascents of Let The Tribe Increase, 0% de Matiere Gras and Invitation au Voyage (all 7c+) are dated 1992 (along with her ascent of Raindogs).

Fliss Butler's entry in Rock Stars doesn't mention anything harder than 7b+, but they were onsights. Then there's an interview with Fliss Butler in an old OTE (August '93) that mentions her hardest sport routes as Privilege du Serpent and Mirage (no mention of Rooster Booster), unfortunately without dates.

remus · Nov 6, 2023

Good research, thanks Stabbsy. Looks like Rachel is the current earliest confirmed ascent of a 7c+ with her 1992 ascents.

On a related note, there's this OTE cover which I'd assume was around the time she did Raindogs https://www.instagram.com/p/BdVUh_rneR_/ Not quite clear what issue number it is, but my earliest copy is May 1997 issue 67, so assuming 12 issues a year and going back 5 years gets you to to issue 7, and given the pic has a 3 in it I reckon that's got to be issue 3. Anyone got a copy lying around?

T_B · Nov 6, 2023

It’s not issue 3 it’s 32 and I’m sure it’s ‘91. Malc is 18 in The Young Ones article. Rachel Farmer did Raindogs in ‘90.

Stabbsy · Nov 6, 2023

The Fliss Butler interview was OTE 37 and that was Aug 1993, so OTE 32 would have been Sept/Oct 1992 (OTE was 6 issues a year at that point, I think). I’ve got it upstairs - probably the first climbing mag I ever bought - so I’ll check once the kids are in bed.

I did look at it as part of my research this morning as I thought Rachel Farmer was one of the “Young Ones” but must have misremembered. It was the episode that reported her ascent of Raindogs though, so ‘92 probably right unless Tom has some alternate knowledge!

First British Woman to Climb 7c+

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