The Climb That Almost Broke Me | Bold Slab Climbing in Northumberland

In my early twenties, I attempted to onsight a bold sandstone climb at a crag called Back Bowden Doors in Northumberland. I fell near the end of the climb and all the gear ripped, causing me to take a ground fall from around 12m. Incredibly I was left unscathed and walked away that day, but it has always been a core memory in my climbing career, and a moment that in many ways defined the next decade of my climbing!

This short film is a nod to this impressive piece of rock, and the return to the slab to climb it as a highball, which I have always wanted to do.

Thanks to everyone who has supported with this short film and to all those who've climbed with me through the years in Back Bowden and on this slab :) Also especially to Mark Savage, who took the pictures when I fell and climbed the incredible "Savage Slab", the hardest existing line on the slab.