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HFM33 GNC Cover .indd 1 12/01/2011 16:17 LEO HOULDING | | INTERVIEW S U PERSEVEN | F E ATURES | F ITNESS | | TRAVEL | HEA LTHY LIVING | F LUFF Cliff hanger Leo Houlding continues to pioneer the most extreme rock faces known to man. Here, he talks exclusively to HFM about his death-defying exploits

Words Charlie Norton Photographs Michelle Beatty

he scene opens on a relaxed, world of climbing has opened up where the portaledge below, knocking Pickles into laidback young man in an rules of the usual universe are not quite the space. They both dangle in the abyss. old Panama hat and a red same and only a chosen few can cope. Houlding balances himself with his head jacket, with blue skies These are two of the world’s most in his hands, deep in concentration, around him on a Californian extreme free-climbers – where you use ready for another go. The clip ends. Tsummer’s day. He’s making fresh co!ee on nothing but the rock face to ascend, and Even if you have no interest in climbing his camp bed, grinning and yawning ropes are attached to the wall in case of – even if it’s the last thing you think you lackadaisically. ‘It’s 5.30am, we think,’ he a fall. One of them, Jason Pickles, says: will ever try – I guarantee watching this says. ‘I need to wake up. It’s a brutal start ‘The Fly’s about to ascend the crack.’ footage will give you an adrenalin rush to the day. I think I’ll do a 7a for breakfast.’ Then ‘The Fly’ – better known as from your armchair. It’s utterly compulsive The camp bed is a portaledge held mercurial British climber Leo Houlding viewing – a real, live action movie (The precariously on the sheer rock face of – starts his ascent. His fingers delve into a Prophet by Alastair Lee can be downloaded El Capitan in Yosemite (the ‘big daddy’ at crack, searching for a grip as his feet hold from www.posingproductions.com). 3000ft or 910m), where two young climbers him glued to the wall. He flicks himself up In fact, it took nine years and 60 days have spent a night continuing their mission move by move, but falls a couple of times of climbing to get to this point – and they up ‘The Prophet’ – maybe the world’s and dangles by the thread of his rope (more finally made it all the way to the top – one hardest-ever free-climb route. And 7a is a like a spider than a fly) as he swears to of the great endurance free-climbs of all very tough move with which to stretch out. himself. The third time he makes it further. time, built up with years of knowledge of The atmosphere changes, the tempo of He pauses before taking on the one of the this route up the east side of El Cap. As the music increases and the clip continues hardest parts of The Prophet with a very Houlding says: ‘The Prophet was my with a voiceover saying ‘this is the wildest tricky move. He goes for it but loses his Olympics in terms of climbing – it could wild climb of them all’. It feels like a matrix grip and suddenly falls 20ft to the well be the pinnacle of my career.’

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A natural instinct <<<< CONTROLLED RISK Houlding believes that all humans are Leo Houlding is one of the world’s most extreme climbers, having made a name for himself by designed to climb. ‘It’s not about when you taking on some of the world’s greatest climbing start [climbing], but when you stop,’ he says. challenges from the tender age of 10. Here he’s ‘We have evolved from apes and we are pictured battling The Prophet naturally great at clambering. If you look at the strength of a baby’s grip or take time risks. The most worrying times are when to look at a toddler, they are always trying you have di"cult moves above bad to climb everything. Then, when we get to protection. Climbing is dangerous but five or six, we are told not to climb for our you can control many of the risks with own safety, so later we have to be taught a lot of skill, knowledge and experience.’ moves that came perfectly naturally to us For Houlding, it’s a tricky dichotomy when we were small.’ – being safe enough to stay alive, but living But Houlding never stopped climbing. out a fairground ride of existence at the At only 10 years of age he climbed the Old same time. Despite his nous for safety, he Man of Hoy in the Orkneys – a sandstone still makes antics in films like Point Break stack that Chris Bonington climbed in seem like a stroll in a meadow. ‘I think my 1967 for a live BBC transmission. Then, craziest experience was when the pilot of at 15, he made the first ascent of the Lord the DC3 plane let us jump out over Ba"n of the Flies on Dinas Cromlech in Wales Island before we went to climb the Asgard. with Tim Emmett. They set out after We airdropped all our stu! and asked the last orders in the local pub (though Leo pilot if we could jump as well. He said no concedes he wasn’t drinking heavily) and one had jumped out there before, but that made it up in the dark with head torches. we could go ahead. And we also leapt out By 16, he was a sponsored Berghaus climber. at 5000ft over the Arctic Circle, hurtling Houlding, now 30, is hewn from the towards Tolkienesque peaks – free-falling rocks of the Lake District and speaks with to 500ft before opening our chutes.’ a laconic and deliberate Cumbrian drawl. Houlding even bought his parachute on ‘The climbing lifestyle is incredible,’ he eBay. And then, he adds: ‘We had to gather says. ‘You go to some of the most far-out our stu! for a six-week expedition in the places in the world, searching out the most Arctic wilderness climbing and filming intense adventures. Climbing has come our adventure up the Asgard.’ a long way in the last 20 years.’ Houlding is from a new generation of HOULDING’S FIVE KEY Seeking new adventrures climbers that have not only matched what CLIMBING TIPS Since 2005, Houlding has started getting has gone before, but made them seem a Want to improve your climbing skills? Here’s how… into para-alpinism as well – which is century out of date. He became British 1 ‘It’s all about your feet. Look at your feet, even basically BASE jumping, or throwing Junior Indoor Climbing Champion in if you are underhanging [where the climber grabs himself o! the top of a route after a climb. 1996 and was the first Briton to free-climb the bottom of the hold and pulls upwards, using (Houlding also skydives, snowboards, surfs El Capitan in 1998. their legs to apply tension and keep them on the and mountain bikes.) He says of BASE But, in 2001, he lost his footing while on rock], use your feet rather than your arms.’ jumping: ‘When it works, it’s the most the 5000ft north face of Cerro Torre in 2 ‘Try to keep your arms straight. At the climbing beautiful thing in the world as it can be Patagonia and fell 70ft, shattering the talus wall lock your arms straight whenever possible and three days up and three minutes down, so bone in his foot and su!ering horrific rope you’ll lose 40 per cent less energy.’ you’re back in time for beers and medals. burns to his hands that cut through to the 3 ‘Don’t be afraid to fall. Falling is part of climbing.’ A 120mph descent kind-of beats climbing bone. That was just the start of his ordeal. 4 ‘Good quality-control is crucial, particularly when down. But it’s not always simple. You have He then had to crawl, Touching The it comes to your equipment. Don’t use second- to get all your climbing gear down the route. Void-style, for three days and it was a week hand ropes when you are starting out.’ You can’t always just tuck it into a pair of before he received treatment. He thought 5 ‘Climbing is all about handling your own body baggy trousers and throw yourself over.’ his foot might have to be amputated, but weight. It’s a complete body workout for your Perhaps Houlding’s most famous feat instead he made a remarkable recovery. pecs, biceps, triceps, quads and calves – which was following in the footsteps of George ‘I wouldn’t make that mistake again,’ he are all incredibly important to condition and Mallory [the legendary British climber who says. ‘It taught me to really minimise the support your own weight.’ died on his way to a possible summiting in

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ULTIMATE ADVENTURE >>>> Above: El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park. Top right: Risking life and limb in Croatia. Bottom right: BASE jumping in Norway. Top far right: Free-climbing demands focus. Bottom far right: Walking the highline at Lost Arrow Spire, Yosemite

1924] up the north-east ridge of Everest HFM PROFILE with American mountaineer Conrad Anker Leo Houlding in 2007. ‘It was special following such an amazing story,’ says Houlding. ‘The altitude Full name: Leo Houlding Free time: ‘Not much, I keep up-to-date by was tough as I had never been above 5000m Nickname: The Fly, Springer reading about current affairs in the papers.’ and had no idea how I would cope, but the DOB: 28 July 1980 Carnivore: ‘Zebu, served medium rare [a breed of climbing was fine.’ It was, nevertheless, the Birthplace: Penrith, Cumbria buffalo also known as ‘humped cattle’].’ first recorded unaided ascent of this side of Height: 5ft 11in Herbivore: ‘My neighbour’s delicious lettuce.’ Everest and features in the acclaimed Weight: 70kg Fruit: ‘Mango – fresh and in season.’ documentary The Wildest Dream. Relationship status: Married to Jessica, a doctor. Snack: Kendal Jacksmiths flapjacks Climbing has so much variety, from sprint Career highlight: ‘Beating Jeremy Clarkson on Beverage: San Pellegrino Limonata bouldering in the Lake District and big wall Top Gear.’ [Houlding climbed the face of Verdon Psyche-up music/training track: ‘The album climbing on El Cap to mountaineering Gorge, France, while Clarkson raced up the FabricLive.37 by Caspa & Rusko at the moment.’ marathons like Everest. It depends what you mountain roads in a Audi RS4] Best bit of gear: Passport and working credit card are climbing, how and who with. It’s not Longest climb: ‘North pillar of Fitzroy, Patagonia Movie: Fight Club di"cult to find a climbing wall near you in – one mile of climbing and 56 hours with no sleep. Book: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran the UK, which means it’s easy to give it a go. Also numerous hours spent on El Capitan.’ Actress: ‘Cate Blanchett – she looks like my wife!’ Climbing surely provides the leanest, Hardest climbing move: ‘The ‘Devil’s Dyno’ – an Superstitious: ‘I try not to be, but I don’t refuse HOTOGRAPHS XXXXXXXXXXX strongest and most sinewy natural physique extraordinary 2.5m sideways jump between two blessings from Catholic Priests or Buddhist Lamas P you can obtain outside a gym. But this is just holes 500m above ground. A sideways leap of faith if they are going around.’ a side e!ect of the whole experience. As the and a very rare move on The Prophet.’ Worst habit: ‘Ask my wife – maybe that I’m over- maestro Houlding says: ‘You are in this Favourite climbing mountain: El Capitan ambitious and never satisfied.’ epic tangible cloud somewhere wild, in Favourite surf break: Lakey Peak, Indonesia Most embarrassing moment: ‘Ha, there have THIS PEAK IS ILLEGAL. THIS PEAK IS ILLEGAL. an intense situation. You have to be very Favourite mountain for snowsports: Aiguille du been a few. I was trying to break into a music M RO self-reliant and there’s no hope of rescue Midi, Chamonix festival in Bariloche, Argentina when I fell into F

– but you’re there with cool people, in a Best base jump: ‘Half Dome, Yosemite National an open sewer and got covered in s***. It would PING M balls-to-the-wall adventure. There’s simply Park* – just don’t get caught!’ only have cost $10 to get in!’ nothing quite like it.’ Leo Houlding has been Climber you respect: Tommy Caldwell [American Holiday destination: Dalmatian Coast, Croatia sponsored by UK outdoor brand Berghaus who made the first free ascents of El Capitan] Life after climbing: ‘I’m committed to the

Laird Hamilton [American adventure world, so I hope I’ll use my strength E, KIDS % BASEJU since 1997. The company has supported him Your role model: M throughout his climbing career and has recently big-wave surfer] and wits to engage my mind somewhere.’ helped fund some of his major expeditions.

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