Pete Whittaker
Personal information
BornPeak District, United Kingdom
OccupationProfessional rock climber
SpouseMari Salvesen
Climbing career
Type of climberTraditional climbing
Highest grade
Known forMaking the first ascent of Century Crack (5.14b), the world's hardest off-width crack climb.
Updated on 1 August 2022.

Pete Whittaker (born 1991) is a British professional rock climber. He is one half of the duo known as the Wide Boyz, along with his climbing partner Tom Randall. Whittaker came to notability from crack climbing, including the first ascent of the world's hardest off-width climb, the Century Crack.

Climbing career

In 2011, Whittaker and Randall made a visit to the United States, where he was the first to flash Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b), a highly regarded off-width in Indian Creek.[1] Continuing the trip, Whittaker and Randall made the first ascent of the Century Crack (5.14b), the world's hardest off-width climb. After initially sending the route with pre-placed gear,[2] both subsequently repeated the climb while placing their own gear.[3] They won the 2016 Climbing magazine Golden Piton Vision Award for this feat.[4]

In 2014, Whittaker became the first to flash Freerider (5.12d) on El Capitan.[5]

In 2016, Whittaker made the first rope solo free-climb of Freerider in a day.[6]

In 2021, Whittaker and Randall free-climbed the Great Rift (5.13), a 2,500-foot roof crack on the underside of a highway overpass in Devon, England.[7] Their ascent was documented in the short film Bridge Boys, which was featured in Reel Rock 16.

In 2023, Whittaker made the first ascent of the 100m crack climb Crown Royale (5.14d) in Jøssingfjord (NOR). He proposed a grade of 9a (5.14d), making it one of the hardest trad routes in the world. He spoke on the difficulty of grading the route, describing it as "harder overall than Recovery Drink, but not by much, which is why my initial feeling about the route has been 8c+/9a".[8]

Ascents

Redpoint

9a (5.14d):

  • Crown Royale – Jøssingfjord (NOR) – September 2023 – First Ascent[9]

8c+ (5.14c):

  • Recovery drink – Jøssingfjord (NOR) – August 2019 – Third ascent[10]
  • Kaa'bah – Raven Tor (UK) – June 2015 – Sixth ascent[11]

8c (5.14b):

  • Cobra Crack – Squamish (Canada) – 2013 – Eighth ascent
  • Century Crack – Canyonlands (US) – 2011 – First ascent

V13 (8B):

Flash

8b/8b+ (5.13d/5.14a):

  • La Fuerza de la Gravedad – Vadiello (ESP) – December 2022

8b (5.13d):

  • Ronny Medelsvensson – Jøssingfjord (NOR) – August 2019

8a (5.13b):

  • Belly Full of Bad Berries – Indian Creek (US) – 2011

Filmography

  • Wide Boyz (2012), directed by Chris Alstrin and Paul Diffley[13]
  • Wide Boyz II – Slender Gentlemen (2014), directed by Paul Diffley[14]
  • Bridge Boys (2022), directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen[15]

Bibliography

  • Whittaker, Pete. Crack Climbing: The Definitive Guide. Mountaineers Books, 2019. 304 p.

References

  1. ↑ "Mari Salvesen flashes Belly Full of Bad Berries, notorious off-width at Indian Creek, USA". PlanetMountain.com.
  2. ↑ "Century Crack, the hardest offwidth in the world?". PlanetMountain.com.
  3. ↑ "Wideboyz Climb Century Crack Placing Gear". www.ukclimbing.com.
  4. ↑ "2016 Golden Pitons: Vision Award". Climbing. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Freerider flashed by Pete Whittaker". 20 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Pete Whittaker rope solos El Cap's Freerider all free in a day - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com.
  7. ↑ Walsh, Anthony (1 December 2021). "Wide Boyz Tackle The Great Rift (5.13) Roof Crack Under 2,500-foot Cement Bridge".
  8. ↑ "Pete Whittaker on Crown Royale, 9a". www.ukclimbing.com.
  9. ↑ "Pete Whittaker makes first ascent ascent of trad project Crown Royale". www.ukclimbing.com.
  10. ↑ "NEWS: Third Ascent of Recovery Drink by Pete Whittaker". www.ukclimbing.com.
  11. ↑ "Kaabah 8c+ for Whittaker and Walker". www.ukclimbing.com.
  12. ↑ "Climbing The World's Hardest Crack Boulder (Kraken 8B)". Wide Boyz. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Wide Boyz, 2012". Letterboxd. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "WideWide Boyz II – Slender Gentlemen, 2014". Letterboxd. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  15. ↑ "Bridge Boys, 2022". Letterboxd. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
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