Ben Moon (climber)

Ben Moon

Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	(1966-06-13) 13 June 1966 (age 59) London
Website	www.moonclimbing.com
Climbing career
Type of climber	Sport climbing, bouldering
Highest grade	Redpoint:  9a  (5.14d) Bouldering:  8B+  (V14)
Known for	First to climb consensus 9a  (5.14d)
Retired	2003
Updated on 13 May 2013

Ben Moon (born 13 June 1966) is a rock climber from England. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Moon, along with climbing partner Jerry Moffatt, were the two strongest British rock climbers and were key pioneers in the development of standards in international sport climbing. In 1991, Moon made the first-ever redpoint in history of a consensus grade 8c+  (5.14c) climbing route with his ascent of Hubble .

Climbing career

Moon's first officially declared 8c  (5.14b) routes had somewhat controversial names. The routes were both in France and had been previously attempted for a long time by local climbers. After climbing them Moon named them after French military disasters, first the Maginot Line, at Volx, ^{[1] [2]} and secondly Agincourt, at Buoux. ^[3] On 8 June 2015, Moon redpointed the Steve McClure route Rainshadow, 9a  (5.14d), at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire, England. ^{[4] [5]}

Business ventures

In 2002, Moon founded his climbing clothing and equipment company, Moon Climbing, after splitting from his previous company, S7. ^[6] One of Moon Climbing's most popular products is the MoonBoard, an overhanging climbing wall used to train dynamic climbing. ^[7]

Notable ascents

• Statement of Youth 8a  (5.13b), Lower Pen Trwyn (UK), first ascent (1984)
• Hubble 8c+  (5.14c), Raven Tor (UK), first ascent (1990)
• Voyager (low start) 8B+  (V14), Burbage (UK), first ascent (2006) ^[8]
• Rainshadow 9a  (5.14d), Malham Cove (UK), repeat ascent (2015)

Filmography

• One Summer, Bouldering In The Peak (1994)
• The Real Thing (1996)
• Hard Grit (1998)
• Stick it (2001)
• Stone Love (2001)
• Winter Sessions (2006)

Bibliography

• Douglas, Ed (2015). Statement: The Ben Moon Story. Vertebrate Publishing. ISBN   978-1906148980 . Retrieved 31 December 2021.

See also

• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• History of rock climbing
• Ron Fawcett

References

1. "Sport Climbing World Powers". ukclimbing.com. July 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
2. "Entrevista a Ben Moon" (in Spanish). desnivel.com. 25 June 2001. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
3. Jim Thornburg (22 April 2010). "Buoux: Revisiting France's Crag of the 1980s". climbing.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
4. "Ben Moon storms through Rainshadow 9a at Malham Cove - Planetmountain.com, climbing, News, mountaineering". planetmountain.com. 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
5. "INTERVIEW: Ben Moon on Rainshadow 9a - "I'm Over the Moon!"". ukclimbing.com. 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
6. "About Moon Climbing". moonclimbing.com.
7. "How and Why to Train on the Moonboard". Climbing. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
8. "Ben Moon". DMM Climbing. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

External links

• Official website
• IFSC Profile