Ian Faulkner

Ian Faulkner (21): Big Wall climber and ex-President of OUMC, Ian has a long history of exploratory trad climbing.

As well as joining Tom on their recent Kyrgyzstan Big Wall expedition, Ian has climbed up to E5 and F7b+ and set long rock routes on remote Turkish and Chinese mountains as well as in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas. Ian is also an accomplished caver – his adeptness with rope systems has saved much suffering over the years (particularly on descents and retreats) and his unflappable character makes him the mainstay of any climbing team. Ian just finished studying Material Science at St Anne’s College, Oxford.

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What motivates you to climb?

The woop of joy as I top out from a hard pitch! The more curses I used on the ascent, the louder the woop. The reason I like specifically the expedition climbing is the real sense of adventure, pulling on holds no one else has touched and going into the unknown! And I need something to keep me from the booze and er, loose women.

Do you have any superstitions when it comes to climbing?

Before the crux move of a route I have a very specific preparation sequence – I hold on with one hand and dip the other in a lucky chalk-filled bag I carry. I swap hands and repeat this until my belayer encourages me to ‘get on with it’.

What was your role within the team?

General trad monkey! I can haul and carry well enough and can whiz up anything that’s easier than English 6a. And after our victories over the mountains or when we needed to bail I used my anchor building speed to get us down. Unless we could walk down, in which case I just took photos or something.

What were you looking forward to most and least?

Looking forward to most: Climbing pitch after pitch of lovely untouched granite with the sun sparking off the sea far below us.

Looking forward to least: Dropping my dinner when I’m really hungry.

What have been your best/worst/most memorable moments in climbing?

Best: A couple of years ago I made my first visit to Dinas Cromlech with my dad, the weather was perfect and we had one of the crag to ourselves. In the morning we raked in the crag booty on Sabre Cut, following it with Cemetery Gates, which I led in one glorious pitch. Going well, I ticked off the Corner next. Not wanting to end my spree I tried Left Wall – at the time E2 was a big grade for me. Topping out with my forearms ready to burst felt great.

Worst: Preposterous Tales in Pembroke. I tried this nearly four years ago with a chap called Pete Hiscox. I was going better than I ever had been before, Pete was the incredibly strong and fearless leader he usually is, but we were both defeated. In the polished apex of the sea cave which was filled with the sound of crashing waves I surrendered the lead to Pete, who then got into a bit of a pickle. Some alarming manoeuvres perused before we could finally traverse back out of the cave – but it had been rather terrifying.

Most memorable: There are so many memorable moments! I remember my first lead well. It was about 10 years ago, in an indoor wall. I ambitiously chose a continuously overhanging jugfest. I managed to get to the penultimate draw but never managed to clip the anchors even after a couple of attempts. Even so, I got my first taste of ‘the fear’ and had my first adrenaline rush – I remember liking climbing more than ever that day!

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