Alex Haslehurst started climbing when he was 15 years old when his brother encouraged him to enter a climbing wall competition.

IT WAS Alex Haslehurst’s brother who first encouraged him to climb and the idea paid off – Alex has gone on to dedicate much of his life to the sport and even moved location for more climbing opportunities.

Here Alex talks about what it is about the sport that gets him so excited as well as outlining some of his most memorable climbing experiences.

You can find out more about Alex and follow his blog at www.alexhaslehurstclimbing.com.

When did you start climbing and who encouraged you to give the sport a go?

I started climbing quite late really at 15 years old. My older brother started climbing through his University and I ended up getting involved in a competition at his climbing wall and won! The next day we went out on the gritstone (froggatt) and despite having zero skin left and being totally knackered I was hooked. It wasn’t until a while after that he told me I only won the competition because I was the only one in that age category! 

Alex made the decision to move to North Wales due to its endless climbing opportunities.

What was it like growing up in Essex and how often did you get the chance to climb when you were younger?

It was not the most inspiring of places for a rock climber. However I now know of a couple of us die hard folk that came from the flatlands. Martin Doyle (former head of Plas Y Brenin) and also Chris Webb Parsons before he moved to Australia. Despite that through psych and determination I used to get the train to London to Mile End climbing wall or up to the Peak district as often as I could until I got a driving license and then I was off!

I moved to the Peak for university and after climbing a lot on the grit I started to fantasise about bigger things so ended up moving to North Wales for the mountains and sea cliffs. 

Alex is spending the winter travelling with his partner in Europe where the plan is to climb as much as possible.

What have been some of your biggest climbing accomplishments and where in the world has the sport taken you?

Haha, as with most climbers I don’t really see anything that I’ve climbed as an accomplishment, more a part of the journey. Something I think is the hardest thing I’ve ever climbed will seem trivial in a few years. Likewise, I might have peaked, which I certainly hope isn’t the case!

I certainly have moments where I’m proud of my climbing, winning my own little battles. They might not even be the most difficult but they’ve stuck with me. I always think back to when myself and Robert Grant were halfway up the Salathe wall in Yosemite without much water in 40 degree heat and still managing to push on to the top.

Equally being strung out above a couple of awful micro wires and hanging on a hand placed beak for the 11th time in a row on the shield headwall. That one always gives me strength to maintain some poise. 

In terms of travel I have visited quite a few of the big climbing zones in the world. But being like anyone else there’s always more to head to. It’s actually quite an exciting time currently as I have found a balance between work and climbing which will now heavily favour climbing. This means that My partner, Katy Whittaker, and I can now start to visit a lot more places. We’re just about to head off into Europe in our converted van for the winter so we’ll see where we end up.

Alex’s passion for photography compliments his love of climbing.

Tell us about your passion for photography and how you’ve combined it with your love for climbing?

I started my love for photography around the same time I started climbing. I actually studied photography at college instead of doing A levels. I’ve never really made a big deal about taking pictures because in climbing everyone seems to be a ‘professional’. I have always loved developing my own films and printing them in a dark room and I’d probably still do this if I had the space/time. However I also love taking pictures out and about when we’re climbing.

I’ve taken a look video as well and have some amazing ascents on film but haven’t had the time to actually sit down and turn them into something. 

I guess I’m fortunate to have ended up climbing with some of the better climbers in the world so the photographs aren’t really any different to that of anyone just taking pictures of their mates out climbing. They just end up being more inspiring because of the heinously small holds that they’re hanging. 

What are some of the other extreme sports you’ve enjoyed and which do you still actively partake in?

Crikey, other extreme sports. I barely have time for this one life let alone getting involved in another one. I do a little bit of surfing on rest days or when it looks particularly good connies but I am a bit rubbish, gun ho! but rubbish.

I think If I couldn’t climb then I would no doubt get involved in another alternative sport that’s for sure. Something in the outdoors the takes you to cool places and gives you as bit of purpose. Maybe paragliding or something similar. 

Tell us about your writing and how you write to inspire through your website http://www.alexhaslehurstclimbing.com?

Haha, I think I probably started that so my Dad could keep up with what I was up to but I bet he doesn’t even read it. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with writing. I would love to write more blogs and I have hundreds of funny stories from our trips that would make amazing short pieces of writing.

Again I just need to free up some time somewhere to actually sit down and be in the right mood to write. Sometimes it just flows well and other times it doesn’t. I’ve actually almost finished writing a fiction book, nothing about climbing but still I think it actually came out quite well. I really need to finish the next two in the series before I even think about trying to get it published. 

What exciting climbs and other projects do you have coming up in the next few months and beyond?

I’ve just finished a stint of work which has meant I can now take the winter off. We’ve also just completed the next stage of our van conversion – its now totally ‘sweet’ with a shower and everything!

We’re off out into Europe for the winter with a mind to bouldering for the first part and then heading to Spain to get totally pumped for the second part. We’ll return at the end of March ready for another stint of work and then back out to South Africa in the summer to maybe head to a new area which has only seen little development so far.

Other than that I’m hoping that a balance of two months work and five months off should keep me entertained and with enough time to actually get around to doing more writing, photography and maybe even a cheeky film edit.