Andy is a regular devotee of the dark art of Scottish Winter climbing. Over the last few years he has accrued an impressive list of ascents - the first ascent of The Secret (VIII,9) in 2008, an amazing 5 day spell in 2009 where he climbed Centurion (3rd ascent), the first winter ascents of Sassenach (IX,9) and Bruised Violet on Beinn Eighe (VIII,8).
2010 saw him completing the second ascent (first clean ascent) of Cracking Up (IX...,9) in Snowdonia, and the first ground up ascent of The Tempest (X,9). Most recently he has ticked off the Dave Macleod test pieces The Cathedral (X,11) and The Hurting (XI,11) in ground-up style. Andy is undoubtedly a class act in this discipline.
Elsewhere in the world Andy's exploits have seen him narrowly missing out on the summit of Cerro Torre via the Compressor route, turned back one pitch form the top by a storm, making the third ascent of Snotty's Gully on Phari Lapcha, along with numerous alpine routes including the North Faces of the Matterhorn and Les Droites and just a few weeks ago put up two new routes in Lofoten, Norway.
Andy came to climbing at the relatively late age of 25 from the world of competitive road cycling where he was racing in the hard competitive arenas of Belgium, France and Holland. During this time saw a fair amount of success but when the falling off and getting ill became too much of a routine he decided to investigate climbing, a sport his father had introduced him to many years earlier.
Andy will be talking about his exploits on the hard testpieces he has climbed in the UK and further afield.
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