P ARACLIMBING
“Climbing Blind is an amazing film made by Alastair Lee about my climbing, focussed around the Old Man of Hoy ascent”
“Climbing Blind is an amazing film made by Alastair about my climbing, focussing on the Old Man of Hoy ascent,” explains Jesse. “It’s been winning awards all over the place, which is cool! Alastair pulled off something special. I hope people enjoy the humour and that it encourages them to get out into the mountains.”
How do you lead a trad route when you can’t see? Jesse was born with a degenerative, genetic condition. Initially he had 20% of central vision and no peripheral vision. Despite this, his dad first took him climbing when he was just two, and by age 11 he’d led his first route outside. At the time he could see a little of what he was doing, but it was never good enough to plan a sequence, forcing him to climb move by move. Jesse and Molly first met when they both joined the Bath University Mountaineering Club in 2004. They were both heavily involved, going away climbing almost every weekend and on longer trips during the holidays: “We’ve been together for 13 years now and nothing much changes, still lots of climbing together,” says Jesse.
The pair now live in Loughborough and train most evenings at The
Climbing Station, Awesome Walls in Sheffield, or in their garage. They climb outside at weekends when it’s dry, most often in the Peak but generally all over the UK and many places abroad, too. Jesse’s sight has deteriorated over the years, and he now has just light perception left: “Essentially I can tell the difference between light and dark but that’s it and I can only do that in a tiny field of view. If I hold my hand in front of my face I can’t see it. I can’t see the holds when I climb or the gear as I place it.”
Jesse now places his gear by feel: “When I find a crack, I have a good grope about and work out if it might be suitable for gear. If I can find a constriction for a nut, or a section that would take a cam, I work out what size I need based on the size of the crack relative to my fingers or hand. If I can get a thumb-down jam in the crack I know it’s the right size for a 2.5 cam, for example.”
Using a system they’ve honed over many years, the pair wear a two- way radio when climbing outside. When Jesse is leading, if Molly can see that Jesse is struggling to find a hold, or to find a piece of gear on his rack, she chips in with some directions. Placing gear when you can’t see may sound surprising, but Jesse explains: “I can’t visually check the gear and so I sometimes place multiple pieces for redundancy if possible. That said, the gear I place is almost always bomber. Molly gives me feedback on it once she’s climbed the pitch.”
The first blind person to claim first Ascents in the Arctic In 2017, Jesse, Molly and three friends organised a month-long mountaineering expedition to the Stauning Alps in Greenland, which was supported by the BMC, amongst others. Jesse explains: “We completed a 100km loop up the Roslin Glacier, over two cols and down the Bjornbo Glacier. We were totally self-sufficient throughout, and camping in temperatures below -28C. We placed a network of ablation stakes and also managed to bag two previously unclimbed peaks.”
“I’m pretty certain that I’m the first blind person to claim first ascents in the Arctic! People are often surprised when I tell them that I find getting around on skis easier than on foot. When the ground is strewn with boulders it’s a nightmare for me. At least when everything is covered in snow the surface is smooth.”
GB Paraclimber Later that year, Jesse was climbing at the local wall when a member of the GB Paraclimbing squad noticed that he was blind: “I’d never heard of paraclimbing before.” The Paraclimbing competition series involved four events spread out over the UK. The next competition was in four days time in Edinburgh. Jesse signed up, competed and got on the podium. He was picked for the team early in 2018: “That’s when the hard training began.”
“In the competitions I am in the B1 category, which is for those with light perception and totally black blind. I have to wear a blindfold to ensure a level playing field. I don’t mind this, it doesn’t make a difference, I can’t see the holds anyway. When I train indoors, I always have the blindfold on so that training and competitions aren’t any different. It freaks some people out when I lead with a blindfold on!”
Next goals
Jesse had been planning to attend the US Paraclimbing Nationals at the end of March, but the event was cancelled. “I was hoping to visit Joshua Tree afterwards for some crack climbing! I can’t wait to get back out on the trad soon. I’m feeling even stronger than when I did the Old Man of Hoy so I’m excited to see what I might be able to do this year.”
32 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
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