Climbing | Huck
Huck

Climbing

In Syria’s mountains, climbers are pitching new lines to a freer future

Vertical rebirth — Assad’s fall has opened up huge, previously untouched mountain areas for people to explore. Bushra Alzoubi meets a trio of sibling rock climbers who are building a scene from scratch.

  • Huck 83: Life Is A Journey Issue
  • Bushra Alzoubi
Two speakers on stage with mountain backdrop projection, warm lighting, and seated audience in darkened venue.

Huck’s guide to Kendal Mountain Festival 2025

Share the Adventure — From film premieres to late-night parties, here are our circled events over the jam-packed weekend.

  • Sport
  • Huck
Black and white low-angle view of stone building corner with chevron pattern stonework and arched window against dark sky.

Inside the shadowed, stomach-churning world of night climbing

Don’t look down — For nearly a century, the secret Night Climbers society have scaled and traversed Oxford’s dreaming spires in search of freedom. We meet members under the cover of darkness to hear about their love of the twilight sport.

  • Sport
  • Sam Mumford

The blind climber scaling new heights

Taking on rock faces takes skill, trust and perfect communication for Jesse Dufton, the world’s leading blind climber.

  • Huck80
  • Soraya Abdel-Hadi

The Alpinist is a nail-biting & heartbreaking climbing doc

New heights — In 2018, the alpinist Marc-André Leclerc died after climbing an ascent in Alaska. Amid the release of a new film tracing his legacy, climber Brette Harrington looks back on what made Marc, her boyfriend of six years, such an extraordinary figure.

  • Film
  • Rhys Thomas (interview)

The Londoner who had no idea you could climb in his city

Merrell 1TRL x Huck — Timi Oladeji thought climbing was a sport done in remote, faraway places by people who didn’t look like him. But when a friend invited him to an indoor session, he got hooked, and now he wants to inspire others to make the same move

  • Outdoors
  • Sam Haddad

The climber welcoming LGBTQ+ people to the wall

Merrell 1TRL x Huck — Karl Ludvik is a strong and talented gay climber. Throughout his youth contest career, he’s sought to challenge the narrative that only straight men get to be tough. And now, he wants to help others do the same by tackling the underrepresentation of LGBTQ+ people in climbing.

  • Outdoors
  • Sam Haddad

Climber Kathy Karlo is on an all-conquering journey

The Outsiders Project — In this series, we crash someone’s personal space in a bid to find out why it means so much to them. Here, we catch up with the climber and podcast host at The Red, Kentucky – the latest stop on her perpetual American road trip.

  • Outsiders Project
  • Niall Flynn

What is crack climbing – and why is it different?

In partnership with Kendal Mountain Fest — At this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival, we spoke to renowned crack climber Pete Whittaker about his new book – a definitive guide to the specialist discipline.

  • Outdoors
  • Steph Pomphrey

Pakistan’s young mountaineers are blazing a trail for women

Beyond boundaries — In a remote corner of Pakistan, a wave of female climbers are conquering monumental peaks for the first time – overcoming social barriers and setting records in the process.

  • Outdoors
  • Meghan Davidson Ladly

At just 17, Ashima Shiraishi is climbing's fastest-rising star

Huck x The North Face — She began bouldering aged six, started smashing records at 11 and can outclimb her peers regardless of age or gender. Is Ashima Shiraishi the revolution that rock climbing needs?

  • Outdoors
  • Jessica Holland

Meet the wild climbers of the North York Moors

A dangerous game — For over a decade, Franco Cookson has been roving the treacherous crags and cliffs of the UK national park – pushing himself, and trad climbing, into dangerous new realms.

  • Outdoors
  • Rachael Healy

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck+ members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:
Black and white O'Neill logo in a bold, stylised font against a black background.
You've read articles this month Thanks for reading

Join Club Huck — it's free!

Valued Huck reader, thank you for engaging with our journalism and taking an interest in our dispatches from the sharp edge of culture, sport, music and rebellion.

We want to offer you the chance to join Club Huck [it's free!] where you will receive exclusive newsletters, including personal takes on the state of pop culture and media from columnist Emma Garland, culture recommendations, interviews and dispatches straight to your inbox.

You'll also get priority access to Huck events, merch discounts, and more fun surprises.

Already part of the club? Enter your email above and we'll get you logged in.