Details
Event Details
This brand new session, presented by Mountain Equipment, will look at why many climbers and mountaineers are drawn to high risk and how we can learn to manage the dangers faced in adventure sport.
Presented by Rachael Crewesmith, we'll be bringing well-known mountaineers and psychologists to the stage to discuss this fascinating topic.
Participants will include:
Brian Hall
A co-founder of Kendal Mountain Film Festival back in 1980, Brian is rightly celebrated as a climber whose career spans the golden age of Himalayan mountaineering from the mid 1970s to the 1980s, pioneering light and fast Alpine-style expeditions on mountains such as Jannu, Nuptse, Everest, and K2. Climbing exploits worldwide led Brian to become an IFMGA mountain guide, while also becoming the go-to provider for extreme location safety and rigging for the film industry, with credits as diverse as Bridget Jones to Touching the Void. In Brian's just-published book High Risk, he recalls the outrageous adventures of eleven of his climbing friends who risked, and too often lost, their lives amongst the world’s highest peaks at a turning point in mountaineering history.
Tom Livingstone
The alpinist, climber and writer has a strong penchant for trad, winter and alpine climbing; the bigger and badder, the better. Every year Tom will be in the greater ranges where his impressive list of first ascents includes the North Ridge Variation on Latok I (ED+) with Aleš Česen and Luka Stražar, for which they were awarded the Piolet d’Or, and The Great Game (ED+) on Koyo Zom.
Susi Süßmeier
Alpinist and expedition climber Susi Süßmeier first got into climbing through bolted sports climbs; there's not much mountaineering where she grew up near Stuttgart. However, while studying sport science in Innsbruck, the nearby Tyrolean Alps became her playground and she quickly took up alpinism. As a member of the German Alpine Club (DAV) Woman’s Expedition Team, Susi took part in an expedition to the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, bagging several first ascents. She now enjoys all kind of mountain sports, however her preference is for ice and mixed climbing, and Susi is currently training to become a certified UIAGM Mountain Guide.
Dr Rebecca Williams
Based in North Wales, Rebecca is a clinical psychologist and coach specialising in climbing. As a scientist-practitioner offering coaching to climbers of all levels of experience, Rebecca is uniquely placed to analyse the human reactions to risk in the mountains. Her coaching work covers the most up to date techniques to improve performance with guidance covering psychological theory and understanding, coping strategies, triggers, maintaining factors and skills-needs.
Dave MacLeod
Firmly established as one of the world's best all-round climbers, Dave MacLeod has a string of outstanding ascents to his name. Dave likes to push himself, with ascents up to E11 trad, 9a sport, V15 boulder, XII mixed as well as various alpine and big walls. He lives in Lochaber in the Scottish highlands and so spend most of his time doing first ascents, both on well-known mountains such as Ben Nevis and uncovering new areas such as Glen Pean.
Robert Charles Lee
Robert is a professional scientist, recently retired after a career in risk analysis, decision analysis, and risk management. He's also a climber with a 30-year CV of technical mountain, rock, ice, mixed, and desert canyon routes having lived and worked in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and Alberta, Canada. He currently lives in Colorado. Having soloed stuff, and also fallen off stuff, he's uniquely placed to contribute to the subject of risk in climbing; indeed his book 'Through Dangerous Doors, A Life At Risk' is shortlisted for this year's Boardman Tasker Award.
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