The Rise of British Rock Climbing

Scale the historic heights of a sport revolution

‘The climbing community needs this sort of thing like oxygen at the moment. a wonderfully detailed, expansive and inspiring book.’ – Neil Gresham

Climbing has risen from the margins to the mainstream. Today, there are over 5 million climbers in the UK. From its amateur days in the 1950s to the present, where climbing finds itself recognised as an increasingly popular Olympic sport, Ascent tells the story of this remarkable transformation.

Anthony King – a dedicated climber himself – traces the sport’s evolution through decades of rebellion, innovation and achievement to its place today as a vibrant, diverse culture. His own experiences colour the narrative; we discover not just how climbing developed, but what it feels like to climb, and be a climber. More than just a history of the sport, through telling this story we also see how British society itself has been transformed.

Expansive, immediate, and deeply engaging, Ascent is both cultural sport history and lived experience.