Napes Needle with Leo Houlding from Matt Pycroft on Vimeo.
In 1886, in the Lake District, on Gimmer Crag, the ascent of Napes Needle is thought to signal the origin of the sport of rock climbing. Still graded hard severe (5.6) it demands care and thought and gear. In the summer of 1977 just before heading to the Alps I spent several weeks in the Lake District and Wales picking up partners. I wanted to climb Napes Needle, but only found a partner interested it's harder, near neighbor ... The famous crack on Kern Knotts.