James McHaffie needs no introduction, at least in the United Kingdom. His approach to bold onsight climbing, particularly free solos, is unparalleled. He’s repeated the hardest sport climb in Wales, Big Bang (9a), sent Britain’s hardest sea cliff, Dave MacLeod’s The Longhope Direct (E10 7a), and made the first ascent of The Meltdown, a 9a slab in the slate quarries of his home in North Wales. And now he’s written a book. But unlike many books released by elite climbers, this is not an autobiographical account of hard climbs in the face of relative adversity. Caff, as he prefers to be called, has written a fictional account of Eleri, a young woman amongst the slate quarries of North Wales who in the aftermath of a family suicide takes aim at British politicians who pushed for austerity and the conditions that led to such suffering. 

This conversation was such a gift. I can see even through all that rage that James is brimming with humanity, a trait sometimes in short supply. I hope you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did.

 

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Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

 

Topics Discussed with James McHaffie

• Discovering the Welsh rave scene after a midlife crisis
• Life and climbing in Wales
• Climbing origin story and why James gravitated toward soloing
• The pressure to be bold
• Why James isn’t as well known in the US
• A near-death experience on the Masters Wall and how that affected his confidence
• The concept of modesty and how it has evolved in recent years: “Social media has been a shotgun to the head of modesty”
• The infamous Rab blog and why he wants to separate himself from his “Dark Lord” reputation
• Balancing financial security with elite climbing
• The best job James ever had and why it is important for him to work with the underserved
• Dealing with depression and dark times through his work
• The events that inspired a novel
• A brief political debate and the role of public policy in shaping the lives of the poor
• Details about the novel and his drive to write it
• His 9-month experience writing the book
• What financial security means to James and how he would live with financial freedom
• What James would change to make his life more meaningful in the future
• So much more!