Firmly established as one of the world's best all-round climbers, Dave MacLeod has a string of outstanding ascents to his name.
I’ve been climbing for 27 years and like to push myself in most climbing disciplines, so far up to E11 trad, 9a sport, V15 boulder, XII mixed as well as various alpine and big walls. I live in Lochaber in the Scottish highlands and so spend most of my time doing first ascents, both on well-known mountains such as Ben Nevis and uncovering new areas such as Glen Pean.
I spend my winters bouldering and mixed climbing depending on projects and conditions and my summers on mountain trad or big wall trips. It’s fair to say I’m pretty obsessed with getting better at climbing, so I have spent a lot of time studying the sciences that underpin athletic performance - exercise physiology, sports medicine, nutrition and health in general. I also spend a lot of time trying to share what I’ve learned in a useful format via the books I’ve written, blogs, social media and more recently on my YouTube channel. Generally speaking, I like to apply a Pareto Principle approach to most of these aspects, figuring out what are the most important habits or strategies and trying to get those right, which then allows for a flexible approach to living the lifestyle of a climber. I guess this becomes hardwired from trying to balance multiple climbing disciplines and living in a country with challenging and unpredictable weather conditions.
I’m still improving in my climbing and that’s just as well because I have some big goals in the coming years.
I spend my winters bouldering and mixed climbing depending on projects and conditions and my summers on mountain trad or big wall trips. It’s fair to say I’m pretty obsessed with getting better at climbing, so I have spent a lot of time studying the sciences that underpin athletic performance - exercise physiology, sports medicine, nutrition and health in general. I also spend a lot of time trying to share what I’ve learned in a useful format via the books I’ve written, blogs, social media and more recently on my YouTube channel. Generally speaking, I like to apply a Pareto Principle approach to most of these aspects, figuring out what are the most important habits or strategies and trying to get those right, which then allows for a flexible approach to living the lifestyle of a climber. I guess this becomes hardwired from trying to balance multiple climbing disciplines and living in a country with challenging and unpredictable weather conditions.
I’m still improving in my climbing and that’s just as well because I have some big goals in the coming years.