Career Highlights:
Billy started climbing just for fun was he was 9, going out to do grit trad with his dad. When he was 12, he was selected for the GB junior lead team but since has taken to bouldering. Climbing in competitions inside as well as outside from a young age, Billy has a unique approach to climbing as an extremely well-rounded and versatile climber. Billy is the youngest person to climb the classic 8a boulder, Careless Torque, in the Peak District at Stanage Plantation.
'Careless Torque had always been one of those climbs you look at in awe, but never actually consider trying. It’s just so big and intimidating...When I first tried it I thought it was beyond me. It was the first problem I put time into, so it opened my eyes to what I could do. It’s perhaps the most iconic boulder in Britain which made it feel very special to stand on top of. It felt like a real milestone in my climbing, my first 8th grade boulder and without doubt still the best one.’
Billy has competed in the bouldering IFSC World Cup, as is proficient in a variety of circus skills including a 4 ball juggle, slack-lining and unicycling - unfortunately, he claims, not all at the same time…
‘Climbing is so many different things to me. It is a sport that I push myself to excel in, it’s a big part of my social life, it’s the medium that I use to express myself, and it’s the reason I travel to incredible places.’
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This athlete has competed internationally
News posts and Articles featuring Billy
Alex Waterhouse and Billy Ridal have successfully free climbed The Nose (5.14), El Capitan - arguably the most famous route in the world - and in doing so have become the first British pair to do so.
In this week's episode of The Ticklist, Rob Greenwood recounts the action from last weekend's fiercely contested British Bouldering Championships. Both of last year's winners, Emily Phillips and Max Milne, were there to defend their titles against...
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