Alex Waterhouse

Waterhouse began climbing in 2008 at age 11, with the climbing club at Devonport High School for Boys. A few months later he started competing, and by the age of 14 he joined the GB climbing team and entering European competitions.^[5]

He competed in three IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships, in Canada in 2013, and New Caledonia and Italy in 2015. In Italy he competed in the lead, boulder, and speed events, attaining 6th place in the overall world rankings.^[5][6] In the same year he become the UK junior bouldering champion, and captain of the GB junior bouldering team.^[5]

In 2015, Waterhouse began studying Computer Science at Dartmouth College in the US,^[5][7] during which he won the US collegiate national championship, and climbed 9a (5.14d) and V14 (8B+) for the first time.^[8] He returned to the UK in 2019 to join the GB senior climbing team and compete in the IFSC Climbing World Cup.^[9]

In 2023, Waterhouse announced his retirement from competition climbing.^[4]

• The Kraken V13 (8B), Hartland Quay, Devon, UK. May 2020. The hardest crack boulder problem in the world.^[10]
• Never Envding Story 8B+ (V14), Magic Wood, Switzerland. July 2020^[11]

• The Fly 9a (5.14d), Rumney, New Hampshire, US^[7]
• Belly Full of Bad Berries 5.13b (8a) (flash), Indian Creek, Utah, US. The third person to flash the route, after Pete Whittaker and Mari Salvesen.^[12][13][14]
• The Nose (El Capitan) 5.14 (8c/+), Yosemite National Park, California, US. Climbing with Billy Ridal, becoming the first British pair to free the route.^[15]