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Statement: The Ben Moon Story
On 14 June 1990, at Raven Tor in the Derbyshire Peak District, twenty-four-year-old Ben Moon squeezed his feet into a pair of rock shoes, tied in to his rope, chalked his fingers and pulled on to the wickedly overhanging, zebra-striped wall of limestone. Two minutes later he had made rock-climbing history with the first ascent of Hubble, now widely recognised as the world's first F9a. Born in the suburbs of London in 1966, Moon started rock climbing on the sandstone outcrops of Kent and Sussex. A pioneer in the sport-climbing revolution of the 1980s and a bouldering legend in the 1990s, he is one of the most iconic rock climbers in the sport's history, In Statement, Moon's official biography, award-winning writer Ed Douglas paints a portrait of a climbing visionary and dispels the myth of Moon as an anti-traditional climbing renegade. Interviews with Moon are complemented with insights from family and friends and extracts from magazines and personal diaries and letters. 'Ever since I first set foot on rock at the tender age of seven years, climbing has been the most important thing in my life. In fact I would go so far as to say it is my reason for living and as long as I am able to climb I hope I will. It is from climbing I draw my inspiration for life.'
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2015
6 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Ed Douglas
34 books23 followersEd Douglas is a writer and journalist with a passion for the wilder corners of the natural world. A former editor of the Alpine Journal, a columnist for Climber and The Guardian, Ed is an enthusiastic amateur climber and mountain traveller, with a particular interest in the Himalaya
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 25, 2021
Statement is a lovely biography: it’s personal, easy to read, and gives a close and compassionate view of Ben’s character and climbing. Douglas gives us some fascinating insights into other top climbers, and into the relationship between Ben and Jerry Moffatt – it’s interesting to compare the different abilities and mindsets of two climbers both operating right at the top level of the sport, and to see how they inspired and motivated each other.
The introduction gives a good overview of Ben’s massive contribution to the progression of British climbing; I hadn’t actually realised how far ahead of its time the first ascent of Hubble was until I read this.
The narrative starts with a long discussion of Ben’s family and a generous tribute to his father. Losing a parent is never easy, and the background helps to paint a detailed picture of what must have had an enormous impact on Ben’s childhood. There’s some discussion throughout about the extent to which Ben’s artist father would have appreciated his skills in working a way up seemingly blank stretches of rock.
It’s striking how much of Ben’s life has been utterly and completely dedicated to climbing, with very little time left for anyone or anything else; although there are a couple of brief mentions of some nights out, this seems to be more an occasional weakness with Ben always regretting it the next day when his climbing inevitably suffers. Despite this level of focus, Ben seems pleasantly lacking in ego or arrogance, and it’s easy when reading Statement to forget just how good the routes he was putting up were. I found it really fascinating to read about how much psychological focus and clarity Ben found necessary to get up routes (at one point, he talks about needing to switch his mind off to send a route, simply letting his fingers climb it instead) – and how vastly capable he was when redpointing compared to his ability to perform in competitions.
It’s also really interesting throughout to get so much context of the climbing scene at the time – not just in the UK but also in Europe, with Ben and Jerry often hopping over the Europe to put up routes over there.
The introduction gives a good overview of Ben’s massive contribution to the progression of British climbing; I hadn’t actually realised how far ahead of its time the first ascent of Hubble was until I read this.
The narrative starts with a long discussion of Ben’s family and a generous tribute to his father. Losing a parent is never easy, and the background helps to paint a detailed picture of what must have had an enormous impact on Ben’s childhood. There’s some discussion throughout about the extent to which Ben’s artist father would have appreciated his skills in working a way up seemingly blank stretches of rock.
It’s striking how much of Ben’s life has been utterly and completely dedicated to climbing, with very little time left for anyone or anything else; although there are a couple of brief mentions of some nights out, this seems to be more an occasional weakness with Ben always regretting it the next day when his climbing inevitably suffers. Despite this level of focus, Ben seems pleasantly lacking in ego or arrogance, and it’s easy when reading Statement to forget just how good the routes he was putting up were. I found it really fascinating to read about how much psychological focus and clarity Ben found necessary to get up routes (at one point, he talks about needing to switch his mind off to send a route, simply letting his fingers climb it instead) – and how vastly capable he was when redpointing compared to his ability to perform in competitions.
It’s also really interesting throughout to get so much context of the climbing scene at the time – not just in the UK but also in Europe, with Ben and Jerry often hopping over the Europe to put up routes over there.
February 27, 2019
If you’d asked me to write a sentence to describe Ben Moon before reading this biography I would have come up with something like, “British sport climber, born a decade apart from me, that climbed a bunch of hard routes in the 80’s whilst sporting an impressive head of dreadlocks.” Having just read “Statement, The Ben Moon Story” authored by Ed Douglas, my description is pretty accurate albeit there is more to this man than can be summed up in one simple sentence.
Yes we know the outcome of Moon’s iconic routes but that is only the bones of the story. Douglas has drawn from many sources including, what may seem odd in this day and age of social media, personal letters exchanged between family members. It’s quite touching to think some of the narrative may not have existed if it wasn’t for this diminishing art form.
The book is essentially a chronological sequence of events and opens with a chapter intriguingly entitled “Hoop-La”. It is not until near the end that we find out why (and for the art lovers, where) but the opening chapters set the scene in some detail of where Ben Moon comes from. It is these family roots that would prove to be important in his development.
From a climbing perspective that development takes us from the sandstone crags of south east England, which perhaps explains Moon’s love for the “magical” sandstone boulders of Fontainebleau, to the “birth of British sport climbing” at Pen Trywn. There follows a number of chapters charting Ben’s rise to the top of the sport climbing world along with his partnership with Jerry Moffatt. His successes on Statement of Youth, Agincourt and Hubble are all well documented as too are his short comings in the world of competition climbing and on other “projects”.
With age, injuries and a loss of motivation Moon’s shift to bouldering, along with a Zen like training regime, leads to some incredible hard new problems. The book closes with his obsession to up the ante on his existing V13 problem at Burbage North and the author concludes by highlighting the legacies of both Moon senior and Moon junior. This makes for an interesting comparison and a fitting conclusion.
Ed Douglas has a done an excellent job in piecing together and documenting the story of Ben Moon, capturing the narrative behind a pioneer and flag bearer for the sport climbing world. The documented history of British and world climbing would not be complete without the addition of the Ben Moon story.
Yes we know the outcome of Moon’s iconic routes but that is only the bones of the story. Douglas has drawn from many sources including, what may seem odd in this day and age of social media, personal letters exchanged between family members. It’s quite touching to think some of the narrative may not have existed if it wasn’t for this diminishing art form.
The book is essentially a chronological sequence of events and opens with a chapter intriguingly entitled “Hoop-La”. It is not until near the end that we find out why (and for the art lovers, where) but the opening chapters set the scene in some detail of where Ben Moon comes from. It is these family roots that would prove to be important in his development.
From a climbing perspective that development takes us from the sandstone crags of south east England, which perhaps explains Moon’s love for the “magical” sandstone boulders of Fontainebleau, to the “birth of British sport climbing” at Pen Trywn. There follows a number of chapters charting Ben’s rise to the top of the sport climbing world along with his partnership with Jerry Moffatt. His successes on Statement of Youth, Agincourt and Hubble are all well documented as too are his short comings in the world of competition climbing and on other “projects”.
With age, injuries and a loss of motivation Moon’s shift to bouldering, along with a Zen like training regime, leads to some incredible hard new problems. The book closes with his obsession to up the ante on his existing V13 problem at Burbage North and the author concludes by highlighting the legacies of both Moon senior and Moon junior. This makes for an interesting comparison and a fitting conclusion.
Ed Douglas has a done an excellent job in piecing together and documenting the story of Ben Moon, capturing the narrative behind a pioneer and flag bearer for the sport climbing world. The documented history of British and world climbing would not be complete without the addition of the Ben Moon story.
September 10, 2021
The book starts of slowly, attempting to draw meaningful links from the acheivments of his family to Ben's love of climbing and acheivment. This feels somewhat out of place, but if you persevere beyond the first chapter, the story of Ben Moon unfolds.
Perhaps it is because it is written in third person, but it feels like you never really get to know Ben, which is strange given that the whole book is about his life. That said, the book provides insight into the "scene" and how Ben was involved in it. The way Ben was at the forefront of climbing comes across well, and the context to his acheivments is well explained, both in terms of his personal life, and the local and global climbing scenes.
To surmise:
I feel like I learned a lot of facts about Ben's life from this book. but didn't really get to know the person.
Perhaps it is because it is written in third person, but it feels like you never really get to know Ben, which is strange given that the whole book is about his life. That said, the book provides insight into the "scene" and how Ben was involved in it. The way Ben was at the forefront of climbing comes across well, and the context to his acheivments is well explained, both in terms of his personal life, and the local and global climbing scenes.
To surmise:
I feel like I learned a lot of facts about Ben's life from this book. but didn't really get to know the person.
October 22, 2021
Very enjoyable trip down memory lane about the climbing then. Great to read Ben's views on how he felt at the time. Amazing to think of the standard being set.
January 3, 2018
I started climbing in the late 90's so caught the tail end of Ben's career and this book filled in a few blanks in my history of climbing and explained the 'climbing scene' of the late 90's that I had wandered into. It's also gives a great overview of the way the climbing scene changed between the 1980's and the early 2010's.
I was also pleased that the Biographer widened his remit beyond Ben's doings and covered lot's of surrounding territory that completed a wider view of climbing at the time. A good read as a biography, of climbing history and inevitably of families and the changes people undergo as they travel through life.
Finally I have to say that, back in my keen days of climbing, Ben's appearances in climbing films seemed to give the impression that he was a bit cynical and always complaining about how hard the climbs where and how pissed of he was that he wasn't climbing harder and why he couldn't do the problem that he really wanted to do... I now realise that I was misreading someone that had spent days, possibly weeks training for the send and I'm in awe at the dedication to training that was required for those routes.
I take back all my comments about Ben's moaning. Sorry Ben.
I was also pleased that the Biographer widened his remit beyond Ben's doings and covered lot's of surrounding territory that completed a wider view of climbing at the time. A good read as a biography, of climbing history and inevitably of families and the changes people undergo as they travel through life.
Finally I have to say that, back in my keen days of climbing, Ben's appearances in climbing films seemed to give the impression that he was a bit cynical and always complaining about how hard the climbs where and how pissed of he was that he wasn't climbing harder and why he couldn't do the problem that he really wanted to do... I now realise that I was misreading someone that had spent days, possibly weeks training for the send and I'm in awe at the dedication to training that was required for those routes.
I take back all my comments about Ben's moaning. Sorry Ben.
July 28, 2015
Another great read from a great publisher continuing on the trend of mapping out the british climbing luminaries. From Martin Boysen's 'Hanging on' to Jerry Moffatt's excellent 'Revelations' and Dawes' 'Full of Myself', this is a great continuation of a long period of british climbing where the climbers were truly the best in the world.
As is typical, it's not the longest book in the world, but offers a concise view into Moon's world and especially the way his many letters are used as a mirror of himself is a great trick. Even though I would have wished this book would have delved a bit more into Moon's business side of his aptly named "Moon Climbing", it's still a stellar book and a must read for anyone interested in world class bouldering, sport climbing and/or british climbing in general.
As is typical, it's not the longest book in the world, but offers a concise view into Moon's world and especially the way his many letters are used as a mirror of himself is a great trick. Even though I would have wished this book would have delved a bit more into Moon's business side of his aptly named "Moon Climbing", it's still a stellar book and a must read for anyone interested in world class bouldering, sport climbing and/or british climbing in general.
December 23, 2020
Before I read this book I knew that Ben Moon is/was a truly legendary climber but I didn't know much about him or his background. Ed Douglas has written an addictive read that not only cover Ben's entire climbing career but many other aspects of his life to including his environmentalism - I never knew that he got arrested for trying to save trees. I kind of knew there was no climbing walls back when Ben was young but I didn't know how they trained without them Statement: The Ben Moon Story is inspirational I have used it to aide my own training for my own sport climbing.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews