And dry but by the time I arrive at John's it's sleeting heavily, Bob is late, maybe an extra pint last night, and as his car slithers to a halt snow is lying thick on the road. We decide on Kyloe in the Woods, the only place where we might get away with it. Five of us and Steffie, the team dog, squeeze into John's car and head up the A1, in worsening conditions, on a journey that is as familiar as the tea breaks that punctuate the day. Soon we are plodding and sliding up the frozen track, Bob's trekking pole eases his hip, a condition caused by jumping off too many times from too high and exacerbated by the freezing temperature. Branches from recent storms litter the way and the air temperature is rising, it doesn't bode well.
We arrive at the crag and surprisingly, it's in quite good nick. The expected condensation hasn't arrived and a couple of eager parties are already at work on the problems. Bob dons his slippers and warms up on a fingery traverse. He moves easily across the rock, his balletic motion smooth and fluid, appearing devoid of exertion. He climbs easier than he walks these days; come to think of it he always did. Other problems follow, progressively harder, dismissing a handhold here, a foothold there. It should be just another day in the county.
Today is different though; Bob makes 50 on Monday. His enthusiasm and appetite remain undiminished after a quarter of a century on the rock. Each visit brings a new challenge and he still competes with the young hotshots, giving advice, attempting, often succeeding, on the latest problem. Bob Smith, the father figure of Northumbrian rock, is a blonde mustachioed guru, whose wiry physique and tattooed forearms have always disguised a formidable talent.
His contribution to climbing is profoundly respected by anyone who is, or has been, anyone in the UK scene for over 20 years. During this time he has been hard and uncompromising - taking no prisoners both on and off the rock. His respect has been well earned, over 300 new routes in Northumberland and even more boulder problems. However, there is much more to him than a list of first ascents. Beneath this hard exterior there lies a much softer, more thoughtful individual than many imagine.
Bob is a complex character who is many things to many people and much more than the sum of his parts. A tradesman holding down a full-time job grafting on the roofs of Tyneside. A married man, with two children and strong family values and bonds. An artist with a deep empathy for nature, expressed in beautiful wood carvings. A rock athlete, who lives and breathes climbing, with clear vision and total dedication. Above all, he is a man of strong conviction prepared to put his cards on the table, one who cares deeply about issues and about his mates and will do all in power to defend them. His philosophy is black and white; with no room for shades of grey. This laser like focus has given him a firm belief in his own ability and a constructive critique of others. Respectful of his peers but in awe of no one, he holds no truck with frauds and bullshitters.
Bob's climbing credentials speak for themselves. Hundreds of first ascents both within and outside his beloved county were forged from determination, audacity, and boldness. Early on-sight repeats of some of the hardest routes in other areas at home and abroad, reveal that he was at the cutting edge for a long time and for many years on homeground he was unassailable. Even today he keeps most on their toes. Likewise as a climbing partner he is totally reliable, keeping a cool head in a crisis. Combine with this his openness to all, regardless of ability and the unassuming way he goes about âthe business' - he is a true climber's climber.
Bob Smith was born on the 12th February 1951. Raised in the tough east end of Newcastle his background was strictly working class where becoming streetwise was a necessity. A roofer by trade, and accustomed to heights, he arrived at climbing through his elder brother Tom, a fellow roofer. He in turn had been introduced by brother In-law, John Mountain (a southerner from Sheffield) whilst living in London of all places. Extremely competitive by nature the brothers threw themselves into the climbing foray with thoughtless disregard to standard procedure and protocols. Soon they were challenging John Earl and Bob Hutchinson, the leading activists in the region at the time.
The Smiths had made steady progress moving through the grades when âthe blue bibleâ to quote Bob, inspired them further. This 1975 New Routes Supplement to Northumberland, mostly a catalogue of Earl and Hutchinson's routes, was demoted to a â50p bag of shite" when talking to them. The brothers soon got to grips with the harder offerings from the âbible' then turned their attention to setting the standard themselves. They opened their account with a free ascent of The Dangler (E3 5c) at Causey Quarry in 1978. Climbed at 6 a.m. before a full day at work, this was an indication of their dedication and tenacity. They then developed Callerhues Crag in 1978, virtually from scratch adding 40 new routes. Even the VSs are 5b and as Tom said: "It's not gear they'll need, it's bog paper!â
The leap forward in difficulty soon to follow demanded a different approach and the Smiths forcefully applied themselves to the task. They trained hard, climbed hard and also drank hard. With others they bouldered on a viaduct in winter evenings using tilley lamps for light. Bob also discovered an old quarry in Jesmond Dene, near his home, which they turned into a fierce training ground. It was not unusual for Bob to have an hour down The Dene before work, put in a hard day on the roofs of Tyneside, another hour after work then go to the climbing wall in the evening!
The training paid off and very soon it was evident that there had been a jump in the technicality and boldness of new routes in the county. First ascents, many of the highest difficulty, were often done on-sight or with a minimum of inspection or cleaning. Tom equalled Bob in ability at that time and led many of his own hard routes as well as seconding him, but that's another story.
Bob's 1978 routes, Last Retreat (E4 6a) at Great Wanney, Barbarian (E5 6b - solo) and The Rajah (E5 6b) at Bowden Doors, typified this surge in standards [at the same time Fawcett put up Milky Way (E6 6b), at Ilkley, Gogarth was in the grip of a "78 new route explosion" (Welsh Rock) during which Fawcett placed two bolts in The Cad ES 6a and Jim Moran lead Barbarossa (E6), and Pete Whillance lead pitches two and three of A Midsummer Night's Dream (E6 6a, 6b) on Cloggy]. Bob trained for The Rajah, graded XS 5c+ at the time, by mantling into his loft, an example of his vision and tenacity. Bob's other hard new lines in Northumberland in '79 included on-sight solos of Rising Damp (E4 6b) and High Tide (E5 6a) at Bowden Doors. The duo played away from home just as well aiming to become the best climbing brothers in the UK. They looked only for the hardest routes, convinced that they would climb them. In '79 they began to turn up the heat elsewhere with an early repeat of Right Wall (E5 6a) on the Cromlech topping out with Grond (E2 5b) for luck. Not content with simply repeating hard routes they upped the stakes by stringing a number together in a day; one early example occurring in Borrowdale with Dry Gasp (E4 6a) in the morning and Grand Alliance (E4 6a) in the afternoon. In the evenings the beer flowed and with it a fierce brotherly rivalry.
The drinking stories are legendary. Discussion over a pint debate, another beer, arguments, more beer, arms wrestling, yet more beer, then verbal abuse before staggering home bosom buddies. Woe betide anyone who crossed Bob or Tom in the later stage of the evening! One Smith was trouble; few would be crazy enough to take on the two of them together. Opinions were extended to the rest of the team in later years. You're either âshite" or "a canny lad ye", (either way he likes you). Few close associates have escaped a âBob Smith Closing Timeâ lecture, the "have a half" cry, as he bends your ear on wildly and widely ranging topics. Resistance is futile. It is perhaps worth recording that folk kept quiet about their achievements in those days rather than seeking publicity. Geordies were keepers of the County and the guardians also included John Earl, Billy Wayman, Steve Blake and Paul Stewart, all of whom were powerful climbers in their own rights. Only other Geordies and the Jocks, especially Dave Cuthbertson, Murray Hamilton, Kenny Spence and Spider Mackenzie were tolerated. Anyone else was a raider to be seen off. In 1980 Bob teamed up with John Earl. Bob Hutchinson had been tragically killed in the Lakes in â78 while prospecting a new route and Tom had taken the first of many early retirements. Bob continued to take the County by storm with a series of E4 6b routes including Kaiser Bill, and His Eminence, at Bowden and Command Performance at Simonside. It was also in this year that he ventured abroad to Verdon. Nursing a broken and splinted finger he still ticked classics such as La Demande (E1 5b), Eperon Sublime (E3 5c), and Squirrels Pilar (E3 6a) to name only a few, always on the lead.
During the early '80s he was repeating the hardest routes on-sight in the Lakes, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Wales and on more infrequent visits to Cornwall, Scotland and France. He was only interested in the hardest traditional routes on sight. One example of the Smith style comes from an Easter trip to Cornwall. After a long drive the team decided to go to the pub and eat before putting the tents up. Hours later after a liquid supper Bob was so pissed that he threw up over the minibus. Pissed was normal, throwing up rare! Once there he promptly collapsed in a ditch full of nettles where the lads threw his tent over him and left him to sleep it off. Next morning he bounced up from his bed of nettles and climbed to E3 in the Great Zawn. Around this time, Pete Kirton appeared on the scene. A very strong local youth Pete's power was directed towards boulder problems, Bob's speciality. Pete and Bob made formidable sparring partners, sharpening Bob's competitive edge. Pete was more powerful but Bob was ahead in stamina, flexIbility and the ability to perform the same hard moves high above the ground. Their duels both physical and verbal were rarely resolved as the bantering left any rules wide open to interpretation and continued long into the evening's drinking session at The Millstone. The cut and thrust of their style and ego promoted their exploits to a prime spectator sport and much merriment for those watching on. On one trip Pete had been casually referring to Bob's kids as brats on the drive north. Bob said nothing but on arrival at the crag when Pete took out a pie heâd bought for lunch, Bob promptly stamped on it saying, âThat'll teach ye to call my kids brats" Pete sloped off temporarily subdued, while the rest of us rolled about in laughter.
Between '78 and '89 Bob Smith dominated Northumberland climbing. A new climbs supplement in '84 stated that without his contributions it would probably not have been necessary! Quite rightly so, as that booklet contained nearly 100 Bob Smith routes, most of a high standard of difficulty. In 1981 he breached the 'impossible' overhanging wall at Back Bowden with Merlin (E5 6a), following it soon after with Macbeth (E6 6b), an achievement which was particularly impressive for the time. Poverty (E4 6c) at Bowden in '84, so named "cos there's nowt there". This demonstrated his unorthodox approach and immense versatility, tackled by sprinting diagonally towards the rock, then leaping to snatch poor holds halfway up the wall. Other routes from that time were equally impressive such as Second Born (E5 6b), at Callerhues in '85 was climbed as a matter of urgency. He soloed this one Wednesday evening, after reports that Yorkshire Terriers had been eyeing it up the previous weekend. Many of Bob's routes have not had any known repeats and of those that have, few have been done in the same pure style. Further afield Bob was repeating top routes, after they had been done, usually on-sighting flashing them. Although not a magazine name, and not a seeker of publicity, he was equal to the best at the time. His work rate was prolific, an example being a day on the Cromlech in '84, with Lord of the Flies (E6 6a), Resurrection (E4 6a), Memory Lane (E3 5c), and The Grim Jim (E2 5b).
From '85 to 87 Bob and John were commissioned to help produce a new Eastern Fells guide for the FRCC so the spotlight changed to the Lake District. Many new routes followed with six at Raven Crag Threshthwaite Cove. High-octane efforts were Cabriolet (E4 6b), by Earl and Bob's magnificent Internal Combustion (E6 6c), one of the hardest routes in the area at that time. Most of the other hard routes in the area were re-climbed In the process of checking for the guide and they still had time to travel to other venues for routes such as Golden Mile (E5 6b) and Miller's Tale (E5 6c) in the Peak and Obsession F7b+ at Malham (1986). Further lines were climbed Thrang Crag, Stern Test (E5 6b) led by Earl and Bob's aptly named Quest (E5 6b), on Iron Crag.
In the early '90s the emphasis changed again from routes to bouldering, Bob's forte. This time it was the arrival of Alec Burns from Yorkshire with a different eye for a problem, coupled with Bob's pioneering instinct, that provided the extra stimulus to search for fresh venues and review old ones.
In â87 Bob repeated Hell's Wall (E6 6c) on Bowderstone Crag before turning his attention back to Northumberland. A new guide was in the pipeline and in late November he tiptoed into the future with the potentially bone breaking On The Rocks (E7 6c), at Back Bowden while I tried to keep my camera from shaking! Notable efforts in â88 were an early ascent of Dominatrix (E6 6b), Kinsey [pre bolting] Sixpence (E6 6c), Pavey Ark, The Prow (E6 6c) Raven Tor and Angel Dust (E5 6b), the hardest and last route left to tick at Trollers Gill.
Bob readily embraced the late '80s swing to sport climbing. Having systematically worked his way through nearly all the hard traditional climbs in the Lakes, Yorkshire, and to a lesser extent Derbyshire, bolts opened up a new exciting horizon. Limestone crags, such as Kilnsey, Malham and Gordale became regular venues interspersed with trips to the leafy dales of the Peak Climbing as ever at the highest standards the safety of bolts compensated for an increasing awareness with age of his mortality. As usual he excelled, progressing to the redpointing of Let Them Eat Jelly Beans (The Bulge) F8a at Kinsey and onsighting of many F7cs both at home and abroad.
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
And many, many others!
Always a boulderer, over the last 10 or 12 years Bob has been responsible for hundreds of quality problems throughout the County. His unique approach creating moves so specialised and gnarly that mere youth and power cannot solve them, such as The Mantel Font 7c+ and Piano Font 7c. Many are grateful for his advice and encouragement, but still only the best succeed. Now the wrong side of 50, the gnarly old bugger is still âdoing the business' with as much passion and drive as ever. His climbing career has spanned the generations, from Don Whillans for whom he was once proud buy a pint quoting "Cheers mate, that's for all your routes," to today's strong boulderers. Those who know him well, appreciate his humanity and his climbing genius. His legacy of climbs together with the purity and elegance of ascent and the sheer audacity of execution, make him one of the great climbers of his generation. You're a one off mate, thanks for all your routes and keep 'em coming.
© 2026 The Northumbrian Mountaineering Club
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