Editing Johnny Dawes (section)

==Climbing career==
[[File:Johnny Dawes on sights Regalo da Babbo Natale F7b at the granite crag Lucertole al Sole, Lotzorai.JPG|thumb|Dawes onsights ''Regalo da Babbo Natale'' {{climbing grade|7b}}, at Lucertole al Sole, [[Lotzorai]], Sardinia. 2009]]

Dawes' climbing career splits into an initial period pre-1986 where he focused on [[gritstone]] in the [[Peak District]], which was suited to his unique climbing style (e.g. ''Gaia'', and ''End of the Affair'').<ref name=PMI/><ref name=SMR/><ref name=PR/>  From 1986, Dawes focused on Wales and on a diverse range of rock, from the [[slab climbing]] routes in the [[Dinorwic quarry|slate quarries]] of [[Llanberis]] (e.g. ''The Quarryman'', ''The Very Big and the Very Small'', and ''Dawes of Perception''), to the [[face climbing|face]] routes on the [[quartzite]] cliffs of [[North Stack|Gogarth North Stack]] (e.g. ''Conan the Librarian'', and ''Hardback Thesaurus''), and the [[rhyolite]] mountain crags of [[Clogwyn Du'r Arddu]] (e.g. ''Indian Face'').<ref name=PMI/><ref name=SMR/>  Dawes is remembered for intimidating traditional climbing routes, in the legacy of [[Pete Livesey]], [[Ron Fawcett]] and [[John Redhead]],<ref name=PR/> and less for sport climbing routes, unlike his contemporaries [[Jerry Moffatt]] and [[Ben Moon (rock climber)|Ben Moon]].<ref name=PMI/><ref name=SMR/>

Dawes came to prominence outside of the rock climbing world with his 4 October 1986 ascent of ''Indian Face'',{{efn|The exact date is per the official guidebook to [[Clogwyn Du'r Arddu]], and also used by the [[British Mountaineering Council]].<ref>{{cite web | website=[[British Mountaineering Council]] | url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/hold-the-line-niall-grimes-olympics | title=Hold the line | first=Niall | last=Grimes | date=30 July 2021 | accessdate=15 January 2022}}</ref>}} the first E9-graded traditional rock route in Britain,<ref name=PM9>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain.com | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/the-indian-face-johnny-dawes-story-of-britains-first-e9.html | title=The Indian Face by Johnny Dawes, the story of Britain's first E9 | date=1 June 2020 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref><ref name=GUB/> and at the time, considered to be the hardest and most dangerous traditional route in the world.<ref name=IF1/><ref name=GUAR>{{cite news | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/dec/22/archive-johnny-dawes-indian-face-1986 | title=25 October 1986: Johnny Dawes climbs the Indian Face | date=22 December 2011 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref> The guidebook described it as "A pitch of such appalling difficulty as to be almost beyond the realms of human comprehension".<ref name=IF1>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Climbing (magazine)|Climbing]] | url=https://www.climbing.com/videos/johnny-dawes-and-the-story-of-indian-face-the-uks-first-e9-climb/ | date=3 June 2020 | accessdate=9 January 2022 | title=Johnny Dawes and the Story of Indian Face: the UK's First E9 Climb | author=Editorial }}</ref>  In a 2011 interview, Dawes said: "As you set off it's best to consider yourself already dead. You just do it".<ref name=PMI/> The climb, and rare repeats, are the subject of a 2006 documentary, ''Johnny Dawes and the Story of Indian Face''.<ref name=IF1/><ref name=IF2>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Rock & Ice]] | url=https://www.rockandice.com/videos/climbing/the-story-of-the-indian-face-the-uks-first-e9/ | first=Alun | last=Hughes | date=2 June 2020 | title=The Story of the Indian Face: The UK's First E9 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref>

In 1993, Dawes was a member of an expedition funded by the Mount Everest Foundation to attempt the first ascent of ''The Shark's Fin'' on [[Meru Peak]] in [[Gangotri]] Himalaya, India; a dropped boot led to a forced descent from 6,000 meters to avoid frostbite.<ref>{{cite web |last1=The Mount Everest Foundation |title=Meru Shark's Fin 1993 |url=https://www.mef.org.uk/expeditions/meru-sharks-fin-1993 |website=The Mount Everest Foundation |access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref> An autobiographical account of his climbing, ''Full of Myself'', was published in 2011.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dawes |first1=Johnny |title=Full of Myself |date=2011 |publisher=Johnny Dawes Books |isbn=978-0957030800}}</ref>

===Style===
Dawes had a uniquely dynamic technique, leaping between very small holds, and also for his levels of balance and foot-control that enable him to climb extreme-grade routes without using his hands.<ref name=SM/><ref name=GUAR5/>  Welsh climber George Smith said: "His climbing seemed choreographed rather than constructed in a gym. If there's perfect pitch for movement, he has it".<ref name=SMR/>  Aspects of his unique technique was captured in the 1986 climbing film, ''Stone Monkey'', considered one of the best-ever films in the genre,<ref name=SMR>{{cite web | website=UKClimbing.com | first=Ed | last=Douglas | date=4 November 2011 | accessdate=9 January 2022 | url= https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/publications/other_publications/johnny_dawes_-_full_of_myself-4205 | title=Johnny Dawes - Full of Myself Review }}</ref> as well as the 2015 climbing series, ''No Handed Climbing'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/johnny-dawes-no-handed-climbing.html | title=Johnny Dawes no handed climbing | website=PlanetMountain.com | date=15 April 2015 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Rock & Ice]] | url=https://www.rockandice.com/videos/climbing/no-handed-climbing/ | date=20 April 2021 | accessdate=12 January 2022 | title=Johnny Dawes: No Handed Climbing }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Climbing (magazine)|Climbing]] | url=https://www.climbing.com/videos/video-johnny-dawes-no-handed-climbing-2/ | date=20 April 2021 | accessdate=12 January 2022 | title=Video: Johnny Dawes No-Handed Climbing 2 }}</ref> and other "no-hands",<ref>{{cite web | website=UKClimbing.com | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/publications/other_publications/johnny_dawes_-_full_of_myself-4205 | title=Hands free at the Roaches with Johnny Dawes | first=Nick | last=Brown | date=15 March 2019 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=Gripped.com | url=https://gripped.com/profiles/watch-johnny-dawes-walk-five-pitch-5-5/ | title=Watch Johnny Dawes Walk-Up Five-Pitch 5.5 | date=30 November 2017 | accessdate=9 January 2022}}</ref> and "no-feet" videos.<ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Rock & Ice]] | url=https://www.rockandice.com/videos/climbing/johnny-dawes-climbing-in-roller-blades/ | title=Johnny Dawes Climbing in Roller Blades | accessdate=12 January 2022 | date=5 May 2018}}</ref>

His unorthodox climbing style, coupled with his reputation for a keen intellect and an artistic or [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] bent,<ref name=SMR/> made Dawes an enigmatic and mercurial character in British climbing.<ref name=PMI/><ref name=SAM/> His writing has been called "quirky, convoluted, and often obscure",<ref name=SMR/> and a tendency to "speak in riddles" earned him the titles of "nutty professor", and of "mad genius" from some commentators.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=[[Irish Times]] | first=Michael | last=Sever | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/dancing-on-the-edge-of-vertigo-1.550687 | quote=The various approaches to rock climbers’ ever-present dilemmas evolve into schools of thought within climbing, with some adopting a highly physical approach and others, such as Johnny Dawes (the “nutty professor” of climbing), a more psychological approach. |date=11 October 2012 | accessdate=10 January 2022 | title=Dancing on the edge of vertigo}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=Climber Magazine | first=Neil | last=Graham | title=A Masterclass Beyond the Edge | date=January 2001 | accessdate=10 January 2022 | quote=No one doubts Johnny Dawes' radical and unorthodox approach to climbing; the problem is that few people understand it! The 'nutty professor' of modern climbing, who thinks in patterns and moves in waves is also renowned for speaking in riddles | url=http://indoorsout.co.uk/index.htm#climb_dawes_coach.htm}}</ref><ref name=PR>{{cite book | title=Peak Rock – The History, The Routes, The Climbers | first1=Phil |last1=Kelly | first2=Graham  | last2=Hoey | first3=Giles | last3=Barker | date=2013 | publisher=Vertebrate Graphics Limited | isbn=978-1906148720}}</ref> His approach also made it difficult to secure commercial sponsorship, with Dawes saying in a 2019 interview, "I wasn’t supported by the climbing industry because I didn't fit the commercial template".<ref>{{cite web | website=JohnHorscroft | title=Interview with Johnny Dawes | url=http://www.johnhorscroft.co.uk/portfolio/climbing/-/johnny-dawes-a-storm-in-a-teacup/ | date=6 February 2019 | accessdate=11 January 2022}}</ref>