strong, large climbers

Hey, I was trying to look into some strong climbers of the present or the past who were notoriously larger dudes.  The one I think of is Largo, obviously. For some reason I was under the impression that Matt Fultz was a heavier climber when it turns out the dude is 165-170, which is still pretty light.  Same (or less) with Jimmy Webb I think.  

Any hard-ass big bois?

This has been discussed before, but John Dunne was the prototype large climber who climbed hard. Depending on his form, he went from 200 to 230 lbs. He also sent 9a/14d in the mid to late ‘90s, when that was still actually hard. He looked like a human potato. 

Jon Glassberg sent a V15 at 200ish. Wes Schweitzer is a 330 lb NFL lineman getting into climbing he's only posted him self doing a V4 but he got pretty close to doing a mono pullup on a beastmaker 1000. Id guess more mileage and he'll go pretty far.   I know quite a few V10+ boulders in the 180-225 range. The potato English dude has already been mentioned. 

John Dunne on Big Issue, British E grade horror show. 

Frank Stein wrote:

This has been discussed before, but John Dunne was the prototype large climber who climbed hard. Depending on his form, he went from 200 to 230 lbs. He also sent 9a/14d in the mid to late ‘90s, when that was still actually hard. He looked like a human potato. 

It still is!!!! There are now harder climbs and quite a few people have climbed at that grade, but it is still hard. 

I’d argue that Dunnes accomplishments far outweigh modern time casual sends of the grade, more so because of the level of risk of his accomplishments. I do get a bit loaf in the lighters when it comes to high level climbing above(way) questionable or almost meaningless gear. 

Wasn’t Jim Holloway quite tall? Don’t know if he was “big” though. Mega crusher. Especially for his time. 

Damn, John Dunne is incredibly impressive.  Some serious shoulders and chest on that guy…

I mean, Jan Hojer is a crusher with a taller frame, still only 170 though, and Dean Potter was 6’5” but slim as well, but those are just the obvious standouts

But like…why

Isn't Klem a big dude?

BAd wrote:

Isn't Klem a big dude?

Klem’s a big, muscular guy…still skinny though. It’s the big fat dudes who climb hard that are a rarity. Going further back, before Dunne, I’d guess Whillans, but I don’t think he was ever at the cutting edge of difficulty standards like Dunne was. 

Whillans was very much at the cutting edge of difficulty standards on rock for the era when he was at his prime (50s/early 60s) but wasn't nearly as corpuscular back then. He remained at the cutting edge of expedition-style climbing for much longer and by that time he had definitely put on more than a few additional pounds--as a famous photo of him walking into either Annapurna or Everest clearly shows. He used the approach march and 'equipping' phases of the climb to burn off at least some of that extra weight, leaving him primed when the time came for the summit push.

yeah, john dunne is pretty much the holy grail of huge dudes that climb(ed) hard. and scary too.  when i am climbing on tiny gear i always wish i weighed 25 pounds.  i can't imagine that guy falling on an RP or something.  I think the RP would be terrified too!

To be fair John Dunne would slim down quite a bit before his hardest red points.  He's kinda like Paddy Pimblett. However he did a lot of bold hard leads while still a bit heavy.

slim wrote:

...
when i am climbing on tiny gear i always wish i weighed 25 pounds.  i can't imagine that guy falling on an RP or something.  I think the RP would be terrified too!

Being 6'5"  200lbs tiny gear doesnt make me feel warm and fuzzy. Micro cams in particular as I've had a couple pop on me. Whenever I have an option for small cams or small nuts, its usually always the passive option.

True, Dean was 6'5", but I think he clocked in at 185, like me at 6'4"--so pretty slim.

Mugs Stump was a big guy.

He was! Played Div I safety. Pretty slim though, even if a monster.  

that feeling when you've been trying to bulk all summer but you still don't get mentioned in the strong, large climbers thread :(

Pat Light wrote:

that feeling when you've been trying to bulk all summer but you still don't get mentioned in the strong, large climbers thread :(

Oh yeah and Pat Light dude glowed up this summer.

Luc Ried wrote:

But like…why

Well I chunked up to 195 this summer and I need to know there's hope