Will might have started his career as a youngster, but he’s always had an old soul. Thoughtful and inquisitive, Will is a climbing history buff whose admiration for the chronicles of routes and their founders is made clear in his own authentic process. The virtuoso crack climber is known for freeing the hardest route in the Bugaboos, the Tom Egan Memorial Route, although, freeing the three west faces of the Howser Towers in just a day might be one of his finest firsts. When Will isn’t stunting in movies or sending aesthetically pleasing and ridiculously hard cracks, he can be found guiding as an Association of Canadian Mountain Guides certified rock guide.
• Four free ascents of El Capitan, including The Prophet, 5.13+R, Yosemite, USA
• First free link up of the west faces of the Howser Towers in a day, with difficulties up to 5.12+, with Leo Houlding, 2017, both in Bugaboos, British Columbia, Canada
• First free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route, 5.14, with Matt Segal, British Columbia, Canada, 2015
• Third free ascent of The Southern Belle, South Face of Half Dome, 5.12+R, with Alex Honnold, Yosemite, USA
• The Cobra Crack, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, 5.14, 2009
• Free solos up to 5.12+ including the first free solos of Zap Crack and the Zombie Roof, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
Will Stanhope has been climbing for most of his life. Some of his most memorable ascents in the Bugaboos include a free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route, a link up of all the three Howser Towers with Leo Houlding, and the first free solo of the East Face of Snowpatch Spire.
Will returns to the VIMFF stage to share his love for these iconic alpine spires with the audience.
