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Neil Gresham

@neil.gresham

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Britain’s pioneering performance coach has offered training plans since 1994 and climbed E11, 8c+ & WI 9. With La Sportiva, Petzl, Osprey & LCC.

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Three hours that changed my climbing forever.

A few years ago, Kelly and I were on one of our first climbing trips abroad, to Kalymnos, Greece.

I was only a couple of years into climbing, and Kelly had barely started.

Little did I know that a chance encounter with the legendary @neil.gresham would completely change my climbing journey.

I’d started climbing completely backwards: mountaineering first, then trad, and finally sport climbing.

My approach was still very much that of a mountaineer: get to the top, preferably onsight, and definitely don’t fall off!

The technical difficulty of sport climbing absolutely boggled my mind. Some routes seemed impossibly beyond me.

Nevertheless, Kelly and I were having a fantastic time climbing within our abilities.

One afternoon, we were eating sandwiches in an unusually deserted Grande Grotta when I spotted Neil Gresham approaching.

For those unfamiliar, Neil is one of Britain’s most accomplished climbers and a pioneer of modern climbing coaching. A genuine legend of the sport.

I jokingly shouted:

“How much for a belay from Neil Gresham?”

To my astonishment, he offered to take me climbing there and then!

One minute I was eating sandwiches. The next I was heading off to climb with one of my heroes.

At the time, I was climbing around 6a/6a+.

When Neil suggested trying a 6c+, I thought he was absolutely mad.

What followed was three hours of pure GOLD DUST.

Neil didn’t simply give me beta. He taught me HOW to climb.

How to read routes, memorise sequences, find rests, conserve energy and piece difficult moves together.

I was receiving a masterclass not just in climbing, but in world-class coaching.

He made something I’d considered impossible feel achievable.

I didn’t send that 6c+ with Neil.

But on our final morning in Kalymnos, before catching the ferry home, I went back.

And I sent it.

I left that island a different climber.

Since then, climbing has taken me to extraordinary places. I’ve climbed mountains, tackled routes and enjoyed adventures that the younger me could scarcely have imagined.

That one afternoon opened up an entirely new world of possibilities.

Looking back, what stays with me most isn

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Family reunion, La Sportiva style.

After Rock Master, the La Sportiva Athletes Meeting brought athletes together in Arco from 5–7 October for a few days with a familiar family agenda.

After two days photographing them doing what they do best, we took our cameras into the kitchen. The gnocchi-making workshop we organised was a chance to capture the athletes getting hands-on with something a little different.

There were crafts to try, a trip to take together and a party we organised with a DJ set.
Climbing fitted right in. It’s the family sport, after all.

Thanks to @lasportivagram for inviting us 🙏

📸 @michele_guarneri
📹 @gabbosupertramp

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‘Return to the Deep’ World Premiere | Friday 20 November | 9pm

Follow Neil Gresham’s white-knuckle journey as he attempts to repeat the six hardest deep water solos in Pembroke. Fifteen years ago he pushed the standards of British deep water soloing on these cliffs: his routes earned a fierce reputation and some went unrepeated for a decade, but now they’re a target for the next generation and Neil has re-joined the action.

Presented by Matt Pycroft, ‘Return to the Deep’ features breathtaking cinematography by Aslan Steel, filmed in uniquely challenging and unforgiving conditions, revealing some of Pembroke’s hidden treasures as Neil battles the elements and his inner demons on this wild coastline.

🎟️ Grab your tickets via the link in our bio!

Presented by @ospreyeurope

#ShareTheAdventure | @neil.gresham | @aslan_steel | @mattpycroft

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Wow! The @lasportivagram athlete meet was incredible! What a pleasure to meet new people, see old friends again, and have a fantastic time with such a supportive crew of incredible climbers.

A jam packed few days of climbing, product testing, product designing, workshops, setting, food, parties and dancing!

A huge thanks to the full team at @lasportivagram who brought this altogether to make it such a memorable meet. Onwards 💪

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Starting off my 30s with a 💥 Afroman 7b 🤯

This all wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my dws queen 👑 her savage pep talks, her gear, her psych and joy for life are infectious. @kim_snoyman listen, you’re simply the best. 💘

4 years in the making. I still need to process it a bit but it’s been a surreal journey. From the very first time when @arnau_climbs took me and @sailinguma to Diablo... it was quiet, just the four of us, and you two were an incredible example of love ❤️

Four years later, same cave, same magic in the air, but this time I showed up prepared to do a different type of falling 😂

The past year I followed a proper training plan by the one and only @neil.gresham , who by the most beautiful coincidence was right there at the crag today too 🫶

Patatino 🥹 thank you for the sweet surprise and for making me cry before we even got to the crag.

Full circle moment, thank you all at the crag for sharing the joy 🫶 Bday cake = sending cake

💜 @mammut
🤍 @natureclimbing
🧡 @galletwatch

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📣 Tickets are now on sale for the fourth set of confirmed events for the 2026 Kendal Mountain Festival!

Highlights include:

🌍 The Future of Exploration with the Royal Geographical Society and Craghoppers, featuring Waldo Etherington, Lucy Shepherd and Niall McCann

🧗‍♂️’Return to the Deep’ world premiere presented by Osprey, featuring Neil Gresham

❄️ Louise Minchin - When Adventures Bite Back

🪩 Niall’s Disco Jam - presented by Marmot

Visit the link in our bio to grab your tickets now, and keep an eye out for more tickets coming soon!

#sharetheadventure

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Hello, it’s Tom here! 👋😊

I was scrolling through Instagram this weekend and came across this post by @paradigm_climbing_coaching which struck a cord with me. That being, that it’s just so nice that these days there are multiple coaches out there on Instagram that are soooo driven and passionate about sharing knowledge. And I say this as I think doing this for years and years can feel like a thankless task sometimes so I guess it’s a post to appreciate what others have given to this industry 🙌🤩

We may not always agree with each other and we’ve got our own businesses to run, but in aggregate I think everyone as a whole pushes the know-how and methods forward. That’s the ethos I think we should strive for.

From @neil.gresham who developed his Masterclass Series years ahead of their time, to @c4hp who’s consistently challenged the status quo of training approach to @useful.coach who has some of the most thoughtful and nuanced nutrition advice out there. I also want to mention @climbermacleod who I stupidly didn’t screenshot when making this video - complete training and performance legend 😎

Please do use the comments section to mention anyone else you think is great or give appreciation to those above. I’m always interested in learning about new people or being reminded of someone I’ve not seen content from, for a while.

Happy Sunday everyone! ☀️

PS. Charlie, you’re a total force of nature ✨💪🔥

#climbingtraining #trainingforclimbing #bouldering #climbing

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I promise we’re shooting a climbing film! 🌊🤿 🧗‍♂️ #strugglefest 🎥 @email_today

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Heading back to Pembroke on our final filming block for Return to the Deep! We’ve also locked in a first draft of the film. Two big milestones! Can’t wait to get this film finished and in everyone’s eyeballs… 📸 by @i_am_wardog #ReturnToTheDeepFilm #climbing #deepwatersolo

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Another Olympiad post because it was mega and my camera roll is full of great moments. ❤️‍🔥

⬆️ Me and @jessglassberg about the check out the route.

Moments before traversing on to the face and sending. Such a wild place to start a climb from!

Bring your daughter to work day! Pretty epic to have Frankie come see me on Olympiad. My sister paddled her around from a nearby beach.

Pembroke sunsets are next level.

Pre send ice cream gains with @zleibs #💪

Bad conditions for climbing this day but the girls and @jonglassberg still went full send at the beach

@neil.gresham showing me the ropes, literally! This guy made this send happen. The absolute best mentor. Very grateful indeed!

I wanted to play with the fun camera 😂

Some days were a total write off. Getting conditions on this thing is such a battle!

I literally would never have done this climb without these two!

Hand jam discussions @neil.Gresham whilst @jessglassberg gets the shot

All time crew! Can we do it all again sometime?

Post send beach day.

Zoe teaching the girls how to shuck scallops for a post send fish bbq celebration

A magical evening eating fresh fish from the ocean with wonderful humans

Just some very chill waves after a lovely final day swim.

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Athlos 8b+ — First Ascent.

A pretty special one for me.

Athlos is the left extension to Olympiad. Climbing most of the hard climbing on Olympiad before heading left into a brilliant sequence of hard moves across the upper wall.

In some ways this line started long before I ever tried it. I spent years trying Olympiad, learning the wall, the tides, the conditions and how to climb hard above the water here. Finally doing Olympiad earlier this summer made me wonder what else might be possible on this wall.

Since then there have been plenty of sessions working out the moves, waiting for the right mix of tide, swell and conditions, and then the challenge of actually putting the whole thing together.

Yesterday it all lined up.

The route climbed better than I could have hoped. The upper section is some of my favourite climbing on the wall, brutal, technical and sustained, asking a lot when you’re already carrying the weight of Olympiad in your arms.

Big thanks to @neil.gresham for pioneering hard DWS in the UK and inspiring the rest of us to keep pushing it.

Athlos is Ancient Greek for a contest, feat or struggle, and is also the root of the word “athlete”. It felt like a nice fit, and a nod to Olympiad.

It feels like the natural next chapter to Olympiad, and I’m psyched to have had such an amazing experience putting it all together.

#foryourmountain #climbing #dws

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