JOE BROWN

Joe Brown was considered the foremost rock climber and mountaineer of his generation, and perhaps the greatest all round mountaineer ever. In 1966 Joe opened his first shop in Llanberis with his wife Val. The Capel Curig shop opened soon after. Over the years the shops have earned the reputation of being among the best specialist climbing equipment and outdoor gear shops in the UK. At an estimate Joe Brown has climbed over 1000 new routes.

This is not intended to be a definitive catalogue, but a list of his more significant achievements. Gradings given here are current ones. At the time of some of the first ascents V.S. (very severe) was the highest grading used.

Routes were rarely inspected or cleaned beforehand, but pegs were placed more readily both for protection and aid. Joe would never placed more than a self-imposed limit of 2 pegs on a pitch preferring to leave harder routes for a later generation.