Dave Barnes is one of those climbers who just couldn't give the game away. Dave grew up climbing, became an adult climbing, made a career from climbing and has even had climb-interrupted moments, but has returned. For him climbing is more than just sugar, it's a carb, and it fuels him for whatever life throws his way.
Dave had a curve balled thrown at him in 2018. Whilst training for an Ironman triathlon race he pushed his body to the edge, went to sleep one evening and effectively woke up in the hospital. Dave spent the next six months recovering with a traumatic brain injury, caused by the relentless pressure he was putting on his brain due to low blood sugars from crunching out those K's in the pool, on the bike, and on the track. He has had to go part-time in the workplace and his life has been thrown up-side-down. The positive out of all this is that the climbing community has Dave’s back. When he recovered the brain cells that were connected to his climbing past, he rejoined and he re-engaged with his old pals. He established new networks and rediscovered his love of climbing.
Dave had a curve balled thrown at him in 2018. Whilst training for an Ironman triathlon race he pushed his body to the edge, went to sleep one evening and effectively woke up in the hospital. Dave spent the next six months recovering with a traumatic brain injury, caused by the relentless pressure he was putting on his brain due to low blood sugars from crunching out those K's in the pool, on the bike, and on the track. He has had to go part-time in the workplace and his life has been thrown up-side-down. The positive out of all this is that the climbing community has Dave’s back. When he recovered the brain cells that were connected to his climbing past, he rejoined and he re-engaged with his old pals. He established new networks and rediscovered his love of climbing.
Dave the Triathlete six months before his catastrophic brain injury.
Or near catastrophic!
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Dave soloing when he was young at Tarana, Australia.
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Dave began climbing in his mid teens, in the late 1980's. It was still a Bohemian type of activity back then, lost between art and sport. Climbing attracted odd balls and deep thinkers. Bolts were just being accepted as the next big thing and sport climbing was raising the bar across climbing the world over. Climbing gyms started to appear and Dave assisted set up one of the first gyms in Australia, The Rocknasium in Sydney.
Dave on a first ascent in Hobart, Mr Bodacious (5.7).
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Dave's real passion though was (and still is) new routing. Whilst others were out repeating climbs Dave would hunt around Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart, for the next suburban classics, putting up over 200 routes in these areas, developing new crags and introducing climbing to new climbers. It was often than Dave would promise his mates a go at rock climbing, then those same mates found themselves being taught how to belay and spent the next few hours belaying Dave up some project he was working on. Dave has a lot of respect for belayers, now, a guilt complex, I think. Climbers can never get enough and Dave has traveled the world climbing alpine in New Zealand and Alaska, rock climbing in Canada and of course, Yosemite Valley. The people he has met on his path have been the most important part of his climbing journey and he is a loyal friend to many folks he has crossed paths with. At the moment, Dave is giving back by volunteering time to write and to advocate for climbing access in the Grampians in Victoria Australia and Mount Arapiles (which is currently under threat by the Australian Government). |
Dave shares this issue constructively with fellow climbers, just recently he took Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson out climbing in Hobart and shared with them the climbing scene in Australia whilst showing off his local cliffs. Dave also enjoys interviewing climbing talent. Dave says of his writing, "I don't know how I get away with it as I am such a bumbly, these guys and gals are guns."
Today, Dave has a family of high achieving athletes who do every sport but climbing, but as Dave says, "Each to his or her own." His ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) and Type One Diabetes means he does not climb a lot, but when he does, he loves it as much as the ace climber. And, he’s happy sending that ace's story even if not climbing those routes! Dave is now carving a platform to write climber's stories and to share with others the awesomeness of climbing and of being a climber on small crags to high mountains. Dave says of climbing writing, "Its all good, as long as people enjoy what I write I will keep on sharing our stories."
David has been published in Vertical Life, Crushed, Sports and Spokes and is a regular contributor to Climbing based Social Media sites and Common Climber. Of Common Climber Dave say, "I respect Common Climber as Stef has worked very hard to bring our community a magazine that celebrates all climbers, particularly the weekend warriors, the newbie and the climbers who want to tell their stories. It's a magazine that makes climbers feel welcome."
Today, Dave has a family of high achieving athletes who do every sport but climbing, but as Dave says, "Each to his or her own." His ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) and Type One Diabetes means he does not climb a lot, but when he does, he loves it as much as the ace climber. And, he’s happy sending that ace's story even if not climbing those routes! Dave is now carving a platform to write climber's stories and to share with others the awesomeness of climbing and of being a climber on small crags to high mountains. Dave says of climbing writing, "Its all good, as long as people enjoy what I write I will keep on sharing our stories."
David has been published in Vertical Life, Crushed, Sports and Spokes and is a regular contributor to Climbing based Social Media sites and Common Climber. Of Common Climber Dave say, "I respect Common Climber as Stef has worked very hard to bring our community a magazine that celebrates all climbers, particularly the weekend warriors, the newbie and the climbers who want to tell their stories. It's a magazine that makes climbers feel welcome."
Dave climbing at Mount Tiberon, Australia.
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Dave Barnes at Yosemite, CA.
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