Kevin Shields may not actually climb the 'hardest' grades or be the 'worlds best climber' but he has an amazing ability to crank at a very impressive level across a range of disciplines and for sure has one of the most indomitable spirits in climbing.
And it's this spirit of 'gung ho' go for it which embodies many of the qualities of the true spirit of climbing that means Wild Country are proud to add him to their roster and help him with gear. Featured in Committed - an amazing climbing movie by Hot Aches - Kevin has one or two disadvantages which mean that his achievments belie almost any grade - as he nonchalently says himself: "I was born in 1978 in Ayrshire, Scotland and wasted 30 years there before recently escaping to the bright lights of Fort William and living the dream - working in Nevisport (which is a necessary evil). Oh and most of my left hand is missing and I’m epileptic."
Kev Shields shows the epitome of committment soloing E6 in Glen Nevis....
Kev tells us more about his life and climbing below...
When did you first get into climbing?
My Father got me into the outdoors on routine Sunday morning forced marches as a kid which , retrospectively, were great. After years of just hillwalking with my Dad I got into doing munroes with one of his mates then one day we went up Curved Ridge on BuachailleEtiveMor and my whole life changed that day in the sense that climbing became possible. Then I became epileptic just before I was 21 which put me out for around a year after that I went back to the mountains of Arran on my own and ever since that day I’ve become more and more obsessed with climbing and the outdoors in general.
Which styles of climbing do you prefer and why?
I prefer soloing or scary trad and winter climbing. The soloing as its purely cathartic, scary trad because I just like the feeling of pushing myself and winter as its masochistic and I guess I must be a bit twisted.
How do you prepare physically for the climbs you attempt?
Physically I only train hard for winter with a little bouldering on the side and plenty of hill days, running, cycling, stretching and some weights.
How do you prepare mentally for climbing dangerous tradroutes?
Preparing mentally for dangerous routes is the most interesting part of climbing for me. Everyone has different reasons for climbing but for myself I like to keep the depression I get as a side effect of my epilepsy bottled up then use it to get the dark motivation I need for a lot of my routes then once I’m at the top all that negativity is gone, it’s a great way of dealing with it. There’s so many ways to turn disadvantage to advantage.
What would you say are your most memorable moments in climbing to date on the rock, in the gym and in competition?
On the rock I’d say (so far) soloing E6, in the gym I get a buzz every time I reach a new level of endurance or complete a new problem. In competition it’d be either winning the Mixed Masters or being first disabled athlete to enter the Ice World Cup
Top ten route / climbs / boulders in the UK?
- Curved Ridge , Glencoe
- North Buttress , Glencoe
- Smiths Route , Ben Nevis
- Benny Hill Show, Largs
- The Dark Side, Largs
- Fatal Kiss, Largs
- Browns Eliminate, Froggat
- Fast & Furious, Newtyle
- Something in the Water, Chalk Cliffs
- Precious Cargo, Glen Nevis
Are there any other sports or activities that you make time for outside of climbing? At this moment in time nothing much else matters to me except climbing so I tend not to bother much with anything else. What goals do you have for the next year and in the future?In the next year I want to climb E7/8 , Scottish X1/11. as for the future I’d love to eventually get into alpinism in the Greater Ranges.
You can read more about Kev on his Blog....
http://kevshieldsclimbing.
