The kids really are crushing these days. Toby Roberts has just become the youngest Brit to tick 8a: the classic Raindogs at Malham Cove. And watch out world: this ten-year-old already has climbing sponsors, his own website and Twitter account, and his sights on the next project. Sarah Stirling finds out his secret to being so strong.

Toby explains why he wanted to climb Raindogs on his blog:

"I always want to climb hard and never give up if I know it can be done and I wanted to climb an outdoor 8a – my first serious outdoor project.

There are lots in the UK but most of them have big spans and reaches – possibly too big for me at the moment but I knew Raindogs was a very famous route and a very hard 8a but knew it was also within my reach. I asked my Dad if we could go there for me to have a look and we did for a weekend in August.

When I got there I just stood there looking at the big rock in front of me. It was fantastic. It made everybody up there seem so small,  I knew I just wanted to get on it and feel it.

Having tried the route over a weekend I knew it would take a lot of effort and I knew I would need to know every move which I would only be able to do with time on the wall. I persuaded Dad to find somewhere to stay in Malham for my October half-term and we set off to a small cottage in the centre of Malham for a week..."

SS: Tell us about your first ever climb. Were you instantly hooked? How old and where were you?

TR: My first climb was at the end of my school hall where they have a few simple routes and problems. I was seven-years-old and instantly hooked. The school entered the BMC YCS and the first round at White Spider Climbing was the first time I had ever been in a proper indoor climbing centre. I came second last that day, but after two months training, I came second in the third round and qualified for the national finals at Ratho. I went on to finish 12th, about five months after I started climbing.

How often do you train, and where?

I train at Craggy Island in Guildford and I also try to visit as many other climbing centres as I can to get as much time on different walls as possible. I train every Wednesday with the Craggy Island Youth Team and I also try to climb at least once every weekend. During half-terms and holidays I will climb a lot more, and in the build up to competitions will climb 4 or 5 times a week.

Do you train for climbing just by climbing, or do you do other things like fingerboarding?

I play rugby, football and hockey at school as well as cross-country. I came second in a 3-mile under 16 cross country aged 9 with over 100 runners and I am in the Churt Football Team! I still play football whenever I can but had to stop a lot of the athletics because I didn’t have enough time to climb!

I did have two fingerboards that I liked using – but my dad took them away until I’m older! I now have a pull up bar on my bedroom door and I do some pull ups every time I go in and out of my bedroom!

What's your secret to being so strong at just ten?

I train hard and climb a lot but mainly it’s because if I can’t get a move I will keep trying and trying until I get it - even if it takes months like Raindogs! Dad sometimes has to drag me off the wall!

I also climb on a lot of the routes set by Mark at Craggy which are often powerful bouldery moves and we play fun games at Youth Team like ‘+1’ where we take it in turns to make up new routes on the boulder wall.

Any advice for other kids your age wanting to achieve something so difficult?

Push yourself and don’t let go. Try to get to the top every time even if it seems a long way away.

What's your next project?

My coach Mark Croxall said there is a route at Rubicon Wall in the Peak District called Caviar (8a+). I don’t know whether it will suit me at the moment but I would like to have a look. I am feeling so strong at the moment I would love to get on it!

I am also looking forward to the upcoming competitions. I won Blokfest last year so would love to try to win again. I would also like to do well in this year's YCS after getting timed out on a route last year and coming third. I came second in the Youth Color Festival in Imst last year when in the lower age category – I would love to go one better and win this year!

What are your goals for the future: do you want to be world champion, travel the world climbing, have a job that's connected to climbing?

My goal at the moment is to get into the GB team once I am old enough and I would like to travel the world climbing hard routes outdoors and winning as many competitions as I can.

Are you interested in getting into other styles of climbing, like outdoor trad, bouldering or ice climbing, when you're older?

I haven’t thought much about trad or ice climbing but I really like the idea of ice climbing in the Alps because I really like the mountains. I like climbing hard sport routes at the moment and I love bouldering as well. I would definitely like to visit Font sometime soon to do some hard bouldering.

READ: more about Toby's ascent on his blog.

FOLLOW: Toby on Twitter.

WATCH: Toby climbing Raindogs:

Youth Outdoor Climbing Courses

Whether you want to make the leap from indoor climbing into Sport or Trad climbing outdoors, we run many courses across the country and throughout the year that are specially for 11-17 year olds.

BOOK: Youth Trad Climbing Course

BOOK: Youth Sport Climbing Course

Subsidised Youth Course Places

There are a large number of free places on courses for families who may struggle to afford it. Any families who live in rented accommodation and who receive income support or universal credit may contact the instructor of a course or Alex West for a place.

U27 Membership 

From just £1.77 a month it's never been easier to join and support our work: 

JOIN TODAY: BMC Under 27 Membership

« Back