Jack Palmieri is the new Top-100 #1 in the Boulder Ranking

Jack Palmieri started climbing indoors at age 27 and got hooked on climbing outside two years later after a trip to Fontainebleau in 2014. One year later he repeated Oppotrocity wobbly block (8A+). The 38-year-old has now done almost 500 boulders 8A to 8B+, out of which, 79 he's done in just the last 90 days. Pictured is Jack sending the classic, Isles Of Wonder (8B).

"I really only opted into the ranking scores out of curiosity when I saw the article. Didn’t know the feature was there. I just climb outside a lot, 3 or 4 times most weeks and never inside. I also don’t really like or choose to project so in turn get up my fair share of boulders. It’s strange in the UK, we have a lot more hard climbing than people think. It obviously rains a lot which in turn means a lot of limestone caves, these typically lend themselves better to link-up type climbing than most rock types so when summer comes and they are dry there is tons to do. Then winter the gritstone comes back into condition."

Can you tell us more about how you started climbing?
After 18 months or so I got taken outdoors by some friends I’d made at the climbing wall, once to Malham cove where I got spanked, turns out there are no coloured jugs leading the way up the routes and then on the gritstone over the winter, I didn’t take to it over those first few sessions, it was cold and the gritstone was so harsh on my unprepared skin!

Then around 2014 I went to Font for the first time and really enjoyed myself, since then I’ve just steadily climbed outside more and more. I’ve climbed inside just once this year I believe.

And you've knocked down 79 boulders 8A to 8B+ this summer?
I’ve gone a little crazy trying to do daft little challenges over the summer holidays as I have an abundance of time off whilst my son is off school. He often comes along and heckles while I fall off.

Are you doing any special training or just climbing?
Nothing at all in the way of conventional training, not even any fingerboarding. But most of the crags I go to are nice and steep, they suffice to keep me in shape.

How did you became a GB climbing team coach?
After a couple years of indoor climbing I’d started to do some coaching myself after doing some studying on getting myself in shape. I coached a couple of kids of the youth team and when a coaching spot became available I applied and was successful. It was a great job and I eventually moved on to a role with the seniors. In the end the travelling just became too much time away from my family and also ate in to my leisure time!