Pete Whittaker

Pete Whittaker, born in 1991, is a prominent British rock climber renowned for his exceptional skills in crack climbing. Together with his climbing partner Tom Randall, Whittaker forms the duo known as the Wide Boyz, gaining recognition in the climbing community for their groundbreaking achievements.

Whittaker first gained attention in 2011 when he and Randall ventured to the United States. There, he completed the first ascent of Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b), a significant over-wide route at Indian Creek, marking him as the first climber to conquer a width of 5.13. Their collaboration reached new heights with the first ascent of Century Crack (5.14b), hailed as the world's most challenging off-width climb. In 2014, he made history by flashing Freerider (5.12d) on El Capitan, and two years later, he accomplished the remarkable feat of completing Freerider's first solo free climb in under 24 hours.

Whittaker's list of impressive first ascents includes notable gritstone routes such as Dynamics of Change (E9 7a), Bigger Baron (E10 7a), and Sleepy Hollow (E10 7a). He also pioneered climbs like The Millennium Arch (5.14a) and Lamb of God (5.14b) in Canyonlands, Utah. His technical prowess shone through with ascents of legendary routes, including the legendary Cobra Crack (5.14b) in Squamish, Canada, which was once considered the hardest crack in the world.

In 2021, Whittaker and Randall tackled the Great Crack (5.13), a formidable 2,500-foot ceiling crack in Devon, England. Their journey was captured in the short film Bridge Boys, showcased in Reel Rock 16, further solidifying Whittaker's status as an innovator in the climbing world.