When Mark Croxall won the recent The North Face Bouldering World Cup in Birmingham, the crowd were both screaming, and wondering - just who is this guy? Graeme Alderson unveils the dark horse of the British competition scene.

Mark (29) has been around for a while as a long-standing regular on the competition circuit, but had always been in the shadow of the more well known faces such as Gaz Parry, Malcolm Smith, and Andy Earl. That’s not to say he was weak either, he’d got to four World Cup finals prior to Birmingham and finished in second in the 2003/4 A5 BBC. But now he’s won a World Bouldering Cup round on home soil - a first for UK climbing - so it’s time we dragged the outdoor instructor from Cannock out of the shadows.

How did you start climbing?
I started at school doing something for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and something clicked straight away. One of my teachers, Andy Derry was a climber, so I started heading outside with him. After that, it was that well-worn path - I went to Sheffield Uni, and got stronger, better. I started competing at events such as the Foundry Bouldering League, then the FIBO. That was my first international - well scary.

What attracts you about bouldering?
At Uni it was the most accessible, you didn’t need a partner, you just got out to the Peak and did your own thing. To me the best aspect of climbing is the moving without the faff, I do a bit of soloing but can’t be bothered with ropes, they do take something away from climbing.

Any predictions for the future of bouldering?
It’s going to get more popular, no doubt about that. More and more people are realising you don’t have to faff around with gear to have a good time. I guess more people involved is a good thing, since it raises the profile of the sport as a whole, but there’s the whole question of the impact on the crags too. But I haven’t got any answers to that!

What about your climbing?
Well I’m still getting stronger, fitter and better. I want to be the best and having won in Birmingham I now know that I can be. It’s just a question of sticking in there, and giving it everything.

How did it feel to win at Birmingham?
It was awesome, but it took about a week for it to really sink in. The best bit is that it’s something that can’t ever be taken away from me, that feeling when I came down from the last problem and I was told I’d won. Initial disbelief then total euphoria. I didn’t know that I was even in the frame for winning. I didn’t have a good start, failing on one of my warm up problems from the previous day, then taking a few goes on problem one. I really thought I’d blown it, as I was sure that many people must have sent the problem quicker. The one thing I did know was that I’d beaten Gaz, he was climbing after me so I could keep an eye on him. But when I reached the top of the last problem, I realised I must have done OK, maybe a podium spot since the crowd was going mad.

What do you think about the “dark horse” tag?
It’s not something that worries me. I’ve always just climbed for myself, not bothered about getting into the magazines. But I realise that my desire to climb full time means that you have to put the work in to get the exposure that sponsorship requires. It would be cool if you could just get on with it without worrying about that side of things.

Thanks to:
My sponsors - Entre-Prises, E9, La Sportiva and Flashed. Andy Derry for getting me started. Gaz and Andy for the support at the World Cups - over the last three years we’ve been to a lot of comps and have worked well as a team.

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