Statement: The Ben Moon Story

Early on in biographer Ed Douglas makes the comparison that Ben Moon in his heyday was in the same class as the late Wolfgang Gullich, and the equivalent of an Ondra or Sharma of today. The book goes on to make a compelling case for Moon’s innovation and contribution to modern climbing, but the comparison with Gullich is particularly interesting.

Both Gullich and Moon broke new ground in sport climbing, repeated ly raising the level of climbing to previously undreamed of levels of dif f icult y. But Gullich continues to be a f ig ure in climbing’s col lective consciousness, and deser vedly so. The image of Gullich on Action Direct is as recognizable and iconic as ever.

While Moon, whose Hubble is now argued by some as worthy of 9a, and thus possibly the f irst, has been superseded by others. Is the only dif ference that of Gullich’s early and trag ic demise? Is it better for rock stars in music and on stone, to burn out rather than fade away?

In writing the biography of Ben Moon, Ed Douglas has given the reader a real sense of the actual person behind the public image. But Douglas, a noted writer, also cleverly positioned the stor y both as a portrait of the man and as the stor y of climbing for the last 25 years. Much like punk had revolutionized music and became the establishment, so has Moon and his contemporaries. Climbers have always pursued dif f icult y, but also danger and adventure in equal measure. Moon was perhaps the f irst pure spor t climber, elevating dif f icult y and movement above al l else. The spor t climbers and boulderers of today climb in a world of Moon’s making.–