Pete Livesey was a rock climber who raised the standard of difficulty in the sport in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 during the 1970s. As one of the best climbers the United Kingdom has ever produced, he had an international reputation for hard routes and a professional training regime. He was one of the first climbers to implement a hard training regime, enabling him to ascend his difficult new routes such as Footless Crow (on Goat Crag in the Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

) and Downhill Racer (at Froggatt in the Peak District

Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....

). There is a certain irony in his first free ascent of Clink in 1972. As an avid reducer of aid in his climibng, Clink was over bolted in 2004.

Livesey was not only a top rock climber but also a fell-runner, athlete, caver, canoeist and orienteer. He took up orienteering

Orienteering

Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...

 in his 40s and within two years was topping the M45 rankings in Britain. He also had a remarkable record as a fell runner, including four consecutive top ten placings in the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon

Karrimor International Mountain Marathon

The Original Mountain Marathon , formerly known as the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon , is a 2-day Mountain event, held in a different region across the UK every year. It was first held in 1968 and continues today...

 (KIMM).

Towards the end of his life he lectured in Outdoor Studies at Ilkley

Ilkley

Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...

 College, Yorkshire. He died on 26 February 1998 from cancer.

Selected routes

Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

• Crossbones, Malham – E2 5c (First free ascent – 1967)

• Doubting Thomas, Malham – E5 6b (First ascent – 1971)

• Face Route, Gordale – E3 6a (First ascent – 1971)

• Jenny Wren, Gordale – E5 6a (First ascent – 1971)

• Central Wall, Kilnsey – E4 6a (First free ascent – 1972)

• The Diedre, Kilnsey – E2 5b (First free ascent – 1972)

• Deliverance, Gordale – E5 6b (First ascent – 1973)

• Mossdale Trip, Gordale – E6 6a (First ascent – 1977)

Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

• Lunatic, Chapel Head Scar – E3 5c (First ascent – 1974)

• Footless Crow, Goat Crag – E5 6b (First ascent – 1976)

• Javelin, Trowbarrow Quarry – E1 5b (First ascent – 1976)

Peak District

Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....

• Debauchery, High Tor – E1 5b (First free ascent – 1967)

• Darius, High Tor – E2 5c (First free ascent – 1974)

• Nightmare of Brown Donkeys, High Tor – E3 6a (First free ascent – 1975)

• Behemoth, Water-cum-Jolly – E5 6b (First free ascent – 1976)

• China Spring, High Tor – E5 6a (First ascent – 1976)

• The Girdle Traverse, High Tor – E5 6b (First free ascent – 1976)

• Downhill Racer, Froggatt – E4 6a (First ascent – 1977)

Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

• Right Wall, Dinas Cromlech – E5 6a (First ascent – 1974)

• Clink, (First Free ascent - 1972)