Home

Jesse Dufton is a blind rock climber and keynote speaker.

He was awarded a Guinness World Record for becoming the first blind person to lead climb The Old Man of Hoy and he has also established new routes on previously unclimbed mountains in the arctic and in Morocco’s Anti Atlas. He is the subject of several films, including the multi-award winning films Climbing Blind 1 & 2 and Trad Stars from Brit Rock Films.

Jesse has lost all his useful vision to Rod-Cone Dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes the light-sensitive cells in the eyes to degenerate. While climbing, he is totally reliant on his sense of touch and on verbal guidance from his climbing partner, his wife Molly.

A lifelong climber, Jesse is best known for his traditional or “trad” rock climbing, but his climbing repertoire also encompasses sport, competition and ice climbing.

  • Jesse climbing The Bludgeon E1, Borrowdale, Lake District. The picture shows an overhanging rock wall on the left and a luscious green area of fields and trees in the valley below on the right. Jesse is wearing a red t-shirt and is hugging a rock spike with his left arm, while reaching high with his right hand. The climb looks quite improbable from this angle as it is so steep. The radio ear piece is visible in his left ear.
  • Jesse climbing Cool For Cats E1 5b, Pembroke, Wales. The picture shows a steep rock wall on the left hand side of the image and a beautiful blue sky and calm blue sea on the right. Jesse is high on the rock face silhouetted against the sky, he is reaching down with his left hand in search of a foothold. His feet are on a small edge and his right hand is high just out of view round the arete. His ropes dangle down below him and he stands out in a bright red t-shirt and white helmet.
  • Molly climbing Left Out 5.10d Red Rock, USA. The picture shows molly in the centre of the image, climbing a steep wall. Her left hand is reaching high into a horizontal break and her right hand is crimping on a small edge at her eye level. Her right foot is stepped high into a small depression and her left foot is on a large ledge. She is wearing a blue t-shirt and black trousers. The sun is blazing in the background over the scrub-land, but the crag is in shade.
  • Jesse climbing The Fox 5.10d, Red Rock USA. The picture shows Jesse in the center of the image, hanging onto a small ledge with his left hand on the left side of large soaring corner. He is dipping for chalk with his right hand. Large cams hang from his harness and his right foot is perched on a tiny edge on the right wall and he is leaning back with a straight arms. It looks like a strenuous position but his face looks calm and chilled.
  • Jesse climbing the Sentinal E2 5b, Peak District, UK. The picture shows 3 large prows of rock jutting out stacked against each other. Jesse is hanging on with both hands on the hold from the further prow. He has gear placed by his waist and rock above his head. The next moves look steep and overhung. There are grey clouds in the sky and greens trees below him glistening in the sun.
  • Jesse climbing Rubicon 5.10c, Joshua Tree, USA. The picture shows a very large rounded boulder with a thin seam arching up and round to the right. The boulder is set against a clear blue sky. The base of the boulder is out of view, only the top half is visible, with Jesse, a small blue dot, two thirds of the way up the arching seam. His left foot is in the seam, as are both hands and his right foot looks to be flagging against the blank wall to the right.
  • Jesse climbing Internationale E3 5b on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The picture shows a large expanse of grey ocean to the right of the image and a vertical pleated rock face on the left. Jesse is reaching high with both arms and looks really stretched out. His feet are underneath a bulge and he only has a few moves left to reach the top of the crag. The top is a flat plateau of Heather with an abseil rope in view.
  • Jesse climbing Forked Lightning Crack E2 5c, Yorkshire, UK. The picture shows Jesse laybacking to the left in the middle of a lightning shaped cracked that splits the crag vertically. He is wearing shorts, what was he thinking.