Dawes arrived on the scene at a transitional time in British climbing development. The post Livesey/Fawcett training-inspired rise in trad standards was faltering and commercial pressures to adopt the Continental Bolt were increasing in the wake of this. Into this arena leapt, literally, avante-garde rock poet Johnny Dawes, the boy wonder who invented the dyno. In a stunning and innovative series of bold climbs he revived the gritstone scene and was immediately hailed by the grown-ups as The Last Great Hope of British Climbing. Transferring his skills to slate and thence to Welsh mountain rock he played a major part in promoting the glamour of the quarries and his Welsh escapades culminated in the famous Indian Face on Cloggy. Dawes is however much more than a talented and unusual climber. His creative ability spills over from the rocks into artistic projects, particularly film. Alun Hughes' Stone Monkey® which is said to be "95% influenced" by Dawes undoubtedly changed the way the sport was filmed and was a huge hit with its mixture of semi-surreal images, documentary style voice-overs and carefully selected cool tunes. Many other climbing vids have subsequently aped aspects of the approach but none can ever repeat the splendid freshness of the original. The film epitomises what makes Dawes unique: It wasn't just his climbs that were different, he brought a completely new perspective to bear on the way the sport was practised and perceived.

Marmot Rocks North Wales from Ian Burton on Vimeo.

Climbing on Foula : Pete Willance, Murray Hamilton et al climbing on Foula's huge sea cliff. Featuring a cameo by Johnny Dawes.

Johnny Dawes - Welsh Connections from Bamboo Chicken Productions on Vimeo.