Climbing Blind with Guinness Record Holder Jesse Dufton

Jesse Dufton was the first blind person to lead a climb of The Old Man of Hoy – a daunting sea stack in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. It earned him a Guinness world record and was the subject of Alastair Lee’s multi-award-winning documentary Climbing Blind. 

In newly-released Climbing Blind II, Jesse describes being “right at his limit” and “redlining for what felt like an eternity” as he leads a brutal and painful ascent of Devils Tower in Wyoming with his sight guide, wife Molly. 

Jesse has been climbing from the age of two, has many first to his name, and refuses to give in to a genetic condition which totally robbed him of his sight in his mid 20s.

 

Image from Devils Tower from Climbing Blind II, thanks to Alastair Lee, Brit Rock Films

Image from Devils Tower from Climbing Blind II, thanks to Alastair Lee, Brit Rock Films

Devils Tower, Wyoming