Emma Twyford

Emma Twyford, born in 1986, is a British rock climber and competition climber from Cumbria in England, known for her ascents in sport climbing, traditional climbing and bouldering. On 17 September 2019 she made the first female free ascent of The Big Bang at Lower Pen Trwyn in North Wales, which made her the first British woman to climb a sport route graded 9a (5.14d). The story of that climb became a documentary film, The Big Bang - The Emma Twyford Story, which won Best Climbing Film at the Kendal Mountain Festival. Her traditional climbing includes female free ascents of Rare Lichen (E9 6c) in 2013, Strawberries (E7) in 2014, Nightmayer (E8 6c) in 2018 and Yma O Hyd (E10 7a) in 2025. She was a British junior bouldering champion, represented Britain on the national competition climbing team for many years, and also works as a competition route setter and a coach.