Pete Whittaker (born 1991) is a British professional rock climber. Whittaker is considered one of the world's best crack climbers, making the first free ascent of Crown Royale (9a/5.14d), one of the world's hardest trad routes. Alongside climbing partner Tom Randall, he also made the first free ascent of Century Crack (8c/5.14b), one of the world's hardest offwidths. Under the name Wide Boyz, Whittaker and Randall produce YouTube videos, provide coaching, and sell specialized crack climbing equipment.
In 2011, Whittaker and Randall made a visit to the United States, where Whittaker was the first to flash Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b), a highly regarded offwidth climb in Indian Creek. Continuing the trip, Whittaker and Randall made the first free ascent of the Century Crack (5.14b), then considered the world's hardest offwidth. After initially sending the route with pre-placed gear, both subsequently repeated the climb while placing their own gear. To prepare for the climb, they had trained for two years on a wooden replica of the crack in Randall's home's cellar.
In 2014, Whittaker became the first, by some definitions, to flash Freerider (5.12d) on El Capitan. In 2016, Whittaker became the first to free-climb Freerider in under 24 hours, via rope solo.
In 2021, Whittaker and Randall made the first ascent of the multi-pitch route The Great Rift, a 2,500-foot roof crack on the underside of a highway overpass in Devon, England. They proposed a grade of 5.13, with pitches ranging from 7b+ to 8a+. The climb was documented in the short film Bridge Boys, which featured in Reel Rock 16.
In 2023, Whittaker established and made the first ascent of the 100-meter crack climb Crown Royale (5.14d) in Jøssingfjord, Norway. He proposed a grade of 9a (5.14d), making it one of the hardest trad routes in the world.
In 2025, Whittaker made the second ascent and first flash of Autobahn in Germany. This route, established by Randall, is perhaps the world's hardest offwidth climb, with a proposed grade of 8c/8c+ (5.14b/c).
Over the years, Whittaker has established many new trad routes in England's Peak District. He and Randall have also jointly established many routes, particularly in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. They won Climbing magazine's 2016 Golden Piton Vision Award for their climbing in this region, particularly their first ascent of The Millennium Arch.
E10 7a:
E9 7a:
8c/8c+ (5.14b/c):
8b/8b+ (5.13d/5.14a):
Whittaker and his climbing partner Tom Randall are together known as the Wide Boyz. Under this name, they produce social media content on YouTube and other platforms and host an annual crack climbing competition known as Crack Fest. They also offer training in crack climbing and produce specialized equipment like crack volume holds and gloves.