Timmy O'Neill

Known as "America's most outrageous climber," Timmy O'Neill has set international speed climbing records, kayaked the entire length of the Grand Canyon and back seven times, and established 1st Ascents from Patagonia to Pakistan. He travels the world giving outdoor-oriented improv comedy routines, and he enjoys climbing urban buildings with imaginary ropes, playing rock & roll drums, high-lining and BASE jumping. He is best known for his quick wit, irreverent humour, and for rehydrating with coffee.

Timmy is also the co-founder of Paradox Sports, a non-profit organization which seeks to integrate the disabled population into outdoor recreation. Through Paradox Sports Timmy and his team envision a world where people of all backgrounds and abilities can pursue a life of excellence through human-powered outdoor sports, regardless of physical disability or limb-count. “We see a future where everyone is able to pursue their dreams because they have the opportunities, support and the adaptive equipment necessary to do so.”

Born in 1969, in the surburban shadow of Philadelphia, Timmy Boy's first touch of rock was the monumental tombstones and mausoleums in the local cemetery. At age 19, armed with a $69.00 one-way ticket to Wyoming, he boarded a Greyhound bus bound for wilderness, and never looked back.

During the past few years, Timmy has been exploring the world’s great mountain ranges, climbing from Pakistan to Patagonia. Timmy is one of the fastest climbers in the world. He is so fast he has never been seen on some of the climbs he claims to have sent in record breaking times. He has set many on-sight records in Yosemite, including a world record ascent of the Nose on El Capitan in 3hrs 24mins in 2001 with Dean Potter (exactly the time some wise North Americans take to drive to work every morning). At some point in what now seems like a distant past, he teamed up with Potter to link three massive Grade VI walls, climbing over 80 pitches and 9,000 vertical feet in less than 24 hours.

Timmy’s message is to relax and laugh more, and to pay attention to the moment you are in – rather than paying attention to where you may never be.

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Timmy's Website
www.timmyoneill.com

Brothers Wild - First Ascent from Mountainfilm in Telluride on Vimeo.

This film about the O’Neill brothers, Timmy and Sean, profiles an unusual pair of siblings. Timmy is, of course, a familiar face to Mountainfilm audiences with his brilliant climbing and comedy. Sean, however, is new to the festival and is equally unforgettable for his own achievements. Sean is confined to a wheelchair because of an accident that happened when he was younger, but being an O’Neill, this doesn’t stop him from climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan or attempting Peak 6000 in Alaska’s Ruth Gorge. This short piece, part of the First Ascent series by Sender Films, is the kind of climbing film that keeps the genre alive and well.