Jesse Dufton was born with a degenerative eye condition known as Rod–Cone Dystrophy. This condition caused his eyesight to deteriorate over time, until he was only able to distinguish between light and dark within a very narrow field of vision.
Interestingly, he is also a member of the Paraclimbing Team, a climbing team for athletes with disabilities. His achievements are far from modest. He has won two bronze medals at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Championships.
On Lundy Island, England, in October 2023, Jesse attempted to climb the classic route Devil’s Slide HS 4a together with his wife and guide, Molly. However, due to one thing and another, plans changed, and they ended up climbing the route Destiny, on the same island.
In his blog, Jesse wrote:
“When I choose to try a route that sits at the limit of my ability, I usually want to push on with it straight away. Often this means waking early with a dull ache behind my teeth. After dragging Molly—who was barely caffeinated—out of the campsite, I worked hard crossing the island under the weight of a rucksack and a giant coil of kernmantle rope.”
On the Destiny route, Molly led the first pitch, before Jesse took over the lead starting from the second pitch.
“I created a traffic jam at the start of the main crack. Reaching the centre where the crack veers right and becomes horizontal. I then found the moves powerful and struggled to move my feet on insecure footholds. I realised I couldn’t hang around here. I lunged right, kept climbing, and finally found—much to my relief—a widening crack and an awkward, imperfect rest.
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The Story of Fortuna
While trying to recover, Jesse’s thoughts shifted to classical themes and philosophy.
“I thought about the name of the route and its appropriateness, drawing associations with Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck. It is said that she determines a person’s future by turning the wheel of fortune. Interestingly, like me, she is blind. From her comes the concept of fate and destiny. Destiny is a predetermined future scenario. Fate, meanwhile, relates to the present, and every decision previously made leads to the current moment.”
Jesse continued writing, letting his thoughts flow during the climb:
“I love climbing—the places, the people, the challenges and the problem-solving—but also the idea of self-determination. This separates the concepts of fate and destiny. I think that in climbing, your choices matter. It is a rejection of a deterministic attitude in which life is merely like walking along railway tracks, and choice is just an illusion—where your destiny is already set. Fate, on the other hand, is about the present and the many choices made to reach it. Every hold chosen, every piece of gear selected and placed, the sequence committed to, and every effort and act of will applied.”
The Middle Finger Story
Jesse reflected on his climbing journey and how he likes to think of destiny as something personified as fate, similar to the thinking of one of the gods in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, which he enjoyed as a teenager:
“I am convinced that it was my choices that led me to the top of one of the hardest routes I have climbed to date. And for me, within that success there is catharsis. I know my disability makes climbing far more difficult for me than for most people. You could say that, through genetics, fate has intervened and tried to prevent climbing from being a choice for me. So every time I go climbing—especially when I try to push my limits—I rebel against the constraints imposed upon me. Somewhere in my soul, my teenage self briefly smiles before defiantly raising a middle finger to fate.” (Sulung Prasetyo)
