The Claw and Mikl; born c. 1959) is an Australian rockclimber known for establishing routes across Australia, especially in the Blue Mountains.
[1] He became prominent in the New Wave Australian climbing scene when he made the first free ascent of Janicepts (21) in 1974, aged 15.
[4] Mikl wrote many unofficial rock climbing guidebooks, first in paper form before the age of the internet and later online, including Rockclimbing at Mt Victoria (1978), Melbourne climbs (1981), Sydney and Sea-cliffs (1983 and many subsequent editions) and Blue Mountains Selected climbs (1988).
Mikl performed extensive testing of rock-climbing equipment and bolts in Australia's sandstone, resulting in the most established guide for soft rock bolting.
He worked at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation until 2018, when he finally became a full time climber.