Lynn Hill

Lynn Hill
Hill in Stavanger 2015
Personal information
Born (1961-01-03) January 3, 1961 (age 63)
Detroit, Michigan, US
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)[1]
Weight110 lb (50 kg) (1993)[1]
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known for
First ascentsThe Nose (870 metres, 31-pitches, 1993, 5.14a)
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  United States
Sport Roccia
Silver medal – second place 1986 Lead
Rock Master
Winner 1987 Lead
Winner 1988 Lead
Winner 1989 Lead
Winner 1990 Lead
Winner 1992 Lead
IFSC Climbing World Cup
Winner 1990 Lead
Third place 1992 Lead

Carolynn Marie Hill (born January 3, 1961)[2] is an American rock climber. Widely regarded as one of the leading competition climbers, traditional climbers (and particularly big wall climbers), sport climbers, and boulderers in the world during the late 1980s and early 1990s, she is famous for making the first free ascent of the difficult sheer rock face of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, and for repeating it the next year in less than 24 hours. She has been described as both one of the best female climbers in the world and one of the best climbers in the history of the sport.[3][4][5] Hill was the first-ever female in history to redpoint a 5.12d (7c), 5.13a (7c+) and 5.14a (8b+) graded sport climbing route.[6] Hill shaped rock climbing for women and became a public spokesperson, helping it gain wider popularity and arguing for sex equality. Hill has publicized climbing by appearing on television shows and documentaries and writing an autobiography, Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World.

Hill was a gymnast early in life, nearly broke a world record lifting weights, and ran competitively. She took to climbing at a young age, showing a natural aptitude for the activity, and became a part of the climbing community in Southern California and Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley. She traveled around the United States during the early 1980s climbing increasingly difficult routes and setting records for first female ascents and for first ascents. From 1986 to 1992 Hill was one of the world's most accomplished competition climbers, winning over thirty international titles, including five victories at the Arco Rock Master. This coincided with the era when the leading female climbers caught up with the leading men. In 1992, Hill left competitive climbing and returned to traditional climbing. She set for herself the challenge of free climbing The Nose of El Capitan, her greatest climbing feat. Hill continues to climb and has not stopped taking on ambitious climbs. As of 2013, she was a sponsored athlete for the Patagonia gear and clothing company and owned a small business that offered climbing courses.

  1. ^ a b "Mile High in Her Field : Rock-Climber Lynn Hill, a Native of Fullerton, Is First Female Star of the Sport – Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference faces was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Potterfield, Peter (December 9, 2004). "Lynn Hill: One of the great rock climbers of the era takes on writing and motherhood". greatoutdoors.com. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference stieger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference silva was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Biography". Lynn Hill Climbing. Retrieved August 12, 2024.