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Lynn Hill
A Glimpse at a Climbing Legend

Climbing legend, Lynn Hill , born 1961, is an American rock climber is known as a top sport climber of the 1980s and 1990s. She is famous for making the first free ascent of the Nose Route on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley as well as many other pioneering routes.

Lynn grew up in southern California. Hill started climbing as a 14 year old on a climbing trip with her sister and her sister's boyfriend. During the early 1980s she became part of the climbing community centered around Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley known as the Stonemasters along with John Bachar, John Long, and John Yablonski and others.

In 1979, Lynn Hill became the first woman to put up a a 5.12+/5.13 route, Ophir Broke in Ophir, Colorado. In 1984 at The Gunks she performed an onsight first ascent of Yellow Crack 5.12R/X. From 1986 to 1992 Lynn Hill was one of the world's top sport climbers, winning over 30 international titles, including five victories at the Arco Rock Master. In 1991, she set another landmark as the first woman to redpoint a consensus 5.14. She climbed Masse Critique in Cimai, France, not long after J.B. Tribout declared that no woman would ever climb the grade 5.14.

After concluding her career as a professional competition climber, Hill went back to rock climbing on rock. In 1993, together with her partner Brooke Sandahl, she became the first person, ever to free climb The Nose, a famous route on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. In 1994 she upped the ante, by becoming the first to free climb the entire route in a single 24 hour period, beginning at 10:00 PM on September 19. Lynn's original climbing grade for the "Free Nose" was 5.13b. The Free Nose and the Free Nose in a day remained unrepeated over 10 years after Hill's first ascents - despite numerous attempts by some of the best big wall climbers in the world. Over time, a consensus grade of 5.14a/b has emerged for the most difficult pitch, pitch 27, the Changing Corners, a fact which cements her Free Nose ascents as two of the most impressive achievements in climbing history. The Nose saw a second free ascent in 1998, when Scott Burke summitted after 261 days of effort. Then, on Oct 14, 2005, the team of Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden also freed the Nose, and on Oct 16, 2005, Caldwell freed it in less than 12 hours.

After moving to the famed Shwangunks climbing area in New York in 1983, Lynn married fellow Gunks climber Russ Raffa. In 1988 they held a ceremony that featured the bride and groom dangling from the top of the cliffs in full wedding regalia. Their marriage ended in 1991

On April 14, 2003, Hill gave birth to a son, Owen. Owen's father is Hill's partner, chef Brad Lynch.

Hill is currently a sponsored athlete for the Patagonia gear and clothing company.

Significant Ascents of Lynn Hill

FFA of Ophir Broke (5.12d) in Telluride, CO, 1979

FFA of Pea Brain (5.12d) at Independence Pass, CO, 1979

FFA of Stairway to Heaven (5.12) at Tahquitz Rock, CA, 1979

FFA of Coatamundi White-Out (5.12) at Granite Mountain, AZ, 1980

FFA of Levitation 29 (5.11) at Red Rocks, NV, 1981

FFA of Hidden Arch (5.12a) in Joshua Tree, CA, 1981

FFA of Blue Nubian (5.11) in Joshua Tree, CA, 1982

FFA of Vandals (5.13a) in the Shawangunks, NY, 1984

FFA of Yellow Crack Direct (5.12c) in the Shawangunks, NY, 1984

FFA of Organic Iron (5.12c) in the Shawangunks, NY, 1985

FFA of Tourist Treat (5.12c) in New Hampshire, NY, 1985

FFA of Tweazle Roof (5.12d) in the Shawangunks, NY, 1987

FFA of Girls Just Want to Have Fun (5.12d), 1987'

FFA of The Greatest Show on Earth (5.12d) in New River Gorge, WV. 1988

FFA of Running Man (5.13d) in the Shawangunks, NY, 1989

First Woman to climb 5.14a, Masse Critique in Cimai, France 1990

First Woman to on-sight a 5.13b, Simon Frankenjura, Germany 1992

FFA of the Nose route on El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, CA, 1993

First person to free climb the Nose on El Capitan in a day, 1994

FFA on-sight of Mingus (12 pitches 5.13a) in Verdon Gorge, France, 1994

FA of route on a 3550m wall in Kyrgyzstan, 1995

First "team free" ascent of a 4810m wall in Kyrgyzstan, 1995

FA of seven routes on limestone towers of Halong Bay, Vietnam, 1996

FA of Tête de Chou (5.13b) in the Todra Gorge, Morocco, 1997

First Woman to climb the Midnight Lightning in Yosemite, CA, 1998

First Woman to climb To Bolt or Not To Be (5.14a) Smith Rocks, 1998

First Woman to climb Scarface (5.14a) in Smith Rocks, OR, 1999

FA of Bravo Les Filles a 13-pitch route rated (5.13d/A0) on the Tsaranoro Massif in Madagascar, 1999

First Woman to climb Sprayathon (5.13c) in Rifle, CO, 2003

FA of Viva La Libertad (5.12b) in Viñales, Cuba, 2004

First Free Female Ascent team with Katie Brown to climb West Face of Leaning Tower (V5.13b/c, A0) Yosemite, CA, 2005

Lynn Hill A Glimpse at a Climbing Legend

Lynn Hill
A Glimpse at a Climbing Legend