Think Lynn Hill Is Slowing Down? Think Again.

“It goes, boys,” Lynn Hill famously declared after becoming the first person in history to free climb Yosemite’s El Capitan in 1993. A year later, she became the first to free El Cap in a day. Three decades beyond, she’s still climbing—and hard. At 64 years old, she continues to send 5.12s and 5.13s in her backyard in Boulder, Colorado, and around the world. Through building a historic career, living in a French farmhouse, enduring a near death experience, and becoming a mother, Hill possesses a sagacity as staggering as the walls she climbs.

Hill’s New Hobbies

Ashtanga yoga is one thing. And I’ve been skate skiing for, oh gosh, it’s been more than ten years now. One thing I want to try this winter is kiteboarding. My friend keeps inviting me to come down to Lantana [in Florida], and it’s been difficult to balance the time between going to Hueco [Tanks, in Texas] or other trips for work. So, I’m going to make the time and give it a try.

How Learning Shifts Her Mindset

When I’m learning something new, I appreciate all of the subtleties. It’s not just about strength, but knowing how to read the terrain and how to coordinate the exact force that you need to use in your ankles or your wrists, or some aspect of the balance and timing required.

On Staying Powerful

One of the newer things I’ve learned is how to generate power on the Kilter Board. I’ve been a rock climber most of my life and this kind of power is very different. It requires the coordination and the amount of power that you need to jump. That’s something I need because I’m more of an endurance climber than a power climber. As you get older, you lose power. So it’s important to maintain as much as you have and even build on it.

Her Favorite Recent Climb

I went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison for the first time. Everyone’s like, “Oh, you’ve never climbed in the Black? That’s crazy.” I was always afraid of going because I heard that this pegmatite is really loose and I don’t like the idea of climbing on loose rock, but I was pleasantly surprised. There’s some loose rock, especially at the top, but you can easily avoid that or just be careful stepping around things. It’s really beautiful granite. We did a route called Journey Home and camped the night after our climb.

What She’s Most Stoked to Climb Next

I’m excited about climbing with Babsi Zangerl in the Rätikon in Switzerland. She and her partner Jacopo [Larcher] live close enough that you can mountain bike to the base of this climb. It’s probably 7c, which translates to about 5.12d. It’s adventure climbing; you don’t need to use that much natural gear, but it’s old-school because the runouts are sometimes exciting.

What She Looks for in a Climbing Partner

When I was younger, I remember showing up in the [Yosemite] Valley and it was pretty common for people to put their name on the bulletin board and just hook up with people randomly, because what was important was getting out there and climbing. But now it’s more important to me to climb with people who I really enjoy being with. It’s obviously safer if you care about each other. You’re going to be watching each other more closely. But it’s really just more about the experience of being with somebody you like. To me, that’s more and more important as I get older.

How Climbing Helps Her Age Like a French wine

I’ve noticed people who stay engaged in life are not always trying to stay within their comfort range. It’s really important to stay adaptable. If you’re always doing things in a predictable way, you lose that creativity and adaptability.

What Climbing Gives Hill

At this point in my life, it’s just part of what I do and what makes me feel good on many different levels, from the physical to the problem solving. Some days you’re feeling energized and you have that excitement in your stomach before you start a climb. Other days, you’re kind of tired. It’s all about observing and being aware of how you’re reacting in that moment.