Climb	Type	Suggested Grade	Date of Ascent	Notes
La Rambla Extension	Sport Route	9a+ (5.15a)	26th Feb 2017	First female ascent. Outside Magazine Interview
Biographie	Sport Route	9a+ (5.15a)	24th Sep 2017	First female ascent. Reel Rock Video
Papichulo	Sport Route	9a+ (5.15a)	22nd Mar 2019	Planet Mountain
Bad Girl’s Club	Sport Route	9a (5.14d)	Aug 2016	First female ascent.
Kryptonite	Sport Route	9a (5.14d)	June 2020	Instagram Post
Pure Imagination	Sport Route	8c+ (5.14c)	25th Mar 2016	UKC Article

Learning the Ropes

As with many accomplished American climbers, Margo was born in the heart of the rock climbing universe, Boulder, Colorado. Margo Hayes’ love affair with climbing began at the young age of 10. Before that, she was a gymnast who trained at CATS Gymnastics in Boulder. Gymnastics channeled Margo’s competitive spirit, but a series of injuries and broken bones meant she had to turn to a sport that would offer fewer injuries.

Climbing was a no-brainer for her as it already ran in her veins. Her grandfather, Dr. James Morrissey, was part of the first successful climb of the Kangshung Face on Mount Everest. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Margo’s dad spent time scaling the legendary cliffs of Yosemite Valley. 

She eventually joined the ABC team and was coached by the one and only Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, a four-time World Cup Champion and mother of bouldering legend Shawn and Olympian Brooke Raboutou. Margo’s success in climbing wouldn’t have been possible without the support of ABC Climbing. It provided her with the proper foundations and shaped her into the climbing phenomenon she is. 

Competition Climbing

Margo began competing pretty soon after she started climbing, having competed in both youth and adult competition circuits. 

In 2012, Margo kicked off her international competition career by placing 8th in lead climbing at the IFSC World Youth Championships in Singapore. From there, she went on to win gold medals in the Panamerican Youth Championships for Boulder and Lead disciplines in 2014, as well as another gold and silver in the same categories in 2017. In 2013 she earned the North Face Young Gun Award for up-and-coming climbers. 

Her winning streak continued in 2016 when she snagged gold in both the lead climbing and bouldering events at the IFSC World Youth Championships in Guangzhou, China, in the Juniors category. This was after winning silver in both categories the previous year, trailing behind Janja Garnbret.

That same year, Margo also took home the top prize at the USA Climbing Sport National Championship in the Speed and Sport Open class, further cementing her position as one of the top climbers in the world.

Margo continued to climb higher and higher as she transitioned into adult competitions. From 2015 to 2019, she rocked the World Cup circuit with her insane bouldering and lead climbing skills, finishing 6th place in both categories and 11th in the combined category.

In 2019, Margo made a valiant attempt to qualify for the US Olympic national team and compete in the Tokyo 2020 Games. Unfortunately, she narrowly missed out to Kyra Condie and Brooke Raboutou.

For someone who has climbed three 5.15a’s, I think we can let her off for not getting on the Olympic Team.

Outdoor Climbing

We can all agree that outdoor climbing has a special place in Margo’s heart and is where she excels the most. Margo finds inspiration in the beauty of the natural world and the sense of accomplishment that comes from conquering a challenging outdoor climb with a rich history behind it. 

When climbing Biographie, she sited, ‘I was three years old when Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Biographie. That was the first 5.15a in the world. And I think that’s partially why the climb means so much to me, because of the rich history behind it.’ 

What sets Margo aside from the rest is that she won’t stop until she achieves what she sets her mind to. She pushes herself to break the barriers of sport climbing and with each climb, she pushes the bar higher and higher.

Notable Ascents

La Rambla

Margo had already gained recognition in the competitive scene and after landing sponsorships with the likes of North Face, it helped raise her profile in the climbing scene.

However, nothing prepared her for the recognition she received after clipping the chains of La Rambla in Siurana, Spain, on the 26th of February 2017. Margo made history at the age of 19 when she became the first woman to climb a 9a+ (5.15a), an impressive feat for a young girl.

It took her seven days to complete the route and on the day of her send, she was ready to go home. But something in her told her to have one last burn at it. Before she knew it, she was at the last two moves feeling all sorts of different emotions. She just about clipped the chains and balled her eyes out from excitement for having just made history.

Biographie

Margo was on a roll in 2017 and she didn’t just bag one 9a+ but two! On the 24th September, Margo made history again by becoming the first woman to finish Biographie. A 35-meter route in Ceuse, France, first climbed by Chris Sharma.

Biographie incorporates all aspects of climbing and combines delicate moves with power and endurance. Margo flew through the bottom and middle sections and every move came together nicely. It wasn’t until she got to the top section that things got a little tricky. She fell on the crux more than she can count.

She was so obsessed with sending Biographie that she made a map of the route, rehearsing each and every sequence hundreds of times. It wasn’t easy as it took her several months of climbing day in and day out before she clipped the chains.

Papichulo

Her third 5.15a was Papichulo in Oliana, Spain. A route first ascended by the legendary Chris Sharma, Margo ticked off her third 9a+ on March 22nd 2019. Papichulo is a 40-meter sport climb with three crux sections. There are not many rest spots, so when you’re up you just have to keep going, moving at a steady and controlled pace.

Margo did dabble with the route in 2018 but it wasn’t until she went back in 2019 that she set it as her goal. She tried it twice a day and sent the route on her sixth day. Pretty impressive.

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