Climb	Type	Suggested Grade	Date of Ascent	Notes
Ophir Broke II	Free Ascent	7c/5.12d	1979	First free ascent and first-ever female ascent in history of a 7c. Lynn Hill Blog
Pea Brain	Free Ascent	7c/5.12d	1979	First free ascent
Stairway to Heaven III	Free Ascent	7a+5.12a	1979	First free ascent, with John Long and Tim Powell
Coatamundi Whiteout II	Free Ascent	7a+5.12a	1980	First free ascent, with John Long and Keith Cunning
Hidden Arch	Free Ascent	7a+5.12a	1981	First free ascent
Levitation 29 IV	Free Ascent	6b+/5.11a	1981	First free ascent, with John Long and Jorge and Joanne Urioste
Blue Nubian	Free Ascent	6b+/5.11a	1982	First free ascent
Yellow Crack	Free Ascent	5.12R/X	1984	First free ascent
Vandals	Free Ascent	7c+/5.13a	1984	First ascent, and first-ever female ascent in history of an 8a
Organic Iron	Free Ascent	7b+5.12c	1984	First ascent
Organic Iron	Free Ascent	7b+5.12c	1985	First free ascent with Russ Raffa
Girls Just Want to Have Fun	Free Ascent	5.12 X	1987	First free ascent
The Greatest Show on Earth	Free Ascent	7c/5.12d	1988	First free ascent
Running Man	Free Ascent	8b/5.13d	1989	First free ascent
Masse Critique	Free Ascent	8b+/5.14a	1990	First-ever female redpoint in history of an 8b+
Simon	Free Ascent	8a/5.13b	1992	First-ever female onsight in history of an 8a
The Nose	Free Ascent	8b+/c – 5.14a/b	1993	First to free climb with partner Brooke Sandahl. It took them 4 days to complete the climb.
Mingus V	Free Ascent	7c+/5.13a	1994	First free ascent, onsight
The Nose	Free Ascent	8b+/c – 5.14a/b	1994	Lynn came back a year later and free climbed The Nose in 24 hours! Video
Clodhopper Direct IV	Free Ascent	5.10+	1995	First free ascent with Greg Child
Perestroika Crack V	Free Ascent	7b/5.12b	1995	First free ascent with Alex Lowe
West Face V	Free Ascent	7b/5.12b	1995	First ascent
Tete de Chou	Free Ascent	7c+/5.13a	1997	First female ascent
To Bolt or Not to Be	Free Ascent	8b+/5.14a	1998	First female ascent
Scarface	Free Ascent	8b+/5.14a	1999	First ascent, with Nancy Feagin, Kath Pyke, and Beth Rodden
Bravo les Filles VI	Free Ascent	5.13d A0	1999	First ascent
Viva la Liberdad	Free Ascent	7b/5.12b	2004	First female ascent
Sprayathon	Free Ascent	8a+/5.13c	2004	First female free ascent, with Katie Brown
West Face, Leaning Tower	Free Ascent	V 5.13b/c	2005	First female free ascent with Katie Brow. Video
Midnight Lightning	Boulder	V8/7B	1998	First female ascent. Video
King Cobra	Boulder	V8/7B	1998	First female ascent

Learning the Ropes

Lynn Hill was born on January 3, 1961, in Detroit, Michigan, and spent most of her childhood in Fullerton, California. Growing up, Hill was an active child who climbed everything from trees to street lights. At the age of eight, she began taking gymnastics lessons but became dissatisfied with the rigid, gendered expectations of the sport.

Despite quitting gymnastics at age 12, Hill’s interest in athletic pursuits continued to develop. During her teenage years, she picked up gymnastics again and became one of the top gymnasts in her state. Her gymnastics training would later prove useful in her climbing career, as it taught her the ability to break down complex movements into smaller parts and to perform well under pressure.

In 1975, Hill’s sister took her out on her first climbing trip and the rest is history. She did a lead route on her very first day and was instantly hooked. At the age of 16, she went to Yosemite, the Mecca of climbing, where she met all the Yosemite climbing bums in Camp 4. Charlie Row became her first boyfriend and together she climbed her very first big wall (5.11).

During her teenage years, her main focus was to earn enough money for food and gas so she can drive to climbing spots. She primarily climbed at Joshua Tree National Park and during the late 70s and early 80s she spent her summers at Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley.  

Camp 4 was a wild place, and as Lynn describes it, “a ragged occupying army, annoying park rangers by eluding camp fees, overstaying their welcome, and comporting themselves like gypsies.” But she fit right in, as climbing in the late 70s and early 80s was “something that people who were outcasts in society did, people who were not conformists.”

Despite being broke and living off condiments and leftover food from tourists, Lynn had the time of her life. And she wasn’t alone – though the climbing scene was male-dominated, Lynn and her friend Mari Gingery teamed up to complete some epic climbs. Together, they tackled The Nose and even became the first women to climb The Shield on El Capitan, taking six whole days to do so!

Through it all, Lynn learned the essence of her climbing technique from the Stonemasters group. She embraced the traditional climbing style, which involves using removable protection rather than bolts and rewards climbers who can climb a new route from bottom to top without stopping or starting over. 

She became a dedicated free climber, which meant climbing an entire route without relying on equipment to skip difficult sections. That didn’t come without its costs though. After a few death-defying experiences, Lynn started to take safety seriously.

Lynn started out by making history in 1979, becoming the first person ever to free climb the insanely difficult Ophir Broke in Colorado. Ophir was a 5.12d and was one of the hardest routes to be climbed by a woman at the time. But she didn’t stop there. In college, she moved to the Shawangunks and took the climbing world by storm, pioneering new free climbing routes and climbing the most difficult routes on the East Coast.

Her climb of Yellow Crack was so daring that her partner at the time called it “one of the boldest leads I’ve ever seen.” But it was her climb of Vandals that really changed the game. Instead of restarting the climb every time she fell, she hung on the rope in her harness to learn more about the climb. This gave her the edge she needed to succeed.

Lynn Hill proved that climbing isn’t just about size and strength. It’s about creativity and finding your own unique style. She was one of the most impressive climbers of her time, and no man could out-climb her!

Competition Climbing

In 1986, Hill was invited to climb in Europe with a group of elite American climbers. She quickly fell in love with French culture and the limestone cliffs that make for wildly acrobatic climbs with low risk. This was a game-changer for Hill, who discovered that her small stature was ideal for the technical climbs.

But that wasn’t enough for Hill. She wanted to push herself even further, so she tried her hand at sport climbing in Arco e Bardonecchia Sportroccia ’86, the second edition of the first international sport climbing competition. She went up against other fierce women, gaining points for style and speed. She lost to Catherine Destivelle in a “disputed ruling,” but Hill didn’t let that stop her. She continued with competition climbing because she loved climbing with other strong women.

Hill became a professional climber in 1988, and her incredible talent led to her becoming a spokesperson for climbing. She was aware that the sport was evolving and growing, but she remained true to her traditionalist roots. In fact, she had even participated in the “Great Debate” in 1986 at the American Alpine Club, where a panel of all-star participants discussed the merits of traditional climbing versus new sport climbing that required the insertion of fixed bolts into the rock.

Hill went on to win over thirty international titles, including five victories at the Arco Rock Master, between 1986 and 1992. But her most satisfying win came in 1990, at the final stage of the World Cup Final, where she was the only woman to reach the top of the wall and the only climber to complete the hardest move. She had defeated Isabelle Patissier, who received information on how to do the climb from Hill’s own friend and coach. Talk about a victory!

First Free Ascent of The Nose – It Goes Boys!

Lynn didn’t really fit in with the indoor climbing scene. She found it too focused on training and felt like it didn’t represent the true essence of climbing. In 1992, she left indoor climbing behind her and went back to traditional rock climbing, where she truly belonged. She was looking for different challenges and set herself the task of free climbing The Nose, a famous route on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.

She had previously attempted to defeat the monstrous climb in 1989 with Simon Nadin, a British climber she had met at the World Cup that year. They both shared a desire to free-climb The Nose but unfortunately, their attempt failed.

Hill wasn’t deterred, and four years later, in 1993, she teamed up with Brooke Sandahl to make history. Together, they became the first people ever to free-climb the entire Nose. This was a monumental achievement, and Hill’s original climbing grade for the “Free Nose” was 5.13b. 

However, one of the most difficult pitches – Changing Corners – was almost impossible to grade. Hill said the most accurate grade for it would be to call it “once, or maybe twice, in a lifetime.” To ascend the section, Hill had to use a carefully coordinated sequence of opposite pressures between her feet, hands, elbows, and hips against the shallow walls of the corner and turn her body completely around.

But Hill wasn’t done yet. The next year, in 1994, she set an even more impressive record by becoming the first person to free-climb the Nose in a single 24-hour period. Climbing the route in a day was a daunting task, and most climbers used mechanical aids to assist their ascent, but Hill relied only on her skill and body. Once she made her ascent, she famously said, ‘It Goes, Boys!’.

Hill’s ascent of The Nose was more than just a climbing achievement; it was a statement. She wanted to show that climbing wasn’t just for men and that women could do anything they set their minds to. The Nose remained unrepeated for 10 years.

Other Notable Ascents

The Nose is by far Lynn’s most monumental achievement that will be talked about by generations of climbers to come. What’s even more impressive is that Lynn had done the first ascents and first female ascents of more than 30 routes around the world.

She made the first ascent of Ophir Broke and was the first female to do a 5.12d. She was the first woman to redpoint a 5.14a (Masse Critique 1990), and she was the first female to send the iconic Midnight Lightning boulder (V8) in Camp 4 as well as King Cobra (V8). I could be here all night listing every route Lynn has bossed her way up, but take my word, no one has ever come close to achieving what Lynn has. Male or female. 

One of her most recent achievements was the first female ascent of the West Face, Leaning Tower in Yosemite with Katie Brown, graded a 5.13b/c.

What is Lynn Hill Up To Now?

As for what Lynn is up to now, she is still heavily involved in the world of climbing but has also taken on other interests and pursuits. She offers coaching and even runs climbing camps on a limited basis.

Lynn also works as a motivational speaker, sharing her experiences and lessons learned from her climbing career with audiences around the world. She has written a memoir called “Climbing Free” published in 2002 and in 2015 she was inducted into the Boulder Sports Hall of Fame.

She is also currently working on a climb with Sasha DiGiulian in the Flatirons!

While Lynn may not be climbing at the same intensity as she did in her prime, she still remains as one of the top climbers in the world and a respected figure in the climbing community. She continues to inspire others with her passion and dedication.