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Perspective
In-depth interviews with the climbing world's greatest players.
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 Stephanie Forte
Sport climber, writer, entrepreneur, MMA promoter; Las Vegas, Nevada - Every few years, Stephanie Forte, 44, whips herself into top shape and climbs a flurry of hard 5.13s. She capped off one fitness peak in 1999 by sending Soul Train, then called 5.14a, at Mt. Charleston, Nevada, and sent her most recent 5.13d in Arizona’s Virgin River Gorge just last year. A New Jersey girl with a sharp wit, a publicist’s poise, and fierce athleticism on the rock, Forte has written for Climbing many times and has had her hands on all kinds of climbing-related events and causes.  Brittany Anne Griffith
Pro athlete, caterer, writer, gardener, homemaker, badass adventure climber; Salt Lake City - Imagine a committed lifer in adventure rock climbing, and “The BAG,” 42, is the living definition. She’s led vertical miles of Indian Creek and Yosemite splitters, fiddled RPs on dicey 5.11s in Eldo, whipped on TCUs at the New—climbed everywhere, basically: in 43 countries and counting, on six continents. Crusty but lovable, a racounteur par excellence, Brittany Griffith is a fixture at climbing festivals, where she’ll work an early morning clinic, man a booth all day, then cook for a party of 50.  Sam Elias
Pro climber, gear tester, ex-ski racer; Boulder, Colorado - Five years ago, Sam Elias, now 29, left a well-paying job in Detroit, for Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. He was barely a climber. That season, between pizza shifts at Miguel’s, Elias sent 5.12. The next season, 5.13. Since then, after a few summers in Rifle, Colorado, Elias has ticked Tom Foolery (5.14b), The Crew and Girl Talk (5.14c), and his own Living the Dream (5.14a/b).  Malcolm Daly
Entrepreneur, amputee, chef, visionary; Boulder, Colorado - Malcolm Daly, 55, feeds his soul by feeding his friends—mole, paella, margs; sharing food is his favorite way to develop the sense of community he thrives on. Ever since two near-death experiences rocked his world in 1999 and 2004, Daly has gregariously shared his life and stories with others. These days, the founder of Great Trango Holdings and former avid first-ascensionist still designs equipment as a consultant, but more often than not you will find him publicizing the nonprofit he now directs—Paradox Sports—from behind the grill at climbing events, where he makes a mean pancake.  Corey Rich
Adventure photographer, Aurora Photos partner; South Lake Tahoe, California - Corey Rich's storytelling passion and keen eye—and a dose of good luck—have turned him into one of the most successful photographers in the outdoor industry. As a partner of the prolific Aurora stock agency, his business skill and savvy are almost as impressive as his imagery. Rich, 35, has a down-to-earth persona that belies his success. He has genuine psych for new and upcoming photographers, and his sage, no-bullshit advice breathes fresh life into a rugged industry.  Players: Aaron Huey
Aaron Huey, author of the highly eccentric guidebook to the limestone of Ten Sleep, Wyoming, is more than a climbing author and photographer. As a photojournalist, he’s shot everywhere from Yemen to the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Huey broke onto the big-time photography scene in 2002 when he walked more than 3,000 miles across America with his dog, Cosmo, and had a photo essay published in Smithsonian. Now he’s regularly published in such preeminent magazines as Harper’s (where he’s a contributing editor), National Geographic, and The New Yorker.  Ian Caldwell
Smith Rock steward, 5.14 collector, obsessive-compulsive; Redmond, Oregon - Ian Caldwell, 41, donates so much time and energy to the place he loves most, locals call him the “Mayor of Smith Rock.” His allegiance to Oregon’s best-known climbing area started in 1991, during a university outing. One visit turned Caldwell into a committed climber. His most recent claim to fame is redpointing all the 5.14a routes in the park. He can be found at Smith most weekends, snow or shine, climbing with his wife, Darryn, or refurbishing bolts and trails.  Players: Angela Hawse
As a climbing guide, certification by the IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) is the ultimate milestone: Hopefuls must take extensive courses and pass arduous tests in three disciplines—rock climbing, alpine climbing, and ski mountaineering—over the course of five to 10 years. Angela Hawse is one of only seven women in the U.S. to achieve this status—she completed her first American Mountain Guides Association exam in 2005, second in 2008, and final exam in April 2010.  Eric Zschiesche
Artist, Boulderer, Barefoot Climber; Ogden, Utah - In the 1994 book Stone Crusade: A Historical Guide to American Bouldering, John Sherman called Eric Zschiesche, 50, one of America’s top boulderers—and one of climbing’s most colorful characters. From teenage solos at Moore’s Wall, North Carolina (before ropes or protection were even in his lexicon), to climbing El Capitan a year and a half later, to soloing the bottom girders of the New River Gorge Bridge, to barefoot 5.13s at Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin...  Players: Jimmie Redo
A small mob of kids swarms coach Jimmie Redo under the campus board at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder. It’s Monday night, and Redo’s preparing the team for upcoming bouldering nationals. You might not recognize him, but Redo (pronounced Ree-dough) has helped shape the climbing world for nearly 30 years. In the early 1980s, this quintessential California boy got his start in Yosemite, leading hard traditional cracks and scary slabs alongside legends like Ron Kauk.  Dean Fidelman
Dean Fidelman, 54, grew up in L.A., learned to climb at age 15, and in the 1970s became a member—and the unofficial team photographer—of the Stonemasters. His black-and-white imagery of Bachar, Hill, Long, Sorenson, Yablonski, and the rest of that hardcore SoCal group might be the most celebrated climbing action-portraiture ever done. (See The Stonemasters: California Rock Climbers in the Seventies, by John Long.)  Players: Brian Runnells (aka The Climbing Narc)
The fruits of obsession - With user-friendly, DIY websites, anyone can run a climbing blog. But few update their blogs several times daily—and attract more than 2,500 unique visitors per day. Brian Runnells, aka the Climbing Narcissist, is one of those few. The Wisconsin native created Climbingnarc.com about four years ago, and he now spends 10 to 20 hours a week posting competition results, news of hard ascents around the world, videos, and debates over controversial topics,  Players: Anthony Love
If you've ever climbed in Boone, North Carolina, you’ve likely seen Anthony Love crushing. He’s established problems like Preferential Treatment (V10, Blowing Rock Boulders) and climbed classic Boone routes like Pigs in Zen (5.13a, The Dump). More than just a Southern hard man, though, A-Love, as he’s commonly known, spends at least 20 hours a week as the president of the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC), a position he’s held for three years.  Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins, 75, owned Yosemite’s big walls in the 1960s, and his list of FAs is longer than this page. He was the first to solo El Capitan, was a pioneering free climber, was instrumental in promoting clean climbing during the piton era, wrote soulful stories and superb instructional books (and has just published the first volume of an autobiography through Pink Moment Press), started a clothing company, and had an entire second adventure-sports career in extreme kayaking.  Players: Matt Maddaloni
Friends call him “the Matt scientist.” Climber Matt Maddaloni works as the lead construction rigger and mechanical designer for Ziptrek Ecotours, a company that specializes in zipline-based eco-adventures. The 32-year-old Victoria, BC, native and self-taught engineer also founded a company that produces the Sea to Sky Cable Cam, a remote-controlled robotic cable cam that allows smooth aerial views for filmmaking. |
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