The Fanatic Search 2 - A Girl Thing Page #5

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And we start with all kinds of different activities, and little by little as we see that they are more and more motivated

For climbing they going to a program that's only climbing

They are almost like my own kids, I feel very close to them, they're all very different, each one with his own particularity,

all that I take from them and it nourishes me!

It's very beautiful for me, it's a big part of my life to work with children now,

to bring to them something and in the end it's they who bring the most to me!

They adore me and I, them; they're an extension of my family.

My best memory as a climber... uh...

I think I have to go back to the day when Lynn and I were room mates in the south of France.

One of the first years that I did the competition season and she did it also.

We were head to head in competition and the best friends. We still absolutely best of friends now.

For me Lynn someone just the brightest person.

We are good friends for long time and I think will be good friends forever.

She's the first...

I did first free ascent of the Nose in 1993, and then I came back and did again in a day.

An idea was to pick a challenge that would utilize all the skills from my traditional background,

climbing competitions and the mental that it would take to do something new. So that was my best accomplishment so far, I think.

Lynn was the first person to succeed in the mythic quest to free climb the 1000 meters of the Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. The fact that a woman had achieved where men had failed, has added strength to her accomplishment by stifling macho posturing in a male dominated sport and by profoundly etching woman into the history of climbing.

Climbing has become much more specialized now. You see people that just boulder, and some people that just climb in a climbing gym.

I started out on slabs and one pitch routes, and when I went to Yosemite we did boulders, free climbs, cracks and big walls.

And I did my first big wall when I was 17. And my parents didn't now what I was doing, luckily, they didn't know.

So I think it was a nice way to be introduced to climbing because I saw many different forms. All of this is fun and good.

For example Chris Sharma started out on an artificial wall in Santa Cruise. So he got strong really fast.

Whereas my introduction into climbing was completely different culture one. Low angle, very touching go,

very settle technique shifting away. And I think it was good to start because you think about the subtlety of climbing.

And the bigger difference though is the protection, and putting natural protection in cracks. Sometimes scary leads...

I learned how to gage, where I am gonna fall, what I have for protection. Big walls are very good for character building. You have to really keep your head together,

and wait until you are relaxed enough, or may be not relaxed, but calm enough

and loose it enough to see where you are going, go to that hold and don't fall.

So we learned, actually people joked about this but the first rule in climbing was "don't fall". So I tried not to.

All of her appearances at the "ROCTRIP" events, are telling examples of the passion she shares, of the competence still at the top after all these years and, quite simply, the happiness she exudes on the rock.

I love coming to the "ROCTRIP"s because first of all it's a good chance to meet people that I've known for years

and come to Europe which I love. And the "ROCTRIP" is a spirit of climbing.

It's the social element and fun, and we like to push ourselves out, the great experience for everybody

It's not a real competition in a sense that it feels like a lot of pressure. So I think people have great time in acting, make climb better.

It's more fun to watch.

Lynn's Huge fall!

Ok, let's go!

That's it...

Thanks! I'm happy!

I think that counts the experience a lot, because it is necessary to be excite, but not too much!

Otherwise one become too nervous and it is difficult to be precise.

Actually the secret to climbing a long time and climbing at a high level is passion, once again. If you love to do it, you'll always do well.

To all these climbers, to their charm and kindness, to Mariona, to my daughter Bruna... Love!

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