Lisa Rands

Lisa Rands (born October 21, 1975) is an American rock climber. She is known for her bouldering, competition wins, and ascents of highball boulders and gritstone routes.

Lisa Rands
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1975-10-21) October 21, 1975
California
WebsiteLisaRands.com
Climbing career
Type of climberBouldering
Highest grade
Known forFirst American female to climb V11 and V12
Updated on April 25, 2016.

Biography

She was first introduced to climbing while studying for her geology degree.[1] In her early climbing years she aspired to every kind of climbing from bouldering to big walls, and even aid lines. The first American to rank 1st in an international bouldering World Cup (see competition), she has won many competitions indoors and out, and also excelled in outdoor bouldering. Lisa is the first American woman to climb the elite level bouldering grades V11(8A) and V12(8A+). Rands is known for having climbed Midnight Lightning (v8) and Plain High Drifter (V11) (both considered elite level boulder problems) between 2000 and 2002, and was the first woman to succeed on the problem The Mandala (v12) in January 2008.[2] Her ground-up ascent of the extreme highball This Side of Paradise (v10) in 2007 was captured for the video The Sharp End.

Rands has also had successes in traditional climbing, being the first woman to achieve the grade of E8, with ascents of The End of the Affair at Curbar Edge in October 2004, and Gaia at Black Rocks in April 2006, both in England's Peak District; these routes are notorious as being both extremely hard and extremely dangerous, with a fall carrying the most disastrous consequences for the climber. She also made a fast all-free ascent of Saint Exupery Spire in Patagonia and has sport climbed 5.13d/5.14a in China.

She lived in Bishop, California for many years with her husband, Wills, who is her coach.[3] They now live in Chattanooga, TN where she continues to coach and climb outdoors.[4]

Competition

Lisa Rands became the first American woman to win a Bouldering World Cup in June 2002 when she placed first at Lecco, Italy. She climbed a near perfect Final to beat Corine Theroux, second and Sandrine Levet, third.[5]

In 2004 Rands won all three legs of the Triple Crown outdoor bouldering competition, which is a rigorous outdoor bouldering competition on the Southeast. She returned ten years later in 2014 to win all three legs again, plus the added competition at Rumbling Bald, NC.[6]

Notable Ascents
  • V12(8A+)
    • The Mandala – Bishop (USA) – January 18, 2008 – First Female Ascent of the iconic and difficult boulder problem first climbed by Chris Sharma in 2000. At the time it was one of the most difficult female ascents in the world.

References
  1. "Lisa Rands biography". TheNorthFace.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010.
  2. "Buttermilks Mandala boulder climbed by Lisa Rands". PlanetMountain.com.
  3. Lisa Rands Interview, Southeastern Climbers Coalition
  4. https://rootsrated.com/stories/pro-climber-humble-coach-and-triple-crown-athlete-lisa-rands
  5. http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/competitions/lisa-rands-wins-bouldering-world-cup-at-lecco.html
  6. https://rootsrated.com/stories/pro-climber-humble-coach-and-triple-crown-athlete-lisa-rands
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