Ladies We Love: Hazel Findlay

April 22nd, 2013 • BY Megan Michelson

Hazel Findlay grew up in the British city of Bristol, learning to rock climb with her father on the sea cliffs of South Wales. Now 24 and a professional trad climber, last year she free climbed—using ropes only as protection not for assistance—a route up Yosemite’s El Capitan that no other woman had previously free climbed. 

Findlay, who recently graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Bristol, appears in the British climbing film, Odyssey, which debuted last fall.

In May, she’s traveling to Morocco with fellow climber Emily Harrington to attempt to climb an 18-route pitch called Babel, which was first put up by famous French climber Arnaud Petite in 2007. The Morocco mission is being filmed for the Reel Rock film tour, which will debut in September. We spoke to Findlay about climbing with women, couch surfing, and not giving up the sport she loves.  

Describe what it was like to free climb El Cap.

Free climbing El Capitan was a lifelong dream. I was so surprised that I managed to do it my first time up a big wall. Going back a year later and climbing it again by a harder route was also an amazing experience. Being the first women to climb E9 was also something I was proud of, but it didn’t have the same feeling as spending six days on a wall. 

You graduated with a degree in philosophy. Are you ever mid-climb and a passage from Nietzsche pops into your head?

Nope! No thoughts of Nietzsche while climbing. I am pleased that I did get a degree. I think it’s good to push your mind academically. 

In May, you are headed to Morocco to climb Babel. What will this be like?

The route is very sustained and quite scary, with some big fall potential. We want to try and do it in a day. 

You will be with fellow climber Emily Harrington. Does going on a trip with another female climber give the trip a different vibe?

I mostly climb with men, so sometimes I find it difficult to switch, because yes, there is a different vibe. I generally find men to be more relaxed but less obviously supportive. They might be supportive, but not show it as much. It’s nice to climb with both men and women, and I look forward to climbing with Emily in Morocco. 

What are you the most afraid of in climbing?

I’m most scared of my friends dying in a climbing accident. I’m also terrified of getting an injury that might stop me from climbing or being active. I think that you are most likely to die or become severely injured when climbing by some random objective hazard, for example, a falling rock, you know, something out of your control. So these situations don’t require any fear management, it’s just something that I’ve accepted about climbing. I may die doing what I love, but I would never give it up because of that. 

What do you love so much about trad climbing?

I like trad climbing because I like the extra mental challenge that the style of climbing brings. For me, climbing isn’t just about physical conditioning, it’s about training your mind as well. This is what has kept me excited about the sport for all these years. 

What stands out to you as the best place you’ve ever climbed?

The Bugaboos in British Columbia is a magical place that I would love to go back to. Yosemite is a special place for me as well, but it’s not wild in the same way that the mountains are. 

Where do you live when you’re not hanging from a rock face somewhere?

I don’t really live anywhere. I just couch surf when I go back home. The life of a professional climber is far from glamorous.

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