Ladies We Love: Climber Madaleine Sorkin

May 30th, 2014 • BY Morgan Tilton

Madaleine hauling and free climbing the El Corazon route up El Capitan, Yosemite (Grade VI 5.13b). Photo: Jeremiah Watt

[This Ladies we Love profile is the fourth installment in our monthly series featuring the highly inspiring roster of female athlete ambassadors from Outdoor Research. They are skiers, climbers, mountaineers, and more—all breaking down barriers and pushing the edge.]

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At 32, Madaleine Sorkin has already made her mark on the world. The big wall free climber and Outdoor Research ambassador has dangled ropes on steep faces all over the world—and claimed first ascents.

Born in Miami and raised in Washington, D.C., Sorkin began climbing at the age of 15 and, soon enough, Colorado’s mountains pulled the professional climber west. During her 17-year career, Sorkin has teamed up with professional alpine climber Kate Rutherford to pin several first female-team free ascents. Of those, The Freerider route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park are chief highlights. Then in 2013, the duo became the first lady squad to scale the North Pillar on Fitz Roy in Patagonia.

Madaleine and Kate Rutherford in Patagonia in January 2013 on a 3-day ascent of Fitz Roy via the North Pillar (first female team).

In 2012, Sorkin traveled to Ak-Su Valley in Kyrgyzstan with fellow Outdoor Research athlete Nik Berry to find remote, big face climbs—and Sorkin came face-to-face with more than just climbing problems. On the 30-mile hike to basecamp she buckled-over with the flu and was separated from the porters and Nik. Her trek then became panic-ridden, miserable, and lonely—fortunately, a Kyrgyz shepherd family invited her in for the night. The next day, the fiercely resilient Sorkin eventually found camp.

After rebooting emotionally and physically, Sorkin mustered enough energy to climb, and she and Nik bagged record-breaking ascents including the first-ever single-day scale of SugarDaddy, a 1,500-meter line on the 4,507-meter northwest face of Pik, 1,000 Years of Russian Christianity. Read more about Sorkin’s trip in her self-written story, Tangled Borders, in Rock and Ice Magazine.

Here, Womens Movement checks in with Madaleine to learn more about crazy climbs, life passions—and the best indulgences.

WM: What do you love most about living a climber’s life?

Madaleine Sorkin: A lot of things. I love the way it helps me prioritize what’s really important in life in terms of relationships, being in natural places, and community that comes from doing something that is meaningful and sharing that with others. When I let it be what I love it is a completely endless place to learn and grow—and that’s a very profound aspect to climbing.

WM: What is one of the craziest climbing experiences you’ve ever had?

Madaleine: My trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2012. I felt like I was the caretaker and I ended up getting so sick, and I was separated from my partner on the way in. I was ill and dehydrated. My partner was new at international travel and he didn’t know how to advocate for waiting for me. The experience was really humbling for how vulnerable I really am, and it was the first time that I felt so alone in a physical environment. That experience set this tone for the trip. We were still able to make it okay and climb together. That was an adventure on so many levels. Feeling remote and getting to do these incredible climbs with a friend while being there, and bringing stories back.

WM: Which of your climbs tops all others, and why?

Madaleine: I think my personal climb battles on El Cap keep topping my chart. It is an incredibly challenging process, the whole thing is—the self-awareness and what’s occurring for me, the ups and downs, and having a goal in mind. The ones that stick out are climbing Freerider with Kate [Rutherford] and El Corazon with Nik [Berry].

Madaleine free climbing the El Corazon route up El Capitan, Yosemite (Grade VI 5.13b). Photo: Jeremiah Watt

Last May, I was trying a free climb premiere wall on El Cap, a 13.C, and met a climber on the route. He died the following day. There’s always personal doubt, and that experience being pulled so directly into my personal experience was disturbing. If you’re not working with recognizing your mortality it can really catch you off guard. Two weeks later, I went up the route and was able to free climb the crux—I operate well under a lot of pressure. 

Moonlight Buttress with Kate has set a base for having these adventures. I learned what partnership is and pulled off a climbing goal while being the first women climbing team to do that in Zion National Park. It was a benchmark experience. We’ve done five major big walls and been the first female team to do the free ascent on those climbs. For us, it does make a difference doing that with another woman. I feel more accountable sometimes. Another woman has the ability to support and inspire me more readily than a guy. It’s rare to see a female partnership and I feel really lucky to have that. We’ve done really well.

WM: Being a female climber, do you ever notice gender inequality in the culture or sport?

Madaleine: There’s still some gender inequality that’s worth noting. I view gender as one of many factors in terms of understanding why someone climbs. There are some laden assumptions, like if I top out on a climb with a guy instead of a girl, I assume that people will assume that the partner has pulled more weight. That motivates me to climb with women because I want to be an equal partner. Men that I climb with really value climbing with women. Why is that? Typically their response is that it’s less competitive. They get less wrapped up in their own competition. It’s so individualized to each person’s experience, and there are still some stereotypes that I can let shape my behavior and shape others’ behaviors, like men being the stronger one on a team in one way or another.

WM: What’s next on your climbing agenda?

Madaleine: I’m going to Thailand with my girlfriend. With climbing I have the mentality that I have to suffer, so we’re going to make a video of how to suffer in Thailand. I have some more big wall climbs evolving. Hopefully a May trip to Yosemite, but it’s still in the works. One newer climbing goal is to teach more clinics, and develop a way to share climbing as a tool for mindfulness and cultivating self-awareness. Learning to work with your difficult thoughts and behaviors as they come up. I’ve done a couple of ad hoc clinics, and friends and I are hosting climbing yoga retreats this year, and I’m exploring what clinics can look like. [Sorkin is helping to host an All-Female Indian Creek Retreat in Utah in September 2014 with crack climbing, yoga, and acro yoga.]

WM: Fav climbing gear/clothing right now?
Madaleine: OR’s Whirlwind Hoody! I love lightwieght versatile layers and this is a windlayer that has stretch, durability, and packs into itself with enough space for an energy bar.

WM: Fav energy food you stash in your pack?
Madaleine: Well,  if I get to be specific: powdered coconut water from CocoHydro, an avocado with kale chips sprinkled on and homemade dehydrated crackers. And, perhaps some jerky. That would be my ideal crag snack.

WM: The one safety item you always stash in your pack?
Madaleine: A headlamp, regardless of when I think I’ll be down.

WM: Book you’re reading right now?

Madaleine: I’m currently reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, a novel by Murikami. It’s the first novel I’ve read by him and it’s a fairly lengthy tale of a 30-something man who’s mundane life begins to unravel into something deeper.

WM: Biggest indulgence?

Madaleine: I’ve started getting pedicures with my girlfriend when she has a break from work. This feels like an absurd indulgence but I’m learning to give myself more of these ridiculous comforts and I must admit it feels good.

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About Morgan Tilton

Raised in the stunning San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, Morgan Tilton is a Bronze medalist and two-time Finalist of the 2015 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards for her travel writing. She covers adventure, travel, business, and outdoor community news, which has been featured in Backpacker, 5280 (Denver's city magazine), EnCompass, TransWorld Snowboarding, and CoBiz among others. She's also a trail runner,— More about this author →