Rising Star | Outside Online

You Are Here:

Home >> Rising Star: Lisa Rands

Q&A: Climbing El Capitan with Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Ivo Ninov listen
Q&A: Maggie Anthony On Son Eric Volz listen
Q&A: Photographer Danny Clinch listen
Q&A: "Coca Is It!" Author Joshua Hammer listen
Q&A: "Strange Bird" Author Carl Hoffman listen
Out of Bounds: That '70s Guy listen

What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Why do mosquito bites itch? answer
Are elite athletes just lucky genetic mutants? answer
Can women really tolerate cold water better than men? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Outside Magazine September 2002

Dispatches
Rising Star

By Misty Blakesley


	Raising the roof: Rands in L.A.'s Smashbox Studios (Art Streiber/Montage)

NAME: LISA RANDS
AGE: 26
GIG: BOULDERING
SPECIALTY: TECHNICAL OUTDOOR CLIMBS
HOMETOWN: BISHOP, CALIFORNIA
HEIGHT: 5' 4"
WEIGHT: 115 POUNDS

SEEN NEXT: September 14 and 15 in Rovereto, Italy, in the Bouldering World Cup series, where her explosive style and sheer power could quash dominant Euro competitors like Sandrine Levet, the 2001 World Cup champion.

POWER GRRRL: Rands claims more than 50 female first ascents and regularly climbs problems rated V9 and V10 (bouldering routes are rated V0-V15). In March 2001, she nailed Plain High Drifter, in the eastern Sierra, becoming the first American woman to pull a V11.

MINCEMEAT: Lisa hits the rocks three to four days a week, often climbing through blistered or torn digits. Her words of wisdom: "Taped fingers let you climb longer. Especially when you're bleeding."

NOBODY'S PERFECT: Rands tends to choke in competitions, especially indoors when clawing her way up plastic holds. In March she lost the 2002 American Bouldering Series Championships—despite a healthy lead—after failing to notice an easy initial hold. "I get nervous," she says. "Sometimes I can't control my head."

SECOND OPINION: "Lisa climbs at the same level as the men," says U.S. climber Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, 38, who earned four World Cup titles in the early 1990s. "She's so exceptionally strong that she could dominate the world circuit—once she gets the mental part together."

TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE!
A fish story you don't want to hear
According to Peter Moyle, professor of conservation biology at UC Davis, most of California's ...