Walk into any of the听full-service 听climbing gyms in Colorado or the Northeast听and you鈥檒l see a Wall of Evolution,听detailing the notable ascents, gear developments, and significant contributors to the climbing world over roughly the last century. That history is important to 52-year-old Hilary Harris, Evo鈥檚 founder. Over the past three decades,听she鈥檚 helped raise the bar for the female climbers of听her generation and become a pioneer of the climbing gym听movement. She was听the second women to boulder a V9, when she sent the Undercling Traverse on Flagstaff Mountain in Colorado听in 1998, and since then has bagged听the first female ascent听of boulders and sport routes throughout the U.S. and Europe, including Aire Lupus, a V8 in Morrison, Colorado, and Ira Atomica, a 5.13b route in Kochel, Germany.听
鈥淯ndercling Traverse was the hardest boulder problem of my life, and only one other woman in the country had climbed that grade at that time,鈥 Harris says. 鈥淚 was being egged on by a lot of guys I was climbing with, joking that a girl would never do that problem. So听I had to do it.鈥
Harris lived the life of a semiprofessional climber in the nineties, stringing small sponsorships together and traveling the world to chase grades. Worried about the sustainability of a climbing career, however, she went to graduate school to become an architect, eventually moving to New Hampshire for work in the early 2000s. 鈥淐limbing changed for me after I went back to school,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 do it as much, but I wanted to keep climbing hard, so I had to be more focused with my training.鈥
Soon听Harris was facing the classic adventurer dilemma:听figuring out how to balance听work with play. On weekends听she听explored听the Adirondack Mountains and Shawangunks in New York听and found听projects to keep herself entertained at听her home crag of Rumney, New Hampshire. Twice a week,听she would drive an hour and a half each way to the nearest climbing gym.听That balance only became more precarious when she was laid off during the recession in 2008听and decided to open the first Evo gym, in Concord, New Hampshire.听鈥淚f you want to be a good climber, don鈥檛 own a climbing gym,鈥 Harris says. 鈥淏eing an entrepreneur is all-encompassing. You can never leave work. When I started Evo, I was talking to bankers and lawyers听and took my cell phone to the crag. I swore I would never do that.鈥
鈥淚 was being egged on by a lot of guys I was climbing with, joking that a girl would never do that problem. So听I had to do it.鈥
Harris couldn鈥檛 climb or train听for long chunks of time听while building her first gym. And it鈥檚 been like that ever since. She experiences climbing droughts while spearheading each new location (there are currently four听Evos in Colorado and New England, with another听opening next year in the Denver suburb of Golden)听or recovering from injuries that听take her away from the crag for months at a time.听When she can climb, she dedicates herself to hard routes that are just out of her reach. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about project climbing that hooks you,鈥 Harris says. 鈥淭he fact that you get on a climb and you can鈥檛 do all the moves on the first try. There鈥檚 a problem-solving aspect to it. And when you figure it out and put it all together, there鈥檚 a feeling of elation.鈥
Two years ago, at age听50, Harris scaled听the Nose of El Capitan, the big-wall route in Yosemite听that has become a听quintessential rite听of passage for climbers. Most tackle the Nose in three days, knocking out a dozen pitches each听day. Harris and her team of four completed it in under 23 hours. It鈥檚 a feat that required more endurance than power. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to die without climbing the Nose,鈥 Harris says. 鈥淚 threw all my eggs in that basket. I had to learn how to crack-climb, which was incredibly difficult. I couldn鈥檛 get up a 5.8 crack route. I was a beginner again. I had to learn the technical side of big-wall climbing. I had to learn how to jug. I had to learn how to handle the ropes on a big wall. It was really complex.鈥
Leading up to her 23-hour Nose achievement, Harris听worked with a trainer to improve her endurance, which included听running often, knocking out high-intensity interval听workouts, and doing laps on tall routes at the gym. And as she makes her way through her sixth听decade, Harris is determined to continue to grow as a climber.听For 2020, she has a new goal of climbing a 5.13 again, which will take more strength than endurance. 鈥淢y trainer insists I can build muscle in my fifties,鈥 Harris says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e taking it slow and steady, training bigger muscle groups, like my lats, and doing a lot of core work. It鈥檒l be interesting to gain the kind of strength and muscle I鈥檒l need to climb those hard grades again.鈥
Harris doesn鈥檛 see her age as a limiting factor in her climbing, as long as she鈥檚 willing to approach each new phase with the dedication and precision she鈥檚 thrown into past projects. 鈥淭he beauty of climbing is you can do it until you鈥檙e really old,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be climbing really hard grades if that鈥檚 not what you鈥檙e into. You can get out to these amazing places and have an experience, and you can do that for your entire life. It鈥檚 special. Climbing evolves constantly, no matter how old you are.鈥
Hilary鈥檚 Workout
Harris is working with at Outdoor Athletics听in Colorado听to build full-body strength so she can continue to climb harder grades as she ages. Here are a few key exercises from her workout.
Pull-Up Isometric Holds
On a pull-up bar, start a pull-up, but stop halfway through the motion and hold听your body static, your head even with the bar. Hold for ten听seconds, rest, and repeat five times.听
Slow Suitcase Carry
Grab a heavy kettlebell,听and hold it in one hand听on the side of your body. Walk in slow motion for five steps, forcing your trunk to stabilize the weight at your side. Repeat with the weight in your other hand.
Static Step-Up
Start with a low bench or a stool, and slowly step onto the bench with your right foot. This is a slow, dramatic movement with intention. Exaggerate the hinge at the waist as you move your weight onto your right leg, and pause as your left leg leaves the ground, putting all of your weight on your right leg in a partial single-leg squat. Stand straight up, still balancing on your right foot, then听reverse the motion, pausing in the same places on your way back down to the ground.