When people say, "It can't be done," or "You don't have what it takes," it makes the task all the more interesting.

Man or woman, you have to have the mental characteristics, the ability to concentrate, the focus, the flexibility, where women have the advantage, and strength-to-weight ratio. It does depend on the raw power.

Many of the women who I've taught to climb have a better sense of balance than the men. I think it has to do with being a little more sensitive to it rather than relying on strenght. It's also a reflection of a passive attitude - balancing your way up the rock, rather than attacking it.

For me, the most relevant factor in my ability to perform well on the rock has to do with my love of climbing. After nearly thirty years of climbing, I still love to do it whenever possible!

I'd been a child during the 1960s when women burned their bras and hundreds of thousands gathered in protests against the Vietnam War. As a climber, I've felt connected to a similar nonconformist culture, one opposed to society's increasing materialism, pollution and corruption. Our approach to the rock—clean, traditional climbing, with the least dependence on equipment—was an extension of this ethical viewpoint.

I was quaking in my boots.

When the pursuit of natural harmony is a shared journey, great heights can be attained.