Angie Payne has been climbing for the past 13 years and just graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in sociology along with the prerequisites for vet school, in hopes of being accepted into the vet school at Colorado State University. After a long day at school her desire to escape the stress of the day motivates her to head to the gym. Once she arrives at the gym, her desire to get stronger or to train for a certain competition or boulder problem is usually what keeps her trying hard. Like any climber who chooses to juggle competitive climbing with school and work, Angie admits that there are definitely times when she is too exhausted from school and/or work to try very hard.
Do you prefer indoor and competition climbing or outdoor climbing?
Well, I’ll just come right out and admit that I am a gym rat at heart. I grew up climbing mainly in the gym, and I always loved it. I still do. There are days when all I want to do is get a lot of climbing in, and sometimes the gym is ideal for that. Outdoor climbing, of course, is also very important to me, and when the season is good, I often go weeks without climbing in the gym. I get even more stress relief from going out into the mountains to climb, which is one of the wonderful parts of outdoor climbing. So, I guess I can’t pick one, because I love them both for different reasons.
You seemed to have reemerged onto the bouldering scene in a pretty grand way, first with the close second place at the Battle in the Bubble, your ascent of No More Greener Grasses, then your second place finish at the trade show comp! I’d say that’s quite a reentrance, what were you up to for those years that you weren't in the immediate spotlight?
Well, I guess I was mostly in school, although I did take a semester off to travel to Europe. Back in 2008 I went to Switzerland and Fontainebleau for six weeks, which was awesome. It was great to see something new, and both areas were amazing. I was able to really get into the rhythm of climbing a lot, and doing a ton of new boulder problems was great. After that, I went back to school and started doing prerequisites for vet school. I hurt my ankle and that put me out for about 8 months, and this past fall I came back. And here I am!
So I hear you are the first woman in the world to climb V13! That’s amazing! How does it feel?
I guess it depends on who you ask, but I suppose I am the first US woman to climb a confirmed v13 ☺ It feels great and I’m very psyched! A number of women could have easily been in my position, so I just feel lucky and honored to be the first in a long line of females that will continue to push the standard of the sport further into the teens of the V scale. And, it is still early in the good alpine bouldering season, so I’m hungry for more!
Is the Automator the first V13 you have attempted?
Yes, so far as I can remember, this is the first v13 I have climbed on, and definitely the first one I have tried for a semi-long period of time.
What about this climb in particular made you want to project it?
Well, my friend Flannery Shay-Nemirow was climbing on it and invited me to join her when I finished No More Greener Grasses. She had done all the moves, so she really exposed the possibility of the problem being done by a woman. We talked a lot about it and she was gracious enough to encourage me to come work on it with her. I was also attracted to this problem because it is very crimpy, and crimping is my strength. Plus, it is one of the more easily accessible v13’s in an area that is not far from my house, which was great when I was in summer classes.
How did you train to be able to accomplish such a hard grade?
I wish I had some grand training program that I could share, but I really don’t. I spent the majority of the school year climbing in the gym, and I had a renewed motivation to climb as much as possible. I would like to have some sort of structured training program in the future. But for now, I just climb whenever I can.
What is next for Angie Payne!?
Well, I’m not in school for at least the next year, so I have a lot of things I would like to do. First, I am going to enjoy the bouldering season here in Colorado and try to get out as much as possible. I’m going to reapply to vet school and wait for the verdict on that. I will continue to work my part time jobs at Foothills Animal Clinic and Movement Climbing and Fitness, and hopefully take some trips to other great climbing areas (and maybe places that aren’t climbing areas too!). I also hope that I can fit some hard boulder problems in there somewhere ☺
| Alex Biale | » | Angie. You're awesome. 1 day ago |
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