Fly on the Wall

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Precisely because of that sensation, she opted out of competition after winning the world title at Arco, Italy, in 1992. 'Climbing had started to feel like work,' she says, citing the unnatural feel of training and competing indoors. 'It felt like you had to be there, and I wasn't growing as a human being. I'm glad I got out when I did.'

Today, Hill is her own judge. And like many free spirits with the courage of conviction, she finds herself in an enviable position. She travels the world, climbing and documenting her experience on film, occasionally giving lectures and presentations. She's working on a series of video postcards-postcards from the edge, she might call them, based on climbs in Vietnam's Halong Bay and the Aksu range of Kyrgyzstan. Her documentary, The Nose, was screened at a women's conference in Grenoble.

'I feel pretty lucky to do what I do. It seems like my lifestyle and my job and my passion all go together,' says Hill. I'm able to be free in a way that a lot of people are not.'

A lot of people would balk at such a path to freedom. Too risky, too extreme, too close to the edge. But for the Oregon-based globe-trotter, life on the rocks is the ultimate high. 'Climbing enhances my life,' she says. 'It gives me life.'

FromEscape(Nov., 1999.) Subscriptions: $18/yr. (4 issues) from Box 462255, Escondido, CA 92046.

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