Nina Williams
Nina Williams (born August 21, 1990) is an American professional rock climber based in Boulder, Colorado, known primarily for her practice of highball bouldering.
Nina Williams was born and raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She began rock climbing in New Hampshire in 2002 after testing ballet, football and horseback riding. In 2017, Nina wrote a personal essay for Rock and Ice magazine. She talks about the events that occurred during her adolescence, in fact, she cheated by falsifying the results during a qualifying regional competition of the USA Climbing. This incident earned him a ban from competitions for the season. In 2016, she gave an interview to Chris Weidner in which she said that the high pressure she was under and the lack of self-confidence had pushed her to cheat. To return to competition, Nina had to find a new mental approach. She writes that rather than climbing for the approval of others, she “would climb because she loved it. »
In 2015, she climbed her first boulder rated 8B (V13) in Rocklands, South Africa while achieving the first female ascent of Ray of Light. Nina is known for her practice of highball bouldering, which consists of climbing very high blocks without a rope, thus combining the physical side of bouldering and the mental side of free soloing. In 2017, she made the first female ascent of Ambrosia at Buttermilks, which Climbing Magazine called "the hardest free solo ever by a woman". Nina also climbs two other difficult routes on the same boulder: Evilution Direct (8A) and Footprints (7C+). Achieving these three paths, allows her to complete what is called the "Grandpa Peabody Trifecta", she is the first woman to do so.
In February 2018, she made the fourth ascent (and first female) of Window Shopper 8A+ (V12) in Boulder, Colorado7. In March 2019, she made the seventh ascent (and first female) of Too Big to Flail 7C+ (V10), a highball of more than 15 meters at Buttermilks. She makes an appearance in the short film The High Road (2019), selected for the Banff Mountain Film Festival and shown on the Reelrock 14 film tour. The film focused on Nina's rope preparation in anticipation of climbing a highball. It ends with his ascent of Too Big to Flail 7C+ (V10), a highball over 15m at Buttermilks. In 2016, she released Final Frontier, a multi-pitch route rated 5.13b in Yosemite, as well as Father Time (5.13b) in 2018.
Notable climbs:
2015: Speed of Life V10, Farley, Massachusetts
2015: Footprints V9, Bishop, CA
2015: Ray of Light V13, Rocklands, South Africa — First female ascent
2016: Final Frontier 5.13b, Yosemite, CA10
2016: Evilution Direct V11, Bishop, California — First female ascent
2017: Ambrosia V11, Bishop, CA - First female ascent, first female to complete the Grandpa Peabody trifecta
2018: Father Time 5.13b, Yosemite, CA
2018: Window Shopper V12, Boulder, Colorado — First female ascent
2019: Too Big To Flail V10, Bishop, California — Seventh ascent, first female ascent
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.0286 |
| Birthday | 1990-08-21 |
| Place of Birth | Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA |
| Also Known As |
2015
Reel Rock 10
8.2/8
From big walls to big moves, REEL ROCK 10 features athletes Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson, Alex Honnold, Jimmy Webb, Daniel Woods and a special tribu...
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Reel Rock 10
2024
Dear Mother - A Climber's Transracial Adoption Story
0/0
Climber and transracial Asian-American, Cody Kaemmerlen, searches for connection with his birth parents after a near-death fall leaves him shaken and...
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Dear Mother - A Climber's Transracial Adoption Story
2015
ZA
7.7/3
South Africa is home to some of the world’s best rock climbing and attracts thousands of climbers each year from across the globe. Many films have doc...
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ZA
2019
The High Road
0/0
While the world’s best boulderers push standards close to the ground, Nina Williams’ sights are set higher. She is among the only women who climb elit...
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The High Road
2019
Reel Rock 14
8.1/7
In a battle for El Cap’s coveted Nose speed record, rock legends Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold go head to head with Yosemite dirtbags Jim Reynolds a...
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Reel Rock 14
2020
Pretty Strong
7/1
From 5.13 big walls in Yosemite to 5.14 sport climbs in Mexico to V14 boulder problems in Colorado, Pretty Strong follows eight of the world’s stronge...
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Pretty Strong
2021
Light
8.2/2
Documentary about eating disorders among professional climbers
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Light
2015
High And Mighty
0/0
High and mighty is a documentary about bouldering. It was directed by Peter Mortimer in 2015 and produced by Sender Films. It is a part of the series...
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