Remy Franklin

Job: Life Coach & University Lecturer
Climbing since: 2009
Country: USA

What do I enjoy about climbing?
Accomplishing what previously felt impossible, and in the process learning that we are all capable of much more than we believe! And of course, connecting with the amazing community of humans that gather around our sport.

How did I start with climbing?
A friend took me sport climbing in New Hampshire during my first year of university. I was hooked from the start and became active in the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club. For my first five years I focused mostly on hard outdoor sport climbing on granitic schist at Rumney, which has a strong projecting culture. Later I learned to trad climb - first in New Hampshire and later in places like Yosemite and Red Rocks - and I eventually even grew to love bouldering ;)

Other interests?
I love my work, which is largely focused around transforming how young people think about choosing a career. Recently I’ve developed an interest in natural building (I’m currently building a timber frame and strawbale home in New Mexico!). And of course I love all mountain sports: mountain biking, trail running, skiing…

Favourite climbing area?
If I could only climb one place the rest of my life it would either be Céüse or Yosemite Valley… a hard choice! The variety of rock types is one thing that makes climbing so fun and interesting, but I particularly love hard limestone sport climbing and clean granite big walls.

The best achievements?

• Completing the second free ascent of Nubivagant (13d, 15 pitches), an adventurous route on Pico Cão Grande in São Tomé and Príncipe (you can watch the film trailer or a 360° VR film)
• Completing one of the early free ascents of Doubt (14a, sport) on Mt. Lemmon in just three days of effort
• Sending One Inch Punch (14a), Vinales, Cuba - perhaps the hardest route in Cuba
• Climbing The Nose of El Capitan in a day
• On-sighting The Original Route (trad 12a, 14 pitches) on Rainbow Wall in Red Rock, leading every pitch
• Sending my first V10 on the Moonboard (not kidding!)
  

There have been several times climbing when I have stopped thinking entirely and lost myself in the experience of moving up the rock. This has happened on many hard redpoints, but also on long days in the alpine, for example climbing on The Diamond in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado). These are profound moments that stay with me, because they expose the illusion of separateness between myself and the environment and people around me. I believe this experience of transcendence is the key not only to realizing our true potential as climbers, but also as people in a world that needs our compassion and effort to benefit society and the planet.

Plans for the future?
I will move to Spain for a year and fall off many classic projects while watching 15-year-olds redpoint them! Back in the U.S. I will work on my lifetime goal of free climbing The Nose of El Capitan.

Climbing in 100 years?
“Back in the day drones didn’t clip the bolts for us, we had to do it ourselves!”

More info about me:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans. That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.” W.H. Murray, from the The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951)

Follow Remy’s climbing on Instagram @remyfranklin
Discover ClimbWell, a community and event series for climbers interested in mindfulness and personal growth www.ClimbWell.co
Learn about Remy’s coaching and professional work at www.remyfranklin.com

Remy Franklin