Page 36 - SA Mountain Issue 62

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matter. I remember many days, when
I rst started bouldering, watching
in awe at how tenaciously yet calmly
she approached her projects. Unlike others I’d experienced, I never saw her get angry when she climbed, despite frustrations. On the contrary, when she had to ght for something, it just made her more determined, and often she’d use her brilliant sarcastic, self-deprecating humour, to make fun of the situation, or she’d blame the last bagel she ate (which by the way was ‘totally worth the ght’).
Bouldering on Redhill. Photo MARIJUS ŠMIGELSKIS
ulia loved climbing. It was her happy place – projecting hard stuff or easy, fun bouldering, it didn’t
climbs in the SA climbing scene: in 2012 she sent Elfenlied at Redhill, her rst
8A boulder, and only SA female ascent. This was followed by the only SA female ascent of Hypoxia (29) in Montagu. In the same year, she also ew up two hard routes at Kleinmond on the same day: Wings of glory (28) and The Percolator (30) – both on her second try.
sending. Another only SA female ascent in her pocket.
Julia didn’t take herself too seriously, despite having achieved some signi cant
She was proud of her bruises and rough- skinned hands, sometimes even climbing through painful injury to get what she wanted. Pragmatism won. No one wins without sacri ce. We’d lovingly poke fun at her in various situations saying she was
34 SAMOUNTAIN.CO.ZA SEPTEMBER–NOVEMBER 2017
In 2015, she tried the ultra Rocklands classic Caroline (7C+). She had been working it for a few days during the season, and while this one session wasn’t going too well and she had actually stopped trying to send, she decided to go from the bottom just for training, to build stamina, at the end of her session. She stuck each move perfectly and ended up
Many can attest that Julia was a naturally gifted climber, but also relentlessly determined. Projecting Hypoxia, the average weekday looked
like this: Julia would leave Cape Town from her architecture job at 4 pm on a weekday, race through to Montagu and get the draws up on the route. She would have three burns before it got dark, walk out, and drive home. Repeat until sent.