Nina Caprez Interview

What’s your relationship with climbing?
That’s the longest and the most stable relationship I’ve ever had in my life. I’m very involved. That doesn’t mean that I’m only a climber, but it represents my soul, my dream, my fear, my limits, my battle, my flow and the unknown.

Is there one particular female climber that motivated or inspired you?
I don’t do gender differentiation. I’m inspired by those who fully live their biggest passion. It’s not easy to explain to a “normal” person how do you feel living a climbing life: they would try to make you change your mind. After all, I think it’s just a matter of personal balance, but I have to say that I feel closer to radical people, people who are emotionally true instead of the “perfect idols”

What do you think about this female movement growing around climbing?
That’s awesome, it doesn’t count what sports is about. I think that the female gender always adds something. In our case, I reckon we instil kindness and softness to this sport.

Is there female competition in this sport?
Women sometimes claim to be much stronger that they really are, physically and mentally. I always try to encourage girls to climb and be themselves. When someone is satisfied and incited to be what she really is, then she’s able to prove it in climbing, that’s the most beautiful thing to me.

Other passions?
My true passion is climbing, but I also love to work with my own hands, creating different things. It could go from tile the kitchen to bake a cake or make fruit jam, plant some greens in my garden or pick up flowers. Long story short: I love beauty, in its multiple form, it can be found in objects, people or in the act of creation.

Can you tell us about your last expedition? Who were you with and how do you choose your climbing partner?
If we can call my trip to the big walls in Yosemite an expedition, that was my last. I tried to climb The Nose with Lynn Hill. For every route I’d like to climb, I always try to think who would be the perfect partner to do that. I ask myself: how he/she is going to react to different situations? Has he/she the right skills? Will he/she be good to work as a team? This are crucial things to know, but in fact, it can happen very often that a relationship can grow spontaneously. You can plan, think and try to figure out how it’s going to be, but there are so many factors that you simply can’t predict and in that case you’ll have to possess the ability to fully live in the present moment and try to have a positive mind.