Julie is a longtime rock climber. She's been climbing in the West Coast since the 90's.
Most of you might know her from the films Rampage or Free Hueco.
Bouldering, sport, trad, bigwall — she's done it all. And guess what? She still climbs!
She also started a coalition with Al. The name? Rock and Rice. It was a coalition of two until some dude decided to make it a podcast...
Anyway. Hope you enjoy this interview.
Land Acknowledgement: Payahǖǖnadǖ
We talk a lot about Bishop! As such, I want to acknowledge that Bishop are the ancestral lands of the Nüümü and Newe People, in the land known as Payahǖǖnadǖ, the “land of flowing water.”
Nüümü were the stewards of the Owens River, before LADWP took it from them. More on that here. If you're in Bishop, I highly suggest you check out the Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center. It show their story in quality detail.
Notes
- Julie’s first climb was a slab climb: Rock Climb Run For Your Life, Joshua Tree National Park
- She was part of early development in Priest Draw, AZ.
- Priest Draw Guidebook.
- She worked at Pete’s in Hueco Tanks.
- Julie’s problem in Rock Creek isn’t Climb Pull Down Like De Jesus. It’s a traverse (from Choice of Weapons) around the right corner that links into "Pull Down Like De Jesus." Julie didn't actually name this route, she left it unnamed.
- The name "Pull Down Like De Jesus" came from Mick Ryan. Mick Ryan named this after Julie. Mick named or renamed many Eastside problems when he published his guide.
- While she isn't a Stonemaster, Julie's photo was in the Stonemasters article by Climbing Magazine.
- Back then, some people didn't even consider bouldering "real" climbing. Clark Shelk was an early advocate for bouldering. (He also started Cordless Crashpad)
- Shoutouts to Dustin Sabo, who FA'd Acid Wash in Bishop.
- Dan Delange. He's was a low key Filipino climber from SoCal that climbed hard. He was in Masters of Stone.