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Wednesday, 08 Nov 06
JULIA NILES is a little loony but totally loving. Her laughter is contagious. Even after a surgery to remove a tumor along with half of her left lung two winters ago, this Jackson Hole Mountain Guide is still smiling all the way up the mountain. Niles grew up climbing around her grandfather’s cabin in Driggs, Idaho, where she learned the ropes — so to speak. She can onsight up through 5.12a and up to Grade 5 ice. In the Tetons, she has free-soloed the Snaz (IV 5.10a 1,400 feet) in four hours car-to-car, and also soloed Open Book (III 5.9 1,000 feet) and Irene’s Arete (III 5.9 1,200 feet) in a day. She also has done the Grand Traverse in 16 hours to become the first woman to free-solo the 10-peak Teton route in a day — and that was after her lobectomy. Niles is an American Mountain Guides Association rock- and alpine-certified guide. She’s now in the process of getting fully certified (rock, alpine, and ski-mountaineering), to further her guiding career around the world. Not too many men or women guides have that to brag about. — Vanessa Pierce (photo by Heather Erson)
SHEJUMPS BOARD MEMBER JULIA NILES
A version of this story was printed in Rock and Ice Magazine, October 2006.
Breathing easy
By Vanessa Pierce
Julia Niles, aka "Juice," is spunky, spicy and a contagiously loony. She likes to write poetry, talk politics, shoot guns, and frolic naked in the Rocky Mountains.
Friends say she gets a lot out of each breath.
She’s a lung, an aerobic animal in fact. Though last winter a possible career-ending lobectomy of part of her left lung had her wondering. It was a devastating blow to Niles, one of America's top female climbers. Niles spends her summers working for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. She can onsight up through 5.12a and up to Grade 5 ice. In the Tetons, she has free-soloed the Snaz (IV 5.10a 1,400 feet) in four hours car-to-car, and also soloed Open Book (III 5.9 1,000 feet) and Irene's Arete (III 5.9 1,200 feet) in a day. She has climbed Yosemite’s El Cap six times, twice by the Nose (VI 5.11 A2), including Tangerine Trip (VI 5.8 C3F) in a day after fixing pitches. Niles also surfs, kayaks (up to Class 4), backcountry skis, and mountain bikes.
Niles is passionate about living – in all areas of life – and wants to save the world. She tried to last winter by studying environmental law at the University of Colorado at Boulder, but she quit the prestigious law school after one semester. Instead, she figured if she put that much energy into what she really loves – climbing – she might be able to save the world one interaction at a time. But first she had to save herself.
In February, surgeons removed a growing benign tumor in her left lung. For more than a year, she suffered through climbs and guiding trips, in places like Denali, sick with asthma attacks, bronchitis, and pneumonia from the mysterious tumor that was inhibiting 90 percent of her breathing capability in her left lung.
Hearing the news about her lungs was a blow for Niles, 26, who is an AMGA rock-certified guide – the third woman to gain that credit, and one of only five total. Her first doctor said he would have to take the entire left lung. "I'm an altitude climber," Niles said. "This was my career. I was infuriated." She wasn't about to accept the diagnosis and quickly obtained a new opinion.
About two months after surgery, and only a quarter of her lungs removed, she hiked up and skied down 1,500 vertical feet on Mount Glory in the Tetons. In June, though, Niles was back to business as usual, climbing 12,326-foot Teewinot solo, and by August she was setting records. She became the first female to free-solo the Grand Traverse (see story below).
In December, Niles will head to South America. Balance Bar granted her the money to climb in Argentina. Her objectives are to knock off Fitzroy in Patagonia and put up a number of routes with friends. "There are so many things to do down there. I can't even begin to explain," she said.
Contact Julia by e-mailing juiceniles@gmail.com
Profile: Julia Niles
Comment on this PostJULIA NILES is a little loony but totally loving. Her laughter is contagious. Even after a surgery to remove a tumor along with half of her left lung two winters ago, this Jackson Hole Mountain Guide is still smiling all the way up the mountain. Niles grew up climbing around her grandfather’s cabin in Driggs, Idaho, where she learned the ropes — so to speak. She can onsight up through 5.12a and up to Grade 5 ice. In the Tetons, she has free-soloed the Snaz (IV 5.10a 1,400 feet) in four hours car-to-car, and also soloed Open Book (III 5.9 1,000 feet) and Irene’s Arete (III 5.9 1,200 feet) in a day. She also has done the Grand Traverse in 16 hours to become the first woman to free-solo the 10-peak Teton route in a day — and that was after her lobectomy. Niles is an American Mountain Guides Association rock- and alpine-certified guide. She’s now in the process of getting fully certified (rock, alpine, and ski-mountaineering), to further her guiding career around the world. Not too many men or women guides have that to brag about. — Vanessa Pierce (photo by Heather Erson)
SHEJUMPS BOARD MEMBER JULIA NILES
A version of this story was printed in Rock and Ice Magazine, October 2006.
Breathing easy
By Vanessa Pierce
Julia Niles, aka "Juice," is spunky, spicy and a contagiously loony. She likes to write poetry, talk politics, shoot guns, and frolic naked in the Rocky Mountains.
Friends say she gets a lot out of each breath.
She’s a lung, an aerobic animal in fact. Though last winter a possible career-ending lobectomy of part of her left lung had her wondering. It was a devastating blow to Niles, one of America's top female climbers. Niles spends her summers working for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. She can onsight up through 5.12a and up to Grade 5 ice. In the Tetons, she has free-soloed the Snaz (IV 5.10a 1,400 feet) in four hours car-to-car, and also soloed Open Book (III 5.9 1,000 feet) and Irene's Arete (III 5.9 1,200 feet) in a day. She has climbed Yosemite’s El Cap six times, twice by the Nose (VI 5.11 A2), including Tangerine Trip (VI 5.8 C3F) in a day after fixing pitches. Niles also surfs, kayaks (up to Class 4), backcountry skis, and mountain bikes.
Niles is passionate about living – in all areas of life – and wants to save the world. She tried to last winter by studying environmental law at the University of Colorado at Boulder, but she quit the prestigious law school after one semester. Instead, she figured if she put that much energy into what she really loves – climbing – she might be able to save the world one interaction at a time. But first she had to save herself.
In February, surgeons removed a growing benign tumor in her left lung. For more than a year, she suffered through climbs and guiding trips, in places like Denali, sick with asthma attacks, bronchitis, and pneumonia from the mysterious tumor that was inhibiting 90 percent of her breathing capability in her left lung.
Hearing the news about her lungs was a blow for Niles, 26, who is an AMGA rock-certified guide – the third woman to gain that credit, and one of only five total. Her first doctor said he would have to take the entire left lung. "I'm an altitude climber," Niles said. "This was my career. I was infuriated." She wasn't about to accept the diagnosis and quickly obtained a new opinion.
About two months after surgery, and only a quarter of her lungs removed, she hiked up and skied down 1,500 vertical feet on Mount Glory in the Tetons. In June, though, Niles was back to business as usual, climbing 12,326-foot Teewinot solo, and by August she was setting records. She became the first female to free-solo the Grand Traverse (see story below).
In December, Niles will head to South America. Balance Bar granted her the money to climb in Argentina. Her objectives are to knock off Fitzroy in Patagonia and put up a number of routes with friends. "There are so many things to do down there. I can't even begin to explain," she said.
Contact Julia by e-mailing juiceniles@gmail.com
Climbing Mescalito on El Cap on Julia's 21st birthday.
26-year-old achieves 1-day solo traverse Mountain guide 1st woman to climb 10-peak route alone in a day By Vanessa Pierce After a winter lobectomy to remove half of her left lung, mountain guide Julia Niles completed the Grand Traverse in 16 hours to become the first woman to free-solo the 10-peak Teton route in a day. In February, Niles had surgery to remove a benign tumor that had been constricting 90 percent of her left lung’s function. Since the lobectomy, she has quit law school at the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue climbing objectives, including the Grand Traverse. The storied route includes Teewinot, Mount Owen, the Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton, Ice Cream Cone, Spalding Peak, Gilkey Tower, Cloudveil Dome and Nez Perce. “I’m so glad to have done it because it’s been my goal for so long,” Niles said Sunday. Niles, 26, has been guiding for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides since 2003. She is an American Mountain Guides Association rock-certified guide – the third woman to gain that credit and one of only five women in the country. In the Tetons she has free-soloed the Snaz (IV 5.10a 1,400 feet) in four hours car to car, and climbed Open Book (III 5.9 1,000 feet) and Irene’s Arete (III 5.9 1,200 feet) in the same day. She also has climbed Yosemite’s El Cap six times, twice by the Nose (VI 5.11), including Tangerine Trip (VI 5.8) in a day after fixing pitches. The 10-peak Grand Traverse entails several pitches of rock climbing up to 5.8 in difficulty and endless pitches of scrambling and easy-to-moderate fifth-class climbing. Niles said she free-soloed the entire route and on-sighted nearly all of it. Her adventure began at 3 a.m. when she “randomly” awoke after her alarm didn’t go off at 2 a.m. She was still on track with her plan, which involved driving over Teton Pass from her family’s cabin in Driggs to Lupine Meadows parking lot in Grand Teton National Park. She left her car at 4:45 a.m. and began ascending the 12,325-foot Teewinot Mountain. Niles went fast and light, wearing only approach shoes – her Five-Ten Guide Tennies – and carrying a hydration pack with water, some clothing and food. By the time she got to the Lower Saddle of the Grand, she was bonking. A guide at the Exum Hut gave her a slice of Hawaiian pizza, which saved her, she said. Niles said her pace was brisk going uphill and she ran much of the downhill. As for her lungs, she said, “I was hitting the inhaler every now and again.” If she was feeling in top physical form and didn’t call friends from the peaks, Niles said the entire route could have taken maybe 10 hours. According to climbing experts in the area, the only other woman to come close to Niles’ feat was Exum guide Kim Csizmazia, who free-soloed the traverse in 12 hours, 26 minutes in August 2000 with speed record-holder and fellow Exum guide Rolando Garibotti. His 2000 record stands at six hours, 49 minutes. Though Csizmazia didn’t use protection, she did follow Garibotti. The hardest part of the climb, Niles said, was climbing the last peak, which reaches 11,901 feet. Nez Perce involves scrambling and loose rock. “The last bit was long and Nez Perce sucks,” she said. She returned to her car at 8:45 p.m., having to run most of the way down to get there before dark. “It was such a good day,” she said about the traverse. “It was confidence building for sure.” Niles’ next objective: move to Squamish, British Columbia, at the end of the week to climb various routes on the 2,000-foot granite Stawamus Chief in preparation for a trip early this winter to Argentina’s Patagonia region, where she hopes to climb the fabled 11,073-foot Fitzroy. First published in the Jackson Hole News&Guide, August 2006.
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