Nina Williams: A Voice from the East Coast

On the east coast you can expect one thing: blunt honesty, and Nina Williams doesn’t disappoint. Nina has been a part of the climbing community for a while now and has traveled from east to west enjoying the company of everyone she meets. Because she has such a “broad” understanding of everything climbing we decided to pull her away and see if we could get her east coast perspective on a few things.

 

 

 

 

DPM: Sex is selling big right now and the scene has girls running around in short shorts and pasties. Where do you stand? Do you believe if you got it, flaunt it? Or is there a time and a place?

 

Nina: Oh god, I could write an essay on this. It can be a pretty intricate topic with a lot of potential answers, but I think it really comes down to pure common sense. In climbing specifically, there is no time and place. If you’re doing a heel hook or using dynamic movement, the TWINS must be secured and essentials below the waist shouldn’t be visible. I’m not saying climb in a bodysuit; just be smart about it. There’s nothing wrong with a girl looking pretty and there is nothing wrong with a girl using what she has. But use it in a way that combines both climbing and looks. Don’t rely purely on attractiveness, and MOST OF ALL don’t let your attractiveness outshine your ability. Use it to compliment the grace and power that the female body is known for. If people begin to notice the way you dress over the way you crush, it’s time for a change.

 

DPM: Men wear significantly less than a woman when they climb. Should this just be seen as the norm?

 

Nina: Men take off their shirts everywhere; it’s not just in climbing. But if I had the option to climb without a shirt on, I wouldn’t. Women have more to carry around…and boobs hurt when they bounce too much.

 

DPM: Point Taken

 

DPM: You hail from the East Coast where do you see the differences in the people and mind set in climbing when you travel from East to West?

 

Nina: People are definitely friendlier in the West, and way more inviting…unless, from what I hear, you’re from Boulder. East Coast climbers are a little more reserved and we keep our secret spots secret. We won’t talk to you unless you talk first. We also tend to take our climbing very seriously, and access is a huge deal since we have so little compared to the West. But climbers are all one big dysfunctional family in the end.

 

DPM: So what you’re saying is: Enjoy Cali, bypass Colorado, and have our secret decoder ring when we hit the east coast.

 

 

 

 

DPM: Every other day we hear about the next FFA, where do you weigh in on the topic? Are you tired of hearing this term?

 

Nina: I think female ascents should be duly noted and given the same amount of attention as male ascents, but not blown out of proportion. I mean, we can climb hard stuff too you know…it shouldn’t be terribly surprising. But if a female climbs a problem first, ever, I think it should still be called an FA. The focus should me more on the climb itself, not who climbed it.

 

DPM: Would you be more psyched to see a woman get an FFA on crimp face or an open handed sloper problem (possibly something that doesn’t fit femine hands).

 

Nina: Again, depends on quality and the specialty of the climber. Some chicks rule at slopers, others pull hard on crimps. I would be psyched to see a woman stick a crazy long, hard dyno (especially since I’m a shorty).

 

DPM: You crag out on the East Coast, what do you do during the 4 months of horrible weather? Ski? Snowboard? Commiserate with alcohol?

 

Nina: Haha, well I very recently just moved out to Colorado but when I was back East I was a slacker. I escaped to the mountains for snowboarding and trained in the gym a lot. Sometimes I would brave the cold…but usually it’s just not worth it.

 

DPM: When you get some good temps where do you usually head out to?

 

Nina: In the East I would head out to Farley in Western Mass if I had a whole day…Lincoln Woods or Black Point if I only had a few hours. I haven’t had much time to explore Colorado in its entirety yet.

 

DPM: When the weather clears up what projects are on your tick list to take down?

 

Nina: My sole project right now is getting back up to speed. I recently separated my shoulder and I’ve been resting for the past 5 weeks. I’ve got another 2 weeks before I can really climb again and probably another 4 on top of that to get back in prime strength. Lame! But I’m taking it slow and serious…11 or 12 weeks is nothing compared to the rest of my life.

 

DPM: What is your method when working a proj?

 

Nina: Get psyched, try hard, and visualize myself sending. Don’t let others tell me I can’t. If it doesn’t go, there’s always tomorrow!

 

DPM: And if not tomorrow, maybe in 6 months.

 

 

 

 

DPM: Who do you look up to and why?

 

Nina: I try and keep my heroes personal and I never really had a female example to look up to, but I recently read an article in Climbing about Heidi Wirtz (Heidi Almighty!) that totally inspired me. She had enough guts to earn her glory, managed to log tons of climbing miles, and lived in a tent for 3 years to boot! Now that’s hardcore. As for guys, and this is going to be completely cheesy, but I really look up to my boyfriend Jeff for climbing and NOT because he’s my boyfriend. He’s 100% psyched all the time, on everything. He pushes me to climb harder and keeps me focused on training.

 

DPM: Should climbing go main stream or stay how it is? Do you support growth or think that the crags
will be filled with annoying gummies if it gets bigger?

 

Nina: I’m not terribly opinionated on this, purely because I believe that in order to be a real climber and stay super dedicated to it you have to be a certain kind of person…you have to be weird in some way. If climbing goes mainstream I think we’ll have a lot more people who don’t actually climb but do their damndest telling people how to.

 

DPM: Favorite type of hold?

 

Nina: The good kind, the incut kind, the textured kind.

 

DPM: Incut, you are from Colorado.

 

DPM: Do you bring the Ipod to the crag or is that for the gyms only?

 

Nina: Gym only, gym only, I cannot stress how much every climber should use it in the gym ONLY. It is unsafe and unsociable to bring music outside. I only use it if I’m training by myself.

 

DPM: What was your biggest break through send last year?

 

Nina: Definitely Universal Socket aka The Pocket Problem (V8) in Pawtuckaway, NH. It was a huge breakthrough for me because it made me realize my love for highballs and tall scary things (much to my dad’s chagrin). It’s a pretty tame 15-20ft climb right ‘till the last move, a throw for a jug. If you miss it you smash and slide on a rock to your left. It was the greatest rush when I hit the move the first time!

 

DPM: Best problem on the East Coast?

 

Nina: Speed of Life (V10) in Farley, Western Mass. Hands down. Glorious crimp line all by itself up the center of a giant overhang. Gorgeous.

 

DPM: Does DPM psyche you up to climb? Piss you off ? Have you even picked up an issue?

 

Nina: Haha I’ve got enough lefty views of my own for us to get along. The videos are what have been keeping me sane these past few recovery weeks!! DPM psyches me up to climb, for sure.

 

DPM: Sponsors shout out.

 

Nina: Big shout out to Five Ten for keeping a poor climber gal shoed up and psyched to climb! Another shout out to V-Line Climbing for making the sickest pads and chalk bags on the market. A final shout out to the biggest sponsors of my life, Mom and Dad J for thinking I’m crazy but letting me do whatever anyways.