Hazel Findley tops out on Mind Control
- Saturday 4th March 2017
March 4th; 2017
Beating a long-term shoulder injury Hazel Findlay has just redpointed Mind Control (F8c/+) at Oliana, Spain.
Hazel Findlay working Mind Control. Photo Roger Schaeli
Posting on-line Hazel said: ‘It's been three years since I was at this crag and three years since I last climbed hard.’ Pro-climber, Hazel has been off the hard climbing circuit with a shoulder injury which has taken considerable effort to rehab. However, since late 2016/early 2017 hazel has been back on her game and since January she has been concentrating on the test-piece climb at Oliana.
Hazel again: ‘This is the only route I've ever really thought about or trained for. And it's not because it's the best route I could find (although for a sport route it's pretty good) it's because I knew if I could do this route then I knew I would be over all my injury troubles. (The crux is a giant cross over move using all the shoulder stability you can muster.)’
Hazel is one of the few women world-wide to climb both super-hard trad and sport climbs. Prior to her injuries Hazel was the first UK women to lead E9 with Once Upon a Time in 2011 and then the first to lead F8c with Fish Eye at Oliana in 2014. She’s also had considerable success in Yosemite on the big walls making the first female ascents of both Golden Gate and Pre-Muir Wall. Now she’s back ‘on it’, we should see more from her in the coming months.
Follow Hazel via her athlete page on Facebook here...