Angie Payne


Angela Payne is an American rock climber specializing in bouldering, who won a clean sweep of the 2003-2004 US American Bouldering Series, and who in 2010, became the first-ever female in history to climb an boulder.

Early years

Payne was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She began indoor sport climbing at the age of 11, and competed in a number of junior sport climbing competitions before switching to bouldering at age 15 to 16. Payne says that her early idols were Lynn Hill, and as she began to focus on bouldering, Lisa Rands. In 2003, she moved to Boulder to attend college at the University of Colorado Boulder to study veterinary science, graduating in 2010.

Climbing career

Competition climbing

Aged 19, and in her first year in college, Payne won a clean sweep of all three of the American Bouldering Series 5, national championship events,, and two Professional Climbers Association competitions,, for the 2003-2004 boulder season. Payne finished second overall, and third overall in the annual US Bouldering Open National Championships. Amongst other podiums and victories in individual competitions,, in 2013, Payne won the Hueco Rock Rodeo at Hueco Tanks, in Texas.

Bouldering

From 2004 to 2009, Payne completed the first female ascent of numerous bouldering problems graded to, as well as making the third female ascent of the classic Midnight Lightning in 2004, and earning an honourable mention in Climbing magazine's 2007 for her climbs, and winning her the 2007 Everest Award for Female Boulderer of the Year, at the 2007 Teva Mountain Games. In early 2008, Payne climbed Chbalank in Hueco Tanks at V11/V12, and in September 2008, she climbed Dave Graham's European Human Being in the Rocky Mountain National Park at "hard" and her first V12. In February 2009, she climbed Atomic Playboy in Fontainebleau in France, another. In June 2010, she climbed Clear Blue Skies, and made the first female ascent of No More Green Grasses, at Mount Blue Sky, both at grade.
On August 17, 2010, Payne became the first-ever female in history to complete a confirmed boulder, with her ascent of The Automator in the RMNP. She won a second honourable mention in Climbing magazine's 2010 Golden Piton Awards. In 2012, Payne, rock climber Ethan Pringle, and mountainer Mike Libecki went to the Kangertittivatsiaq fjord in south east Greeland on a bouldering and climbing expedition. In July 2014, Payne sent her second boulder, Freaks of the Industry, in Lower Chaos Canyon in the RMNP, a project she had spent several seasons working on, and which she ranked as one of the achievements she was most proud of in her career.

Rock climbing

In 2015, Payne branched into big wall climbing, ascending the 3,264-foot spire of Poumaka in French Polynesia, with Libecki, which was captured in the film, Poumaka.

Personal life

In 2016, Payne was working for USA Climbing. She is a keen amateur photographer.
Payne has spoken openly about the prevalence of eating disorders in her sport, and contributes prominently to a documentary on the subject called Light, by Caroline Treadway.

Filmography

  • Award-winning documentary on eating disorders in climbing :
  • Documentary on ascent of her ascent of Poumaka :
  • Documentary on leading climbers featuring Payne :
  • Documentary on leading climbers featuring Payne :