There are a lot of films and features out there that focus on women in climbing, almost too many to list.  At some point, however, I will do the due diligence to make that list.  Some take the angle of ‘these are climbers that happen to be women’ and treating it like any other climbing film, while others seize on the under-represented nature of women in climbing and hold up gender as a focal point.  Both styles absolutely have merit, and A Day in the Life – 5 Women Who Climb falls solidly into the latter.

The film is split fairly evenly between interviews and climbing footage, and to its credit covers a wide range in both. Topics of conversation range from risk, dynamic movement, prehab, and climbing as a metaphor for life to the attitudes toward women, the interactions between women in a male dominated sport, and eating disorders. The climbing runs nearly the full gamut with bouldering, sport, trad, and aid – I mean how many flicks show a climber using a nut wire to sling a rivet?

The women are also a varied bunch, from mid 30s to as young as the 19 year old Beth Rodden. Some are married, some are college dropouts, others work for IBM and Intel. Some are still finding thier place and others literally wave their personal massager at the viewer with a supreme confidence.  All are insightful and leave the watcher with a small nugget of advice that any climber, regardless of gender, would do well to consider.

Viewed through the 2020 lens where we have high definition everything and women are crushing 5.15 this film might seem dated.  The dialogue can come off as stilted and the music is era appropriate Muzak. But we couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without what came before, and a lot of the topics broached in the film still ring fresh (like not wanting to get hurt when you don’t have insurance). The videography is VHS quality but the interweaving of video and still shots still holds up in my opinion.

In the end, this is a film about women who climb, pure and simple. It manages to highlight both issues unique to women in climbing and issues that all climbers face. The personalities are rich and the advice is timeless.

Verdict: Watch It, no qualifiers needed here.

The 5 Climbers
Tiffany Campbell
Roxanna Brock
Stephanie Forte
Beth Rodden
Brandi Mulliga

Other Climbers
Heather Baer, Justin Bastien, Kodee Weir, Jason Campbell, Twyla Rice, Lynee Sauer, Rob Mulligan.  Tommy and Chris Lindner are riggers.

Climbs

OK Arete
The Vampire, Taquitz

Desert Solitare, Red Rocks

Action Figure

Ghetto Boyz ,First Female Ascent
Cholos, First Female Ascent
Soul Train, Mount Charleston

Lurking Fear, Yosemite

Puzzle Box, Flagstaff
Scotts Roof, Mecca, NV
Drysdale Memorial
Flake Route, Buttermilks
Pufferfish, Flagstaff