Vera Schulte-Pelkum

Bio:

"I took to climbing like a duck to water - the only concept I took longer to grasp was that hitting the ground from high up is a bad idea," states Vera Schulte-Pelkum. With a Ph.D. in Geophysics and a research position at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she wouldn't seem the most likely woman to be breaking big-wall speed climbing records in Yosemite and ice climbing in Nepal, but then it begins to make more sense when you realize it's all about the rock. Or, as Vera puts it, "Both science and adventure are forms of exploration . . . Each requires a sense of wonder about the world." A versatile climber, she can finesse everything from big walls to alpine to bouldering and has a special fondness for offwidth. Growing up in Germany and Japan gave Vera a taste for travel at a young age, and climbing and research have taken her all over the world. She lives in Colorado with writer-photographer husband Topher Donahue and their baby twins.

Home:

Nederland, Colorado, USA

Nickname:

The Brute, Uberfraulein

Favorite Movie:

Most movies by Jim Jarmusch

Favorite Music:

Zappa meets Schoenberg

Favorite The North Face Product:

Ripstop canvas pants - Lightweight but burly, 100% cotton but super fast drying. I've tested these with bat guano, mud, moss, various spills, top and bottom baby leaks and more, and after a few minutes' drying they invariably look like new.

Three Things I Always Pack:

Books, toothbrush, and my pocket knife in my carry on (doh!).

Favorite Destination:

Anywhere with interesting food.

Most Recent Epic:

A solo week with the twins.

Ambition:

Crew on a Southern Ocean leg in a round-the-world sailing race.

Inspiration Within the Sport:

Exposure (the air kind, not the paper kind).

Proudest Moment:

Shooting the pier my first time out surfing.

Most Humbling Moment:

Shooting the pier my first time out surfing (unintentionally, and wallowing next to the board).

My Weakness:

Custard. Cello.

Cause(s):

Humankind's role in the universe and on Earth.

Career Highlights:

Big Walls:

• Women's Yosemite big-wall speed records (with Heidi Wirtz): The Nose, NW Regular Face of Half Dome, West Face of Leaning Tower
• Hammerless ascents of El Capitan aid routes: "Shield" (C4), "New Dawn" (C4), "Mescalito" (C3)

Crags:

• “Broken Brain” (crack, Indian Creek), 12b, onsight
• “Wendego” (trad., Eldorado), 12a, onsight
• “Binge and Purge” (offwidth, Indian Creek), 5.11, onsight

Ice:

• “East Couloir” (Tawoche, Khumbu Himal, Nepal), IV WI 4, probable first ascent
• “Ice-9” (Mt. Mendel, High Sierra) IV WI 5

Adventure:

• "Frau-Line", Center Peak, British Columbia, 5.11, first ascent with Lilla Molnar (and proto-twins)
• "The Hard-Boiled Egg Incident", Black Canyon of the Gunnison, 5.11+, first ascent
• "Snaffleophagus", Snafflehound Spire, British Columbia, 5.13-, first ascent team
• "Flight of the Prototype," Colossal, British Columbia, 5.12, first ascent
• "Air Voyage," Black Canyon, 5.12, possibly the first all-female ascent with Heidi Wirtz
• "Concave," Meeker, Rocky Mountains, 5.12R, first free ascent
• "Whirligig," Sad Boulders, Bishop, .11+ roof offwidth boulder problem, first ascent

Altitude:

• Orizaba (18,405 ft., Mexico)
• Routes on Cascades volcanoes, including winter climbs

Films/Media Highlights:

• - Photos in Women of Climbing calendar (2006, 2008), ads, catalogs
• - First Ascent (2006)
• - Return2Sender: Parallelojams (2005)
• - Climbing magazine's Golden Piton award for Yosemite speed climbs, 2005
• - Feature articles in Climbing magazine, Dec. 2004 (author), March 2004
• - Front Range Freaks (2003)
  
• - Reports, authored items and quotes in Rock and Ice, Climbing, Klettern (Germany), Gripped (Canada), shesends, and various climbing websites
• ('First Ascent', 'Return2Sender', and 'Front Range Freaks' are all by Peter Mortimer/Senderfilms, clips at www.bigupproductions.com and www.senderfilms.com)