A free climber with a maximum strength-to-stature ratio, Katie Lambert has crushed big walls around the globe, from Yosemite and Zion to Picos de Europa and the Cirque of the Unclimbables. Born in Louisiana, Lambert grew up dreaming of climbing hot spots such as Yosemite, the Dolomites, and the Verdon Gorge while she honed her strength and skills. Trading short sport routes for legendary big walls, in 2006 Lambert migrated west to Yosemite National Park and since then has established herself as one of the world’s premier female free climbers

On one of her first Eddie Bauer missions, Lambert linked up with teammates Mason Earle and Ben Ditto to free climb Mt. Proboscis in Canada’s Northwest Territories. While Earle was working on his first free ascent of At Dawn We Ride, Lambert and her husband, Ben Ditto, completed an all-free complete ascent of Women at Work (VI 5.12 R), becoming the second group in history to free-climb Mt. Proboscis in a single day. Since then Lambert has put up free ascents in climbing poster locations from Picos de Europa, Spain, and La Mojarra, Colombia, to the Verdon Gorge of Southern France. She’s also ticked off over 30 first female ascents—ranging from 5.12a to 5.14 in difficulty—in rock epicenters that include Yosemite National Park, the Owens River Gorge, Pine Creek and Colombia. Some other notable climbs include Airstream (5.13, multi- pitch) on The Incredible Hulk), Solar Flare (5.12d 10 pitches) on The Incredible Hulk, The Phantom (5.13R), The first all-female link-up in a day of Astroman and the Rostrum, and the West Face of Leaning Tower (free in a day, 5.13) in Yosemite, Pichenibule in the Verdon Gorge, Murciana 78 (5.13a) on Picu Urriellu, Broken Arrow (5.14) and Top Gun (5.14) in Tuolumne Meadows as well as a free climb of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome (5.12d) in a day.

When she’s not sending big walls or tallying another first, Lambert frequently contributes to Climbing Magazine for her column Out on a Ledge. She also oversees the daily operations of Sacred Rok as their Chief Operating Officer, a non-profit based in Yosemite that gives young people from California’s Central Valley the opportunity to get out into nature. Lambert also runs High Sierra Nutritional Wellness, a nutritional consulting business in Bishop, CA.  Never afraid to speak her mind, Lambert’s off-belay interests include road cycling, weight lifting, yoga, and making sourdough bread when she lands at home in Bishop, CA. She also makes a mean base-camp pizza and can definitely do more hangboard pull-ups than you.