Steph Davis

Stephanie "Steph" Davis (born November 4, 1973) is an American rock climber, BASE jumper, and wingsuit Flyer.

She is one of the world's leading climbers, having completed some of the hardest routes in the world.

She has free soloed up to, and was the first woman to summit all the peaks of the Fitzroy Range in Patagonia, the second woman to free climb El Capitan in a day, the first woman to free climb the Salathė Wall on El Capitan, the first woman to free solo The Diamond on Longs Peak in Colorado, and the first woman to summit Torre Egger.

Davis was married to fellow climbers and BASE jumpers Dean Potter and Mario Richard (both of whom died wingsuiting), and currently to sky-diving instructor, Flyer, and jumper Ian Mitchard.

Davis is also a blogger who writes about her interests in climbing, BASE jumping, yoga, and veganism.

Davis was born in Illinois and grew up in New Jersey and Columbia, Maryland.

Her father, Virgil, was an aeronautical engineer and her mother, Connie, a school teacher.

Davis describes herself as an unathletic child; she was a straight-A student and very musical.

She grew up playing the piano from the age of three using the Suzuki method.

By the time she was 18, she practiced six hours a day; she also played the flute and sang.

In the documentary A Perfect Circle, Davis said that she learned "discipline" and "how to project things" from her 15 years of playing the piano.

Her own self-description has been mirrored by others.

In one Outside profile, for example, her "greatest assets" are described as "sheer will and a brainy, methodical work ethic" rather than "natural athletic talent and flawless technique".

In 1990, she attended the University of Maryland, becoming an English major.

In the spring of 1991, a fellow student offered to take her climbing, and she fell in love with it.

She describes herself as "lit up" after climbing for the first time; she did not have this same love for piano, so she quit.

Ever since then, she has "had a hard time wanting to do anything else".

She says that "climbing was challenging for me from day one, and I think that's why I got so sucked in."

In her breaks from school, Davis climbed on Longs Peak and bouldered in Hueco Tanks.

She enjoyed climbing so much that she moved to Colorado, where she was an exchange student at Colorado State University (CSU) for a year.

She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and then moved to Colorado and attended CSU to get a master's degree in English.

Her thesis focused on the canon of mountaineering literature and "the ways in which reality can be so disparate and shifting for each individual who is living through extreme circumstances", as Davis describes it.

She considered attending doctoral programs in English, but decided against it.

She attended University of Colorado's law school beginning in September 1995, but quit after five days, knowing it was not the life for her.

Against the will of her parents, she decided to pursue her passion for climbing.

Davis' mother, Connie, said "It was a big shock. We were just a regular family—climbing wasn't something we could relate to. She did it by herself, with no help from us."

Davis was married to fellow climbers and BASE jumpers Dean Potter and Mario Richard (both of whom died wingsuiting), and currently to sky-diving instructor, Flyer, and jumper Ian Mitchard.

Davis is also a blogger who writes about her interests in climbing, BASE jumping, yoga, and veganism.

For the seven years after she graduated from college, Davis lived out of her car, which at first was her grandmother's Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera; she even built a bed in the backseat.

She drove around to climbing areas, guiding and waiting tables to make ends meet, earning only about US$6,000 a year.

She read throughout her journeys, from novels by Gabriel García Márquez to an autobiography by Kirstie Alley, to French short stories in the original language.

Some of her favorite authors are T.C. Boyle, Victor Villasenor, and Rumi.

Among her climbing heroes is Layton Kor.

Her parents continued to disapprove of her lifestyle, however, and she felt very alone: "My parents did not like my choices and thought I was doing stupid things with my life, and they told me so. I didn't feel like anyone cared if I did a climb I was proud of. They were just like, 'Great. What about your future schooling?'" As Davis became more well-known and successful at climbing, however, she was able to make a better living, particularly from sponsorships from major companies such as Patagonia, Five Ten, Clif Bar, and Black Diamond.

In 1998, Patagonia hired Davis as its first female "climbing ambassador".

In exchange for money and free gear, she promoted their products.

For Davis, it was the "validation she craved"; "it was like they were playing the role my parents never did. Their support of my passion even more than the financial support means everything to me."

However, being a paid promoter meant that Davis had to adjust her ideas of climbing.

"To be a professional climber, you have to sell yourself and convince everybody you're the best. But I don't think there is a 'best'".

In 2004, Davis started working on Freerider (5.12d), a 38-pitch climb on El Capitan.