For Lisa Rands, frustration equals motivation

Lisa Rands, the 25-year-old bouldering diva, knows what she likes in a problem. "There's the 'girl problems,' which tend to be thin, crimpy and the moves may not be very big. I usually prefer the 'guy problems,' the powerful ones, with huge throws, where I can barely span the moves -- for me, that's fun."

After sport, trad and even aid phases, Lisa gave up ropes three years ago. Today she's driven by the boulderer's unmistakable obsession with movement and difficulty. "Being frustrated and motivated on a problem are almost the same thing," she says. "When something's maximum extension, and you don't think you can do it, and you try the move over and over... For me that's the challenge. Suddenly, you hit the move, and it's the best feeling in the world."

In late March, Lisa became the first American woman to climb a problem graded V11, with her ascent of the Chris Sharma testpiece Plain High Drifter, at the Buttermilks, California. A few weeks later, at Horse Flats, California, she missed the desperate deadpoint at the top of The Sword of Damocles (V7), taking a horrifying groundfall from 25 feet. After an hour to calm her frazzled nerves, she sent.

"When I go out bouldering, I'm not thinking, 'I want to be the first woman to do this.' I'm trying to keep up with the guys," Lisa says. "I don't like it when guys assume that because I'm a girl, I'm scared." It's clear that Lisa is more than keeping up -- in fact, she's smoking most men. But her ultimate motivation is more personal.