As good as it gets. Except for the rain. And sharks. Tennis Biscuts are good. Read more about the South Africa 2007 trip here.

On the road? Read more about Bishop 2006 here.

As good as it gets. Read more about the South Africa trip here.

The trip to England in April 2006 was an incredibly ambitious one for Lisa. Not only did she go there hoping for a chance to climb the incredible route Gaia (E8 7a), she also planned to have the death-defying ascent filmed by videographers Josh Lowell and Mike Call who flew to England just for that purpose. Read more about the England trip here.

It was a joy to be back visiting the magical forest around Fontainebleau, south of Paris in March 2006. Read more about the Fontainebleau trip here.

Before accepting an invitation to join an expedition to Patagonia Lisa already knew the area's daunting reputation for thundering wind, rain, and hail. She'd heard tales of committing granite spires with unforgiving steepness, caps of ice and avalanches of rocks. But rising to the challenge, Lisa was determined to test her mental and physical limits in a bid for a summit in this Alpine proving ground. Most of all, she wanted to complete a free ascent of a spire here, climbing all the way from glacier to summit in a quick push. Read more about the Patagonia trip here. HERE

Grit Therapy by Lisa Rands [As printed in Climbing Magazine #244, Dec 2005]

After my gritstone trip last October, my head was strong and I felt able to take on any challenge. I had done some of my best climbing ever on the elegant British “micro-routes.” READ THE GRIT THERAPY ARTICLE HERE HERE

Bring in some of the world's best climbers, video shows, and a live DJ; invite the rest of the world, and mix all together at a bouldering area: What you have is a Petzl "Roc Trip."  Over 500 climbers arrived in Targasonne on the last weekend of May 2004 drawn to the area from all across France and Spain -- and in some cases, much further away. Everyone came to enjoy good weather, a friendly atmosphere and hundreds of great boulder problems. READ MORE ABOUT TARGASONNE HERE

Wind-worn rock domes and piles of golden boulders rise from a gravelly flat desert populated by spiky-leaved yucca "trees." Mounds of monzonitic granite create an otherworldly scene, truly a rocky wonderland. Joshua Tree National Park offers some of the raspiest rock you'll ever touch, but due to its outstanding beauty, the fact that you can climb here at all makes this park one of the most spectacular bouldering destinations in the world.  READ MORE ABOUT JOSHUA TREE HERE

-- By Wills Young

Lisa and I visited Japan at the beginning of October. The trip was arranged around a competition at Pump, a climbing gym in a suburb of Tokyo, owned by Mr. Naoya Naito. Lisa was the guest of honor there. We knew almost nothing about Japan before we went, and only managed to read up a little on the customs and history of the country while on the flight over. We were treated to beautiful blue-sky days for most of out visit. Not that the weather mattered too much, because for the first week didn't get out of Tokyo. READ MORE ABOUT JAPAN HERE

Hueco 2003

Hueco Tanks State Historic Site is in the desert of Western Texas, about 30 miles east of El Paso. With its searing sun, its dust-filled winds, and its cold winter nights, west Texas frequently seems an inhospitable place. El Paso is a tedious sprawling city of dull malls, barred-windowed homes, and long bland roads that stretch into the surrounding desert coughing up chunks of grungy, cookie-cutter amenities. It may be a cheap place to hang but for us climbers there is only one reason to be here: the bouldering.  MORE

Ailefroide in the Barre des Ecrins region of the French alps is an increasingly well-known bouldering destination, and for good reason: Alpine meadows, pine trees, tall jagged peaks, shady terraces to sip café au lait, and hundreds of problems to try, often within a minute's walk of the road. READ MORE ABOUT AILEFROIDE HERE

World Cup 2002

In June, Lisa Rands took first place at the World Cup bouldering comp in Lecco, Italy, becoming the first ever to do so. With her second-place World Cup debut in Birmingham, England, last year, Rands made her presence known in the international arena.  However, her eighth place finish at this year's season-opening World Cup, in Fiera di Primiero, Italy, sent her dashing to a gym in Switzerland to train tricky, technical problems similar to those on the World Cup.  "I think in Fiera I had tunner vision," said Rands.  "If it feels like V10, you're probably doing it wrong.  For Lecco I studied the European-style of route setting." MORE

Switzerland 2002

July 20 2002: While training for the upcoming bouldering comps, Lisa climbs Du Cote de Seshuan (V11), at Magic Wood (Switzerland). This is Lisa's second V11. (See the crux in this video clip!)

England 2002

Lisa learns to trad climb on the venerated gritstone cliffs of England. Her best efforts were a FLASH of a "don't fall" E5/6 called Nosferatu (here's a shot of it, but it's not Lisa), a "headpoint" ascent of Pebble Mill (E5) after top-rope practice (no spotters or pads!), and another ground-up, but third try ascent of the powerful E5, Moon Crack. She has also ticked several E4s including the spectacular Rasp Direct and the heady Moon Walk. For more info on gritstone climbing, click here.