Miranda Oakley

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Miranda Oakley
Born (1984-06-01) June 1, 1984 (age 41)
Alma materSt. Mary's College
OccupationRock climber
Known forCo-founding 'Climbers with Palestine'

Miranda Oakley (born June 1, 1984) is an American rock climber and the first woman to rope-solo the big-wall climbing route known as The Nose on El Capitan, in a single day. She has also been involved as an activist and is the co-founder of 'Climbers with Palestine'.

Contents

Early career and education

Miranda Oakley grew up in Kensington, Maryland. [1] Her parents were a Palestinian immigrant and an American music teacher, both peace activists. [2] Her mother took her to meetings of a Palestinian aid organization from an early age. [2] She attended a Quaker-run middle school. [2] In 1999, she and her younger brother were taken rock climbing in Rockville, and she soon joined the climbing club and the competition climbing team. [2] She learned to boulder and top-rope, reaching a difficulty level of 5.10  (1). [2]

When she moved away from home to attend St. Mary's College of Maryland she began free climbing and made trips to local crags. [2] Later, she founded a school-accredited climbing course and began teaching others how to climb. [2] In 2005, she studied European politics for six months in Granada, Spain, where she also further developed her climbing skills. [3] In 2006, she received a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from St. Mary's College. [4]

Climbing career

After graduating, Oakley began working as a dishwasher at a hostel near Yosemite National Park to focus on big wall climbing. [2] Later, she became a climbing instructor at Yosemite National Park. [5] In 2008, she and a colleague climbed the Incredible Hulk in the Sierra Nevada via the 12-pitch Red Dihedral route. [2] That same year, she climbed the 16-pitch Royal Arches Route in a group of five climbers. [2] In 2021, she led climbing groups on the Royal Arches Route. [2] In 2013, she traveled to El Chaltén, Argentina, where she and other climbers made the first ascent of the 400-meter-long big-wall route, Wormhole Theory, on the Aguja de l'S. [2]

The Nose in Yosemite The Nose El Capitan Yosemite.jpg
The Nose in Yosemite

She has climbed El Capitan via several routes. [2] She has climbed The Nose route more than ten times, [6] mostly with other climbing partners. In 2015, she made her first rope solo ascent of The Nose, which she did in 26 hours. [6] In 2016, she rope-soloed The Nose route in just 22 hours, becoming the first-ever woman to rope-solo the summit in less than 24 hours. [2]

Activism

In 2017, Oakley traveled to Ramallah in the West Bank, for the first time, to climb after learning that two colleagues were establishing a climbing community there. [5] In March 2024, Oakley, along with a Jewish climber, founded 'Climbers with Palestine', which planted a Palestinian flag in Joshua Tree National Park, [7] and a 'Stop the Genocide' banner on El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park in June. [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Girls on Granite: Climbing Classes in the Sierra Specifically for Women". Men's Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Kalman, Chris (September 20, 2021). "The Nose Alone, Patagonian Walls, and Hard Trad: Profile of Miranda Oakley". Climbing.
  3. ↑ Gogorza, Óscar (March 28, 2022). "'Escalar es una forma de arte'". El País.
  4. ↑ "Miranda Oakley". Miranda Oakley. Archived from the original on 2025-06-14. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  5. 1 2 "Miranda Oakley: Climber Extraordinaire". imeu.org. Archived from the original on 2025-07-18. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  6. 1 2 Kalman, Chris (August 12, 2016). "Miranda Oakley Becomes First Female to Solo the Nose In a Day". Archived from the original on September 16, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Climbers Hang "Stop the Genocide" Banner off Yosemite's El Capitan". June 18, 2024. Archived from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  8. ↑ Valentino, Silas. "Yosemite climbers hang 'Stop the Genocide' banner from El Capitan". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
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