Jacinda Hunter

Wonder Woman

Age: 32
Current town: Spanish Fork, Utah
In it: Climbed for a year at 18 then mostly stopped to have kids. Back for about 4.5 years.
Proudest send: Fantasy Island (5.14b, FA), American Fork Canyon, Utah— took me so damn long!
Sponsors: La Sportiva, prAna, Maxim Ropes

Though she describes herself as “a mother with a job and a hobby,” most of her fans in the climbing community would describe her as one of the frontrunners for being the strongest female climber out there. Her FA of Fantasy Island (5.14b) in American Fork Canyon, Utah, secured her status as a bona fide 5.14 climber, among the likes of Emily Harrington and Beth Rodden. With four kids and a full-time job as a nurse, Hunter relies on her husband, Mike, to help with her carefully orchestrated schedule, which involves getting up pre-dawn to tackle her projects. “An old friend of mine… took me down to the Virgin River Gorge, where I met my now-husband, walking down the trail as I struggled to toprope my first 5.9. I fell in love with him and climbing pretty fast.”

What’s it like having four kids, being a full-time nurse, and a kick-ass climber?
Sink or swim is how I see it. It’s probably a life most people wouldn’t find too appealing. There’s just not a lot of time to stop and take a deep breath. It’s always hard to find time to train or climb outside. As my kids get older, we become increasingly busy. My oldest son, Kaden, 12, plays cello, trail runs, and runs on a cross-country team, as well as skis. His younger brother, Kyler, 10, plays soccer, runs, and takes art lessons. My two daughters, Jayne, 7, and Olivia, 5, take ballet, and one plays soccer as well. There is always a lesson or game to go to. We juggle everything and try to make it all work. That said, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. The time I do get to spend climbing I really enjoy, and watching my kids find their own passions is AWESOME!

Do any of your kids climb?
They all like climbing to certain degrees, and we climb together at the gym a lot. My girls like trying to keep up with their brothers when it comes to pullups. It’s pretty dang cute to see Jayne count off eight. We try not to push it on them; I just want them to live active lifestyles whether they climb or not. The girls have really seemed to take to the sport, though.

How did you get into climbing?
From the start, I have enjoyed pushing my limits in climbing. I never felt I had to climb the grades like a ladder. I climbed 5.11b, then 12a, then 13a, then 13d/14a, then 14b. I still have yet to redpoint 12b outside—I’ve been working on filling in the gaps. My approach to climbing was widely criticized. Some people seem to be skeptics and negative when someone wants to try a route or boulder problem several grades harder than their hardest redpoint. It’s as if people have a sense of entitlement as to whether a person is “worthy” to try a route or not. I always got on harder routes than I thought I could do, mostly out of curiosity, and that small voice in my head thought, “Just maybe...” I see this more and more with the young kids coming out of the gym to climb outside for the first time and getting on the hardest route at a crag, and I think it’s great!

Craziest thing you’ve ever seen as a nurse?
A wound that gushed yellow puss like a faucet had been turned on when I pulled out the packing. I haven’t been able to eat scrambled eggs since. I don’t handle bodily fluids well; it’s amazing I even became a nurse. I have come very close to passing out several times.

Describe a typical day in the life of Jacinda Hunter.
Right now, I have been working extra hours, so I pretty much go to work, catch the tail end of a soccer game, come home, feed the family, get homework done, put the kids to bed, and wish I had been able to get into the gym. Maybe tomorrow.