In reply to Martin Hore:
> I don't think it's possible to over-estimate the significance of Lynn Hill's first free ascent of the Nose. It may be the only occasion when such a significant sporting achievement has been made first by a woman.
Yes, probably.
> Perhaps the equivalent would be if Paula Radcliffe had beaten the mens' world marathon record (it was correctly recognised as a major achievement that she knocked minutes off the womens' record) or if a woman had run the first 4-minute mile.
I'm not sure that's a good comparison. There seems to be a school of thought (and Lynn Hill seems, to some extent, to subscibe to it in the interview) that there is nothing physiologically stopping women climbing as hard as men and, certainly, women's top standards do seem to be closing in on men's. This is not true of running or most other physical sports. So, rather than being an extreme outlier of her time, Hill might be better seen as way ahead of her time, breaking down psychological barriers more significant than merely physical ones - and I think that makes her achievements all the more impressive.