Misty Murphy, location unknown: an interview by Matt Driscoll, January 23, 2010

Transcript (17 pages) of interview by Matt Driscoll with Misty Murphy on January 23, 2010

Murphy (b.1970) grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and currently resides in Saint George with her husband, Bill Ohran. Misty's father started the Ski Jumping Program at Alta, and she was a committed skier before she began climbing at the age of 27. She is also a musician, and discusses the connections she experiences between climbing, music, and dance. She often plays music at climbing events and fundraisers. Misty discusses the development of the climbing community during the past fifteen years with specific commentary on the growing involvement of female climbers. She prefers climbing with women because of the comfortable dynamic between female climbers and their shared understanding of the different way women tend to move on rock. Misty maintains an active blog spot about climbing, which gained publicity from Rock and Ice Magazine for its playful jabs about climbers and the climbing community. She has put up a number of first ascents in the Saint George area, an area she heralds for its year-round climbing and the variety of rock available to climbers. Interview is part of the Outdoor Recreation Oral History Project. Interviewer: Matt Driscol