It has the unconditional support of sponsors such as Trangoworld, the French ski resort Saint-Lary, the mountain services company Altiservice, Laboratoires le Stum and, as it could not be otherwise, the Provincial Council of Huesca.
Do you want to know Cecilia better?
Yumping.- Sports technician of rock climbing and ravines with the great luck of making a living What you like most: climbing. Has it cost you a lot to get where you are?
Cecilia Buil.- I've been around all my life, actually, so it has cost me permanent dedication for many years. But I wasn't looking for that, but rather I was looking to make a living from the mountains, although not from climbing exactly, but the years and my career have taken me there.
Y.- In 1996 you prepared your first ascent to El Capitan, in the Yosemite mountain, so topical due to the recent conquest of Dawn
C.B.- Wall by Americans Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson. What was that feeling like?
The first time I climbed I had little idea what a big wall was, I had rock climbed, I had experience on long walls... but not in sleeping on a wall!
It was an adventure, it took us longer than we expected, we were surprised by a storm, we ran out of food... The most curious thing is that we reached the top on my birthday, so it was very special.
Y.- There are not many women who dedicate themselves to this profession, although there are more and more little by little. What was it like to start in a "men's sport"?
C.B.- Well... between men! (laughs) I don't feel uncomfortable around boys because I am the only sister of 4 brothers and the only cousin among many cousins in the family.
I didn't feel uncomfortable but I understand that it can put many girls back when starting out, especially because later on you don't notice that there is discrimination, just as it can happen in other predominantly male sports.
I also started with a brother who climbed and had no problem with me going with him. It can cut you off from the situation, but it can also help and it helped me a lot.
And.- How did you know that the mountains were yours?
C.B.- I realized it when I was 17-18 years old and it was because I saw that I was very comfortable, happy, it fulfilled me and it was where I felt best.
Y.- You have climbed walls, like the Giant's, in Mexico, on which you have hung for up to 15 days. How do you deal with sleeping so many meters high?
C.B.- You sleep very well because you are very tired (laughs). Keep in mind that it means spending 24 hours on the rock, there are always things to do... so at night you sleep very well. It is a small but comfortable hammock and I sleep perfectly, you don't see the emptiness, it isolates you a lot from the world and at the end of the day you feel like lying down that you don't see (laughs).
I don't remember being especially scared the first time, although we didn't know very well how to set up the hammock, it fell into the night, it took us 2 hours to set it up... a disaster! But I remember a lot of excitement when I woke up the next morning: I loved it. So much so that after 4 nights I wanted to repeat. El Capitan, in Yosemite, was my school.
And.- In situations like this, in which you have even been alone on the wall, have you never considered why you dedicate yourself to it?
C.B.- Yes, I have considered it, but I haven't for a long time. It's like asking a person why they like the color orange, because they like it. The fact is that I am very happy.
And.- What is needed to be able to mount an expedition of such magnitude?
C.B.-You need money and, if you have it, fantastic, but if not you have to rely on sponsors, which is my case. You also need people, there are people who do it alone but I prefer to go with colleagues. You have to look at logistical things, which also vary from one place to another. For example, the logistics to go to El Capitan are minimal, but to go to Pakistan or Greenland you have to fill out a lot of paperwork.
There are expenses in equipment, materials, food, travel... Fortunately I am lucky to have sponsors
Y.- You climbed the largest cliff in the world in 2003, in Greenland. What sensations did you experience during such a feat?
C.B.- Especially being in an amazing place. It was an expedition that we arrived on after a 3-day kayak approach and the sensations experienced are incredible: surrounded by fjords, seeing seals, whales, animals of all kinds, icebergs... amazing.
That has enormous dimensions and what you feel is being in a remote place, with a feeling of freedom and at a certain point of conquest or exploration, because no one has gone up there and after what it has cost you to get there, to get the money... is a gift.
It is a very special place, it is nature in its purest state, very wild. It compensates me. Being in a wild and remote nature makes you reflect on the meaning of life, the daily life of the world we live in and due to the austerity of those trips, where you only climb, eat and sleep... you enjoy things in a different way, you appreciate more the comforts, the small everyday luxuries.
And, on the other hand, life is greatly relativized. It is not that you are between life and death because we know what we are going for and we are prepared, but there are situations in which it depends on you and that makes you realize many things, you learn to give less importance to daily problems.
Y.- There are times when the weather forecasts are not as expected and in the middle of an expedition you are forced to cancel it. What is going through your mind at that moment?
C.B.- Frustration. Above all frustration because you haven't been able to do what you were going to do. But we have already assumed it: in the mountains you have certain conditions in which you can climb and if those conditions are not there, especially on ice, you get frustrated.
When you don't climb due to external factors you feel like you fail, yes, but it is not the same as if you didn't do it because you were afraid or it was too big for you.
If there is bad weather, there is bad weather and we all like to do it and have it turn out well, because you put enthusiasm and time into it, but we have assumed it. When things go well for us, since we also depend on ourselves and the luck of the weather and terrain, you have more of a feeling not only of having done things well, but of having been lucky.
Of course, in places where there is bad weather, they are more difficult to climb, but afterwards you feel more satisfied for having achieved it.
Y.- You have been to Patagonia, sponsors
Y.- You climbed the largest cliff in the world in 2003, in Greenland. What sensations did you experience during such a feat?
C.B.- Especially being in an amazing place. It was an expedition that we arrived on after a 3-day kayak approach and the sensations experienced are incredible: surrounded by fjords, seeing seals, whales, animals of all kinds, icebergs... amazing.
That has enormous dimensions and what you feel is being in a remote place, with a feeling of freedom and at a certain point of conquest or exploration, because no one has gone up there and after what it has cost you to get there, to get the money... is a gift.
It is a very special place, it is nature in its purest state, very wild. It compensates me. Being in a wild and remote nature makes you reflect on the meaning of life, the daily life of the world we live in and due to the austerity of those trips, where you only climb, eat and sleep... you enjoy things in a different way, you appreciate more the comforts, the small everyday luxuries.
And, on the other hand, life is greatly relativized. It is not that you are between life and death because we know what we are going for and we are prepared, but there are situations in which it depends on you and that makes you realize many things, you learn to give less importance to daily problems.
Y.- There are times when the weather forecasts are not as expected and in the middle of an expedition you are forced to cancel it. What is going through your mind at that moment?
C.B.- Frustration. Above all frustration because you haven't been able to do what you were going to do. But we have already assumed it: in the mountains you have certain conditions in which you can climb and if those conditions are not there, especially on ice, you get frustrated.
When you don't climb due to external factors you feel like you fail, yes, but it is not the same as if you didn't do it because you were afraid or it was too big for you.
If there is bad weather, there is bad weather and we all like to do it and have it turn out well, because you put enthusiasm and time into it, but we have assumed it. When things go well for us, since we also depend on ourselves and the luck of the weather and terrain, you have more of a feeling not only of having done things well, but of having been lucky.
Of course, in places where there is bad weather, they are more difficult to climb, but afterwards you feel more satisfied for having achieved it.
Y.- You have been to Patagonia,
