Hill started climbing with 14 years on a climbing trip with her sister and her sister's fiancé. During the early 1980s she became part of the climbing community around centered around the camp four in Yosemite Valley. She participated in various television productions, such as being a candidate in the TV show "Survival of the fittest".
From 1986 to 1992 Lynn Hill was one world's top sport climbers, winning over 30 international titles, including five victories at the Arco Rock Master.
After ending her career as a professional competitive climber, Hill went back to traditional rock climbing. In 1993 she was the first woman, and together with her partner Brooke Sandahl the first person at all to free climb The Nose, a famous route on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. In 1994 she was also the first one to free climb the route in one day.