[3] She described herself as a "tomboy" in high school, where she initially focused on athletics and gymnastics, however, in her junior year, a boyfriend introduced her to climbing and bouldering.
[4] In June 2002, Rands became the first American female climber to win a stage of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup, when she placed first at Lecco, Italy, beating Corine Theroux, and Sandrine Levet.
[14][15] Rand was also featured bouldering in the 2002 climbing film, Dosage Volume 1 (2002), where she discusses her preference for "big guy problems" (e.g. committing intimidating lines with powerful moves).
[17] In 2006 and 2007, Rands made trips to Rocklands, South Africa, where she put up new boulder problems such as Pinotage SDS, Lisa's Arete, and Backbone at V10 (7C+), and did the FFA of classic routes such as Fred Nicole's Nutsa V11 (8A).
[24][25] In October 2004, she became the first female to climb an E8-graded traditional route,[26] when she ascended Johnny Dawes' famous British gritstone test-piece (featured in Hard Grit 1998), The End of the Affair (E8 6c), at Curbar Edge.
[32] Rands also extended into big wall climbing, and in 2005, made a fast all-free ascent of the 20 pitch 727-metre grade IV, 5.10+ route Chiaro di Luna, on the northwest face of Aguja Saint Exupery in Patagonia.
[23][33] She has also put up new traditional multi-pitch alpine routes with big wall climbing legend Peter Croft, such as Gargoyle (5.11b), and Flying Buttress (5.11a) in 2011 on Merriam Peak.
[3] In 2010, the duo climbed the 10 pitch 364-metre grade IV, 5.12d+ route The Venturi Effect on The Incredible Hulk granite wall in the High Sierras,[34] which was captured in the film, Reel Rock 5 (2010).