Kathryn Ellis from UoB Climbing and Mountaineering Society shares:
Humans have been roaming the Earth for a good few years now, and during that time have become inventors, leaders and, most importantly, explorers. Ever since the discovery of big rocks and intimidating mountains, men and women have continually been drawn – for some reason – to try and get to the top.
Climbing has become more popularised by the media, through events such as Alex Honnald’s Oscar Winning ‘Free Solo’ and the introduction of climbing to the Olympics. Young women, like myself, find ourselves a little bit lost in an ocean of male testosterone and the climbing ‘stars’ who have a devoted (male dominated) following on social media.
This article aims to give some pointers to famous, strong female climbing figures who have undeservingly been overshadowed by men in the industry.
Famous female figures
The history of strong female climbers is huge and rich with absolutely insane achievements. One of the earliest female accomplishments was in 1838, when Henriette D’Angeville summited Mont Blanc (Switzerland) in a 14-pound outfit consisting of multiple shirts, a petticoat and a feather boa.
Since then, there have been huge leaps and bounds in the field with sends such as Annie Peck, climbing Coropuna (21,079) (Peru, 1911) and waving a banner reading “Women’s Vote” upon summiting. Little did Peck realise that 50 years following, Beverly Johnson and Sibylle Hechtel, having spent seven gruelling days hauling packs that weighed more than both of them, would make the first all-female ascent of El Capitan (El Cap).
The 90’s brought figures such as the absolute machine that is Lynn Hill, who made the first free ascent of El Cap, climbing a famous route up the face called ‘The Nose’ in four days and proceeding to repeat the same climb a year later in under 24 hours. To this day she is known as one of the best female climbers and one of the best climbers in history. No one has been able to repeat her achievement and the two ascents gave way to more open discussion about women in the climbing world.
Around the same time, Catherine Destiville became the first woman to climb the north face of the Eiger (1992), despite major doubts she would, due to her being female. The fact she had a male partner while ascending led to her not being credited properly, so to prove her point, she soloed the north face in under 15 hours. This has yet to be repeated.
Women haven’t just been sending on real rock but also in the increasingly popular indoor climbing scene. Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, the queen of comps, won four world cups in a row during the mid 90s and in 1993 won every competition she entered. Now in her 50s, she still continues to be an absolute legend, sending ‘Philipe Cusinere’ and ‘Thunder Muscle’ in 2017. Alongside her climbing life she has raised a climbing family – her daughter Brooke sending V13 (one of the hardest grades in climbing) at only 16 years old.
In the last 20 years there have been some huge achievements by female climbers across the globe. The insanely strong Sophia Danenberg became the first African American woman to climb Mt Everest in 2006, and despite living away from the media, she continues to smash records and ridiculously hard climbs. Babsi Zangerl is quite possibly the world’s best all-round climber. She was the first woman to complete the Alpine Trilogy and has recently completed El Caps ‘Magic Mushroom’ (2019). Rocking the indoor bouldering scene at the moment is Ashima Shiraishi, who at 13 became the youngest person and second female to climb 9a/9+. She is known globally as the “bouldering phenom”.
The divide between Men and Women is still huge today, with male climbers outnumbering females 2:1. Often it feels intimidating or even embarrassing for a woman to fall off a climb around strong men. The women in this article are only a small sample of those who are fighting the stigma that women are not strong enough. It is so important for female climbers, new or old, to support one another – our achievements should be celebrated and if we fall, we get back up and train harder!
Other women to check out!
- Shauna Coxsey – Currently training for the 2022 Olympics to represent Great Britain.
- Hazel Finley – First female climber to hit E9.
- Lena Herrmann – Germany’s strongest female climber – winning the title of German Champion in 2015.
- Sasha DiGiulian – American climber, feminist and eco-warrior. First woman to ascend ‘Pure Imagination’
Glossary:
First Free Ascent – (FFA) A climbing term for the first time that a route is climbed successfully without aid, rest or practising the hard moves beforehand.
Solo / Soloing – Climbing without ropes or safety.
This article is part of a themed content week celebrating Women in Sport. Thanks to all the teams and societies who have helped make this possible!