Page 15 - 2019 AMA Summer

The ‘weaker sex’ weren’t deemed capable of carrying heavy rucksacks or managing the difficult psychology of being brave in high places. Fortunately, this narrative has changed and women now benefit from many adventurous female role models and women are actively encouraged to be athletic and brave in the media. As a professional climber I gratefully stand on the shoulders of all the women before me who worked hard to make an adventurous life more accessible to women. That said, there are still some gaps between men and women and the battle for women to find an equal footing in the world of adventure climbing and mountaineering is still ongoing.
I started climbing when I was 7 years old, leading my first trad route when I was 9. This was at a time when climbing was still dominated by men and I remember getting many funny looks at the crag as a kid. When I was eight I started competing and I often ended up being the only female competitor at many of the regional com- petitions. This changed a lot in the time it took me to reach age 16 at which point I enjoyed a lot of healthy competition with other girls my age. I gave up competing at age 17 to concentrate on outdoor climbing, especially trad climbing. Where ever I travelled people were shocked that I climbed so well and this was always ‘as a women’.
I don’t often think a lot about the fact that I am a female climber, I just think of myself as a climber. And I think that is largely to do with the fact that when I climb I lose my
‘self’ so to speak. The rock doesn’t know or care whether I am a woman or a man, neither do the trees nor the rivers and this, is in part the beauty of the outdoors. However it is still worth thinking about
‘It is still worth thinking about how we can empower more women to participate in climbing and take a more active role within the outdoor community’
how we can empower more women to participate in climbing and take a more active role within the outdoor community. I also think it’s respectful to understand the
stories of women who had to struggle to get us where we are today.
The first documented ascent of a mountain was Mount Ventoux in 1336 by the Italian poet Petrarch, the first recorded female ascent wasn’t until 1799, when the mysterious Miss Parminter climbed “on” Le Buet in the French Alps. This gap in performance between men and women remained a common thread in the history of climbing for a long time.
However, during the infancy of modern mountaineering this gap closed at an exponential rate largely as a by-product of social progression in gender equality. When women were finally allowed and later encouraged to climb, they proved themselves to be very capable. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz on 14 July 1865. It was only 6 years later, that Lucy Walker, rumoured to have lived on sponge cake and sparkling wine, became the first woman to summit the Matterhorn, in 1871.
The 20th century arrived and the idea that women could be athletes and adventurers grew alongside their malaise concerning political power. With more women in higher education, sport flourished at women’s colleges where exercise was deemed important for study. A small number of women competed in the 1908 London Olympics. Climbing and moun- taineering were fringe sports however and therefore women were much less likely to
Photo: Jon Griffiths
Photo: Jon Griffiths
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 15