Catherine Destivelle

A Legend in Her Own Time

“I always follow my instincts and they rarely let me down. ” Is it instinct alone that brought her this far this fast, with many dazzling successes and the good sense to abandon the occasional project?

Catherine Destivelle was born and raised in Paris and was introduced to climbing at a young age in the Forêt de Fontainebleau on the outskirts of the city. By the time she was 15 she could climb the toughest rocks. At 17 she was spending her weekends scaling the highest peaks in the Alps. Around the age of 20, she settled down to a career as a physiotherapist, but after five years the lure of the mountains proved too much and she started competing in international climbing competitions. From 1985 to 1988 she was considered the world’s best woman climber. In 1990 she made her mountaineering comeback with a series of incredible climbs, including solo winter ascents of the three most legendary Alpine walls – the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn – making her the outstanding female climber of all time. In 2020, Catherine Destivelle was awarded the Piolet d’Or Carrière for her lifetime achievements and contributions to the world of mountaineering. She is the first woman to be honoured with this award.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

  • In 1990 she free-climbed with Jeff Lowe the Yougouslaves route on the Nameless Tower at Trango Towers in the Karakoram, Pakistan and then solo climbed the Bonatti Pillar at Les Drus in 4 hours.
  • June 1991, she opened a new route up the famous west face of the Drus, during a remarkable 11-day solo-climb.
  • August 1992, attempt with Jeff Lowe of the North ridge of Latok I (Karakoram, Pakistan), a route still unbeaten to this day.
  • In March 1992, she climbed the legendary north face of the Eiger solo in winter in 17 hours via the Heckmair route, without any prior scouting (on sight). In summer 1993, in the company of Erik Decamp, she attempted an alpine-style ascent of the west pillar of Makalu (8481 metres).
  • March 1994, first repetition of the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn, a winter solo ascent; In 1994, with Erik Decamp, repeat of the Kurtyka-Loretan-Troillet route on the south face of Shishapangma, 8013 metres, in Tibet.
  • In 1996, first ascent with Érik Decamp of the "unnamed" Peak 4111 (4,160 m) in the Ellsworth Range in Antarctica. An accident forced her to return early from this expedition.
  • In June 1999, Catherine made a solo ascent of the Brandler-Hasse route on the north face of Cima Grande in the Dolomites. Catherine was once again the first woman to make this solo ascent.
  • She is still to this day the only woman to have soloed the Grandes Jorasses, the Matterhorn and the north face of the Eiger.