Seven Trailblazing Women of the Alps

Many of my fondest childhood memories involve skiing, camping and hiking in the Colorado Rockies. As an adult, my time in the Alps is equally special. There’s something magical about the mountains for me that’s not only refreshing but inspires me to push myself whether it’s heading uphill or down, and there’s nothing like the feeling of achieving a new personal best.

In Chamonix I love staying at Residence Paradis, named in honour of Marie Paradis, the first woman to summit the highest peak in the Alps, Mont Blanc. Luckily, she was the first of many who have conquered the Alps and beyond. So, in their honour, here are seven pioneering women of the Alps – seven literal trailblazers of yesterday and today who have not only climbed to new heights for themselves, but have broken barriers for women everywhere.

Henriette d’Angeville

The French aristocrat Henriette d’Angeville wasn’t the first woman to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Marie Paradis did that 30 years earlier – but Marie did it being carried across some of the difficult sections, and she never climbed again afterwards. For Henriette, conquering Mont Blanc was a lifelong dream which she finally achieved in 1838 at the age of 44. She may have been the second to summit, but she was the first woman to plan and execute her ascent through her own sheer will. Henriette also had the benefit of wealth, which allowed her to collect ample supplies and a team to travel with her. She even had a special pair of climbing pantaloons made, which she wore under her petticoat. As she set off, the men in Chamonix placed bets on which point along the route would be her point of surrender, but she refused to give up or accept assistance, and after several days of climbing she reached the summit and released a homing pigeon to send the news back to base. That was just the start — Henriette continued to climb into her late 60s and actively encouraged other women to take up mountaineering and exploration.

Lucy Walker

In 1864, Lucy Walker became the first woman to climb the Matterhorn. By then, she was used to going where no women had gone before — She had already been the first to summit at least five other Alpine peaks, and went on to claim 10 more first ascents! At home in the UK, Lucy was the model Victorian society lady hosting parties and limiting her physical activity to croquet. Her time in the Alps was another story. From her first trip she wasn’t content to stay home and joined her father and brother on their hiking journeys even though it wasn’t considered a ladylike activity. She regularly climbed for more than 14 hours a day and tackled some of the most difficult summits, at times outperforming the men. She never documented her journeys or sought out attention for it – apparently that would have been ‘most unladylike’. She also maintained a ladylike approach to her climbing by ensuring she was properly dressed in a long skirt and always chaperoned by a family member. Despite this, her summit of the Matterhorn made her famous, and she inspired other women of the day to boldly take on unconventional challenges. Perhaps the best part though is that Lucy made her climbs on a diet of sponge cakes and champagne!! A true lady through and through.

Lizzie LeBlond

Merci for Lizzie Le Blond, founder of the Ladies Alpine Club. Lizzie was born in Ireland and inherited her family estate at the age of 11.  She entered society as a young lady and married at 18, but continued to live mostly on her own. In 1881 at the age of 21, she developed lung problems and moved to Chamonix for a better climate. The pure mountain air helped, and she soon took up mountaineering, conquering peak after peak. Lizzie made over 100 ascents over the next 20 years, taking photographs along the way and publishing stories of her adventures in a stream of books and articles. She even became the first known mountain filmmaker, recording short films of her time in the mountains. A true OG influencer! To encourage others to follow in her footsteps, she founded the Ladies Alpine Club (since women weren’t admitted to ‘The Alpine Club’ back then). Lizzie is seriously awesome for so many reasons but my fave is that she would start her climbs in a long skirt and then promptly hide it under a rock and continue in more appropriate but totally unconventional shorter skirts that barely covered her knees – scandalous! Apparently one time she descended and couldn’t find her ‘proper’ skirt so had to send her guide to the village to fetch one for her, and he came back with her finest evening gown. What a sight that must have been!

Marie Marvingt

French all-rounder Marie Marvingt loved being in the mountains in every season, and seemed to excel at any sport she took on. She climbed most of the mountains of the French and Swiss Alps, and was the first woman to summit several of the peaks, including the iconic 4013-metre-high Dent du Geant (‘giant’s tooth’) which adorns the Chamonix skyline. In winter, she dominated the women’s sport seasons in Chamonix, winning competitions from shooting to skiing to bobsledding. In summer, she set records climbing, swimming and cycling. In 1908 she applied for the Tour de France but was refused entry because the race was only open to men. So, she chose to cycle the course anyway, riding behind the entrants. and successfully completed the race (which only 36 of the 114 male entrants managed to do)! Then World War I broke, so Marie served on the front lines disguised as a man until she was found out, then trained as a surgical nurse and became the world’s first certified flight nurse. For the rest of her long life, she worked for the establishment of global air ambulance services, and many of their advancements are thanks to her. A true hero for France and for women everywhere!

Hillary Gerardi

American-born Hillary Gerardi came to Chamonix for a ski season in 2010, and fifteen years later she’s not left! Now settled in the Cham Valley with French citizenship, Hillary took up running by accident – a skiing accident that had her searching for a ‘safer’ sport (though at her speed, safe isn’t a word I would use!) In 2021, she teamed up with fellow mountaineer Valentine Fabre to set a female first – They took off from Chamonix (at the foot of Mont Blanc) and 26 hrs and 21 mins later arrived in Zermatt (at the foot of the Matterhorn) having skied 100+km along the famous Haute Route, climbing and descending over eight mountain passes along the way – a trip that usually takes experienced ski tourers seven days! If that’s not impressive enough, in 2023 Hillary set off from Chamonix again, this time setting a world record for the fastest ever female ascent of Mont Blanc. Starting at the church in town she flew up the lower trails, changed into her climbing gear and continued another 3500 metres to reach the summit in just 5 hrs 16 mins – and then she made it all the way back down to the church in an astonishing 2 hrs 9 mins!! That’s some pretty serious girlpower!

Adriana Brownlee

London girl Adriana Brownlee is a literal rock star, and she’s still only 24 years old! She began climbing at the age of nine, completing the National Three Peaks Challenge in under 22 hours. She had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro before she turned 18, and then climbed both the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc together in just two and a half days! In 2020 she became the youngest woman to summit K2, and decided she wanted to climb all of the biggies; so she called her university and told them she wasn’t coming back, and then called her parents and told them she wasn’t coming home. She reached her dream summit of Mt Everest in 2021 and last October became the first British woman – and the youngest woman in the world – to have climbed all 14 of the ‘eight-thousanders’ (the mountains over 8000 metres). She now leads others on expeditions and is planning an unclimbed peak as her next personal adventure!

Kirstie Ennis

Florida girl Kirstie Ennis has conquered the highest peak in Europe, and didn’t stop there. To date, she has already conquered six of the ‘Seven Summits’ – the highest peaks on each of the seven continents — and she’s done it all with an amputated leg.  How inspiring is that?!? Kirstie enlisted with the US Marine Corps at the age of 17 and trained in one of the most challenging fields for women. She was serving as arial gunner on her second tour in Afghanistan when her helicopter crashed and she sustained severe shoulder, spine and leg injuries. More than 40 surgeries later, Kirstie’s leg was amputated, but not her spirit. After a gruelling recovery, she changed her focus from serving her country to inspiring others with disabilities. Kirstie became a national champion and Paralympic snowboarder, then began providing adaptive sporting workshops for veterans with disabilities. He newest initiative – Climbing for a Cause – has seen her take on peak after peak, often as the first female above-the-knee amputee to do it. She has had two attempts so far on Everest (her final peak of the Seven Summits), but had to turn back for the safety of her team just 600 feet from the summit. Has that stopped her in her quest? Not even close.

Conclusion

I hope this list of seven trailblazing women of the Alps has inspired you to set big goals – and conquer them! These women are just the start of what is sure to come.