Catherine Destivelle

Biography

Catherine Destivelle, born July 24, 1960 in Oran, is a French climber and mountaineer. Introduced to climbing at a very young age, she had already climbed the most difficult climbing routes in the French Alps by the age of twenty. In the late 1980s, she became one of the world's best climbers and collected records, trophies and honorary distinctions. The 1990s marked a shift towards mountaineering as she took part in expeditions to the Himalayas and was the first woman to climb the three great north faces of the Alps alone in winter. Very popular, she has been the subject of numerous reports and documentary films. Catherine grew up in Paris and was introduced to climbing at a very young age in the Fontainebleau forest. At 15, she could climb the hardest rocks. At 17, she spent her weekends climbing the highest peaks in the Alps. Around the age of 20, she embarked on a career as a physiotherapist, but after five years, the lure of the mountains proved too strong and she began competing in international climbing competitions. From 1985 to 1988, she was considered the best female climber in the world. In 1990, she returned to mountaineering with a series of incredible climbs, including solo winter ascents of the three most legendary Alpine faces - the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn - making her the greatest female climber of all time. Today, in addition to these mountain activities, she is a lecturer and director of Éditions du Mont-Blanc. Notable achievements include: in 1990, she climbed the Nameless Tower in Pakistan and soloed the Bonatti Pillar on Les Drus. In June 1991, she opened a new route on the famous west face of the Drus, during a remarkable solo ascent of 11 days. On March 10, 1992, it took her 17 hours to solo the north face of the Eiger (3970 meters), in the Bernese Oberland, a mythical rock face, considered the deadliest in the Alps. During the same year, she attempted the immense Latok in Pakistan. In 1993, she winter soloed the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses, and attempted the West Pillar of Makalu in Nepal. In 1994, she soloed the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn in winter. In 1995, she climbed the southwest face of Shishapangma in Tibet and attempted the south face of Annapurna. The year 1996 marked a break in her activity, due to an accident in Antarctica, but she recovered very quickly. In early summer 1999, Catherine climbed the direct north face of the Cima Grande di Lavaredo in the Italian Dolomites. Catherine was again the first woman for this solo ascent which took her 2 days. She received a Piolet d'Or in 2020, a distinction for her entire career.