Women have been climbing in Britain and the Alps for as long as men have, but for a long time the main clubs would not let them in. So they started their own.
Early pioneers
Lucy Walker, who lived in Liverpool, took up walking in 1858 on a doctor’s advice, as a cure for rheumatism. She went on to make first female ascents of 16 summits, including the Eiger, Monte Rosa, the Strahlhorn and the Grand Combin. She was refused membership of the all male Alpine Club, even though Edward Whymper argued that no one had put forward stronger qualifications.
Many other determined women, such as Katy Richardson, played a part in major Alpine ascents in the nineteenth century. They were barred from membership of the early clubs.
The Ladies’ Alpine Club
The Ladies’ Alpine Club was founded in 1907, with Elizabeth Le Blond elected its first president. Some members of the Alpine Club looked down on it. The Alpine Club did not admit women until nearly seven decades later.
The Pinnacle Club
In 1921, after the First World War, women founded the Pinnacle Club, the first truly national women’s climbing club. The two founders were Emily (Pat) Kelly and Eleanor (Len) Winthrop Young. Kelly died the following year in a fall on Tryfan.
The club is still women only. Early members included Dorothy Pilley, Nea Morin and Gwen Moffat.
Firsts between the wars
The interwar years are often called the golden years of women’s ascents. In 1921, Dorothy Pilley, Lilian Bray and Trilby Wells became the first all female party to climb the Egginergrat. In 1928, Bray and two other Pinnacle Club members made the first all female traverse of the Cuillin Ridge on Skye. In 1933, Nea Morin’s group made the first female party traverse of the Meije.
Gwen Moffat
Gwen Moffat, a longstanding Pinnacle Club member, became the first female British mountain guide in 1953. Sources give different route names for her first female ascents in the Alps in 1951, so we have left them out.
What this means for you
Many centres now run women only climbing days and courses, and Welsh and Lake District centres have long records of teaching the sport. Our climbing page lists places to try it, and our Snowdonia piece tells the wider story of the mountains.
Sources
- A Woman’s Place is On Top, American Alpine Club
- Leading light, the Victorian woman who blazed a trail for female mountaineers, The Great Outdoors
- Pinnacle Club firsts and notable achievements
- Alpine climbing firsts, Pinnacle Club
- Test your knowledge, women who made climbing history, BMC
This covers climbing and mountaineering only. It does not cover women in surfing, sailing, canoeing or other adventure sports, which would need their own research. Details in the sources vary on some routes and names, so check before quoting.