Catherine Destivelle, born on July 24, 1960, in Oran, Algeria, is a French climber and mountaineer. In 2020, she received a Lifetime Achievement Piolet d'Or for her achievements and contributions to the world of mountaineering.
Introduced to climbing at a very young age, she had already climbed the most difficult routes in the French Alps by the age of twenty. By the end of the 1980s, she had become one of the world's best climbers, amassing records, trophies, and honorary distinctions. The 1990s marked a turning point towards mountaineering, as she participated in expeditions to the Himalayas and became the first woman to climb the three major north faces of the Alps solo in winter. Highly popular, she has been the subject of numerous news reports and documentaries.
Catherine Destivelle grew up in Paris and was introduced to climbing at a very young age in the Fontainebleau forest. At 15, she could climb the toughest rocks. At 17, she spent her weekends scaling 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 climber in the world. In 1990, she returned to mountaineering with a series of incredible ascents, including solo winter climbs of the three most legendary Alpine faces—the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses, and the Matterhorn—making her the greatest climber of all time.
Among her notable achievements: in 1990, she climbed the Nameless Tower in Pakistan and soloed the Bonatti Pillar on the Drus. In June 1991, she established a new route on the famous west face of the Drus during a remarkable 11-day solo ascent. On March 10, 1992, she completed a 17-hour solo ascent of the Eiger's north face (3,970 meters) in the Bernese Oberland, a legendary rock face considered the deadliest in the Alps. Later that same year, she attempted the immense Latok in Pakistan. In 1993, she made the first winter solo ascent of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses and attempted the west pillar of Makalu in Nepal. In 1994, she completed a winter solo ascent of the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn.
In 1995, she climbed the southwest face of Shishapangma in Tibet and attempted the south face of Annapurna. 1996 marked a pause in her climbing 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 once again the first woman to complete this solo ascent, which took her two days.
In 2020, Catherine Destivelle was awarded the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifetime achievements and contributions to the world of mountaineering. She is the first woman to be honored with this prize. Today, in addition to her mountaineering activities, she is a lecturer and director of Éditions du Mont-Blanc.
