15/03/2026
MOTHER'S DAY APPRECIATION POST
This Mother's Day, we want to showcase the amazing achievements of female climbers over the history of climbing who have managed to juggle both the momentous work of being a mother with pushing the sport to its absolute limits.
- Lynn Hill, the first person ever to free climb the Nose in 1993, who immediately surpassed this achievement the following year by completing the previously multi-day excursion in under 24 hours. This monumental accomplishment has been iconically remembered by Hill’s statement of “it goes, boys!” upon her ascent.
- Rachel Briggs, a British coach, climber and developer. She has been outspoken about the effects of pregnancy and being a mother on her ability to get out and climb, and is an ambassador for expanding the sport for women of all ages. This photo is her projecting V11, and she has climbed harder after her pregnancies than before!
- Beth Rodden’s 2008 first ascent of Meltdown in Yosemite. The proposed grade of 5.14c (E11?) made it the hardest pitch in Yosemite, and it remained unrepeated for another 11 years. To this day it is the hardest traditional route established by a woman, and it is a testament to Beth’s unwavering dedication to pushing the limits of what is physically possible.
- Catherine Destivelle’s nail-biting free solo of El Matador on Devil’s Tower in 1992. Originally roped up, Destivelle was forced to untie from her self-belay system when the rope got jammed, which led to this iconic photo from the 1992 film Ballade à Devil’s Tower.
Which of these photos are your favourite?
