page_title: Catherine Destivelle
section_title: Notable solo ascents
hierarchical_section_title: Catherine Destivelle / Notable solo ascents
context_page_description: Catherine Monique Suzanne Destivelle is a French rock climber and mountaineer. In 1992 she became the first woman to complete a solo ascent of the Eiger's north face. She completed the climb in winter in 17 hours. Her other notable climbs include the Bonatti Route on the north face of the Matterhorn and the southwest pillar of the Aiguille du Dru. Destivelle has been the subject of several documentaries, including French director Rémy Tezier's, Beyond the Summits, which won the award for best feature-length mountain film at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival.
context_section_description: Destivelle is also one of the few rock climbers who naturally excel at free soloing.
  1985 – El Puro, Mallos de Riglos in Spain
  1987 – Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali
  1989 – Phi Phi Islands in Thailand
  1992 – Devils Tower in Wyoming, Indian Creek in Utah
  1997 – Old Man of Hoy in Orkney Islands, Scotland
caption: The thin shadow of El Puro
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