Miriam O'Brien Underhill
Encyclopedia
Miriam O'Brien Underhill (1898 - 1976) was an American mountaineer
, environmentalist
and feminist
, best known for the concept of "manless climbing" - organizing all-women's ascents of challenging climbs, mostly in the Alps
.
on July 22, 1898. Her father was a newspaper editor and government official, and her mother was a physician. With her parents, she first visited the Alps in 1914, and completed an introductory climb near Chamonix
. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Bryn Mawr College
in 1920, and a master's degree in psychology from the same university in 1921. She visited the Alps during several summers after World War I
, and dabbled with mountaineering. She studied physics at Johns Hopkins University
from 1923 to 1925. She was an active member of the Appalachian Mountain Club
her entire adult life.
on Torre Grande in the Dolomites
by a route now known as the "Via Miriam" in her honor. She also completed the first ascent of the Aiguille de Roc near Mont Blanc
.
On August 4, 1928 O'Brien, accompanied by Robert L. M. Underhill
and guides Armand Charlet and G. Cachat, completed the first ascent
of the traverse from the Aiguilles du Diable to Mont Blanc du Tacul
in the Alps
. This route involves "climbing five outstanding summits over 4000 meters in superb surroundings."
In 1929, she completed a climb of the Aiguille du Grépon
with French climber Alice Damesme. This achievement by two women led mountaineer Étienne Bruhl to complain "The Grépon has disappeared. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb".
On September 3, 1930, she climbed the most difficult route on the Finsteraarhorn
, the north-east face, with guides A. and F. Rubi. This peak is the highest in the Bernese Alps
. Her climb was the third ascent, and the route had only been climbed twice in the preceding 24 years.
In 1931, she climbed the Mönch
and the Jungfrau
in the Bernese Alps with Micheline Morin.
In 1932, she completed the first all-women's ascent of the Matterhorn
with Alice Damesme.
She married mountaineer and Harvard professor Robert L. M. Underhill in 1932. They had two sons, born in 1936 and 1939.
After World War II
, she climbed with her husband in the Wind River Range
of Wyoming, the Mission
, Swan
and Beartooth
ranges of Montana, and the Sawtooth
range of Idaho.
She climbed the Matterhorn for her third and final time in 1952.
She, along with her husband, were charter members of the Four Thousand Foot Club
, a section of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The only membership requirement was climbing all 48 four thousand foot peaks of the White Mountains
of New Hampshire. They were the first to climb all 48 of those peaks in the winter, completing the quest with their ascent of Mount Washington
on December 31, 1960.
in 1934. This essay, or excerpts from it, has been republished in several compendia of mountaineering literature. In this essay, she explained her mountaineering philosophy this way: "Very early, I realized that the person who invariably climbs behind a good leader...may never really learn mountaineering at all and in any case enjoys only part of the varied delights and rewards of climbing." She went on to say, "I did realize that if women were really to lead, that is, to take the entire responsibility for the climb, there couldn't be any man at all in the party."
Her autobiography, Give Me the Hills, was published in London by Methuen Publishing in 1956. It was republished in the United States in 1971.
She edited Appalachia
, the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club, from 1956 - 1961, and also in 1968.
"to a person who, in the opinion of the selection committee, has demonstrated the highest level of skill in the mountaineering arts and who, through the application of this skill, courage, and perseverance, has achieved outstanding success in the various fields of mountaineering endeavor."
Miriam Peak in the Wind River Range of Wyoming is named after her.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, best known for the concept of "manless climbing" - organizing all-women's ascents of challenging climbs, mostly in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
Early life
Miriam Eliot O'Brien was born in Forest Glen, MarylandForest Glen, Maryland
Forest Glen is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The community hosts a U.S. Army installation, the Forest Glen Annex.-Geography:...
on July 22, 1898. Her father was a newspaper editor and government official, and her mother was a physician. With her parents, she first visited the Alps in 1914, and completed an introductory climb near Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in 1920, and a master's degree in psychology from the same university in 1921. She visited the Alps during several summers after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and dabbled with mountaineering. She studied physics at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
from 1923 to 1925. She was an active member of the Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
her entire adult life.
Mountaineering
Miriam O'Brien began serious rock climbing in the Alps in May 1926, completing a first ascentFirst ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
on Torre Grande in the Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
by a route now known as the "Via Miriam" in her honor. She also completed the first ascent of the Aiguille de Roc near Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
.
On August 4, 1928 O'Brien, accompanied by Robert L. M. Underhill
Robert L. M. Underhill
Robert Lindley Murray Underhill was an American mountaineer best known for introducing modern Alpine style rope and belaying techniques to the U.S. climbing community in the late 1920s and early 1930s....
and guides Armand Charlet and G. Cachat, completed the first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of the traverse from the Aiguilles du Diable to Mont Blanc du Tacul
Mont Blanc du Tacul
Mont Blanc du Tacul is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc....
in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. This route involves "climbing five outstanding summits over 4000 meters in superb surroundings."
In 1929, she completed a climb of the Aiguille du Grépon
Mont Blanc Massif
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
with French climber Alice Damesme. This achievement by two women led mountaineer Étienne Bruhl to complain "The Grépon has disappeared. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb".
On September 3, 1930, she climbed the most difficult route on the Finsteraarhorn
Finsteraarhorn
The Finsteraarhorn is the highest mountain in the Bernese Alps and the highest mountain in the canton of Berne. It is also the highest summit in the Alps lying outside the main chain, or watershed. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth highest and third most prominent peak in the Alps...
, the north-east face, with guides A. and F. Rubi. This peak is the highest in the Bernese Alps
Bernese Alps
The Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Fribourg and...
. Her climb was the third ascent, and the route had only been climbed twice in the preceding 24 years.
In 1931, she climbed the Mönch
Mönch
The Mönch is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away....
and the Jungfrau
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps, situated between the cantons of Valais and Bern in Switzerland...
in the Bernese Alps with Micheline Morin.
In 1932, she completed the first all-women's ascent of the Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
with Alice Damesme.
She married mountaineer and Harvard professor Robert L. M. Underhill in 1932. They had two sons, born in 1936 and 1939.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she climbed with her husband in the Wind River Range
Wind River Range
The Wind River Range , is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW-SE for approximately 100 miles . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Gannett Peak, which at 13,804 feet , is the highest peak...
of Wyoming, the Mission
Mission Mountains
The Mission Mountains or Mission Range are a range of the Rocky Mountains located in northwestern Montana in the United States. They lie chiefly in Lake County and Missoula County and are south and east of Flathead Lake and west of the Swan Range...
, Swan
Swan Range
The Swan Range is a mountain range in western Montana in the United States . Its peaks typically rise to around . The range is bounded by the South Fork Flathead River to the east, the Flathead River to the north and northwest, the Swan River to the west, and lie to the southwest of Glacier...
and Beartooth
Beartooth Mountains
The Beartooth Mountains are located in south central Montana and northwest Wyoming, U.S. and are part of the 900,000 acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, within Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests. The Beartooths are the location of Granite Peak, which at 12,807 feet is the highest...
ranges of Montana, and the Sawtooth
Sawtooth Range (Idaho)
The Sawtooth Range is part of the Rocky Mountains, located within a few miles south of Stanley, Idaho, in the Western United States. Much of mountain range is within the Sawtooth Wilderness, part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area...
range of Idaho.
She climbed the Matterhorn for her third and final time in 1952.
She, along with her husband, were charter members of the Four Thousand Foot Club
Four-thousand footers
The term Four-Thousand Footers refers to a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet above sea level...
, a section of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The only membership requirement was climbing all 48 four thousand foot peaks of the White Mountains
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
of New Hampshire. They were the first to climb all 48 of those peaks in the winter, completing the quest with their ascent of Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
on December 31, 1960.
Writer and editor
She wrote an essay titled Manless Alpine Climbing: The First Woman to Scale the Grépon, the Matterhorn and Other Famous Peaks Without Masculine Support, which was published by the National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
in 1934. This essay, or excerpts from it, has been republished in several compendia of mountaineering literature. In this essay, she explained her mountaineering philosophy this way: "Very early, I realized that the person who invariably climbs behind a good leader...may never really learn mountaineering at all and in any case enjoys only part of the varied delights and rewards of climbing." She went on to say, "I did realize that if women were really to lead, that is, to take the entire responsibility for the climb, there couldn't be any man at all in the party."
Her autobiography, Give Me the Hills, was published in London by Methuen Publishing in 1956. It was republished in the United States in 1971.
She edited Appalachia
Appalachia (disambiguation)
Appalachia can refer to:*Appalachia, a cultural region associated with the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States*Appalachia , a Mesozoic-era island*Appalachia, Virginia, a town in the U.S...
, the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club, from 1956 - 1961, and also in 1968.
Legacy
The Robert and Miriam Underhill Award is given annually by the American Alpine ClubAmerican Alpine Club
The American Alpine Club, or AAC, was founded in 1902 by Charles Ernest Fay, and is the leading national organization in the United States devoted to mountaineering, climbing, and the multitude of issues facing climbers...
"to a person who, in the opinion of the selection committee, has demonstrated the highest level of skill in the mountaineering arts and who, through the application of this skill, courage, and perseverance, has achieved outstanding success in the various fields of mountaineering endeavor."
Miriam Peak in the Wind River Range of Wyoming is named after her.