In
1907, Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed became the first president of the
Ladies Alpine Club. She wrote seven books on mountain climbing and over
her lifetime climbed twenty peaks that no one had climbed before. Under
the name Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond she made at least 10 films of alpine
activities in the Engadine Valley of Switzerland. She is probably among the world's first three female film-makers.
"There
is no manlier sport in the world than mountaineering. It is true that
all the sports Englishmen take part in are manly, but mountaineering is
different from others, because it is sport purely for the sake of sport.
There is no question of beating anyone else, as in a race or a game, or
of killing an animal or a bird as in hunting or shooting. A mountaineer
sets his skill and his strength against the difficulty of getting to
the top of a steep peak. Either he conquers the mountain, or it conquers
him. If he fails, he keeps on trying until he succeeds. This teaches
him perseverance, and proves to him that anything is possible if he is
determined to do it."
—Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed (a.k.a. Mrs. Aubrey Le
Blond) from the preface of her book True Tales of Mountain Adventure for Non-climbers Young and Old, 1903.
These photos are incredible!
What must that have been like in 1907 to be a female mountaineer?!
To be in landscapes that maybe no one had ever seen before, climbing
mountains waist deep in snow, all in a corset and skirt no less! Respect to you Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond.
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