Lizzie Le Blond Album 6

“Mountaineering from a Woman's Point of View" 1895-1896

 

If Album 4 is the definitive guide to life in St. Moritz, Album 6 is the authoritative guide on how to climb for girls. Lizzie used a number of photos from this album to illustrate “A Girl’s Climbing Lesson” in the magazine Girl’s Realm from September, 1907.  Again, Lizzie was especially vague about discussing her climbing in her autobiography, most likely as it was somewhat of a scandalously masculine hobby for a woman of her class. By founding the Womens Alpine Club, she was able to find a public venue where at least her climbing adventures could be published without imposing too much grief upon her family.

Safari Museum staff cooperates regularly with researchers and writers in Ireland, Britain, and the U.S. who are documenting Lizzie’s life. So far the various researchers have amassed records of Lizzie having undertaken over 200 climbs, including the following first ascents:

 

2 First Ascents in the Alps

2 First Ascents in the Alps by Women

7 First Winter Ascents in the Alps

2 First Descents in the Alps

19 First Ascents in Norway

 

Doctoral candidate Madeline Armstrong, at De Montfort University, at last has unearthed Lizzie's own handwritten list of her climbs.  After seeing the list, another researcher who visited the collection onsite, Coloradan Sallie Greenwood who is writing a biography of climbers including Lizzie, remarked:

"That last climb in 1903---Furggengrat---was a seldom-climbed and difficult ridge on the Matterhorn. Our gal quit at the top of her game."