Miriam O'Brien
| Miriam O'Brien Underhill | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 22, 1898, Forest Glen, Maryland |
| Died | January 7, 1976 (aged 77) Lancaster, New Hampshire |
| Known for | Mountaineering |
Miriam O'Brien Underhill (July 22, 1898 – January 7, 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.
Miriam Eliot O'Brien was born in Forest Glen, Maryland 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.
Miriam O'Brien began serious rock climbing in the Alps in May 1926, completing a first ascent 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".
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