Catherine Destivelle Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Catherine Destivelle
Acting
Biography
Catherine Destivelle, born on July 24, 1960, in Oran, Algeria, is a French climber and mountaineer. In 2020, she received a Lifetime Achievement Piolet d'Or for her achievements and contributions to the world of mountaineering. Introduced to climbing at a very young age, she had already climbed the most difficult routes in the French Alps by the age of twenty. By the end of the 1980s, she had become one of the world's best climbers, amassing records, trophies, and honorary distinctions. The 1990s marked a turning point towards mountaineering, as she participated in expeditions to the Himalayas and became the first woman to climb the three major north faces of the Alps solo in winter. Highly popular, she has been the subject of numerous news reports and documentaries. Catherine Destivelle grew up in Paris and was introduced to climbing at a very young age in the Fontainebleau forest. At 15, she could climb the toughest rocks. At 17, she spent her weekends scaling the highest peaks in the Alps. Around the age of 20, she embarked on a career as a physiotherapist, but after five years, the lure of the mountains proved too strong, and she began competing in international climbing competitions. From 1985 to 1988, she was considered the best climber in the world. In 1990, she returned to mountaineering with a series of incredible ascents, including solo winter climbs of the three most legendary Alpine faces—the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses, and the Matterhorn—making her the greatest climber of all time. Among her notable achievements: in 1990, she climbed the Nameless Tower in Pakistan and soloed the Bonatti Pillar on the Drus. In June 1991, she established a new route on the famous west face of the Drus during a remarkable 11-day solo ascent. On March 10, 1992, she completed a 17-hour solo ascent of the Eiger's north face (3,970 meters) in the Bernese Oberland, a legendary rock face considered the deadliest in the Alps. Later that same year, she attempted the immense Latok in Pakistan. In 1993, she made the first winter solo ascent of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses and attempted the west pillar of Makalu in Nepal. In 1994, she completed a winter solo ascent of the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn. In 1995, she climbed the southwest face of Shishapangma in Tibet and attempted the south face of Annapurna. 1996 marked a pause in her climbing activity due to an accident in Antarctica, but she recovered very quickly. In early summer 1999, Catherine climbed the direct north face of the Cima Grande di Lavaredo in the Italian Dolomites. Catherine was once again the first woman to complete this solo ascent, which took her two days. In 2020, Catherine Destivelle was awarded the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifetime achievements and contributions to the world of mountaineering. She is the first woman to be honored with this prize. Today, in addition to her mountaineering activities, she is a lecturer and director of Éditions du Mont-Blanc.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Explore Mont Blanc
Edlinger, la liberté au bout des doigts
In the 1980s, Patrick Edlinger, nicknamed "Le Blond", painted with the grace of a poet the first chapter in the world history of free climbing. In his hands, marginal exercise has become a real lifestyle, carrying a message of freedom. His famous solos, beyond the proven feat they represent, bear witness to this. Life at Your Fingertips, the first internationally known climbing film, touched and inspired by generations of climbers; Edlinger was one of the meteors that shone light on the cliffs of the world by following the trajectory of a single idea: to be free to live only by "climbing". Yet the man capable of concessions in the face of the necessities of life (competitions, advertisements) and pressure from the media, his public and the desires he aroused.
Les Amants des Drus
Beyond the Summits
Catherine Destivelle is an ambassador for the French Alps and is well known in France and abroad. In Beyond the Summits, viewers will feel like they are climbing up the mountain with her. The film shows three classic Chamonix routes with three different climbing partners. Each partner was chosen because they had a profound impact on her life. The camera captures the magnificent scenery, as well as frank and intimate moments during the ascents ...
Aventure à Bleau
Adventure in Bleau is a documentary about bouldering that takes place in Fontainebleau. Directed by Jean-Paul Janssen in 1980 and produced by Antenne 2, it is part of the series "Les Carnets de l'Aventure" and broadcast on the same television channel. It features different generations of the finest free climbing artists of the time: Patrick Edlinger, Catherine Destivelle, Lucien Bérardini, Jean Pierre Bouvier, and Bertrand Roche 'Zébulon'.
Rock Queen
Catherine Destivelle has deservedly become the most famous female climber in the world. She rose to prominence with historic climbs, such as the free ascent of the Nameless Tower in Pakistan, and solo winter ascents of the classic north faces of the Matterhorn and the Eiger, climbs that have never been repeated by any woman. She also made history in sport climbing by winning the world championship title. In 1997, this time in Scotland, on the iconic Old Man of Hoy route, opened by Bonington, Patey & Baillie, Martin Belderson crowned Destivelle Queen of the Rock. She was four months pregnant when she made this 137-meter ascent, which was not difficult but on tricky rock.
Chamonix - Mont Blanc, Une histoire de conquêtes
En Solo : L'ivresse des sommets
Verdon - The Show Must Go On
Documentary on climbing in the famous Verdon gorges, a mecca for world climbing. From Bernard Vaucher to Catherine Destivelle, from Bernard Gorgeon to Lionel Catsoyannis via Enzo Oddo and Fabien Ristori, relive the evolution of climbing in Verdon through testimonies and anecdotes from climbers from different generations. History, anecdotes and emotions from the early 60s to the present day, with an eye towards the future. Can we define ourselves as a climber without having visited the Verdon?
Ballade à Devil's Tower
At the peak of her career as a rock climber, Catherine Destivelle goes to the United States to get away from the competitions and to recharge batteries. There, Destivelle travels by car through Utah and Wyoming to make spectacular free solo ascents in Indian Creek, where she soloes 'Supercrack' (5.10d), in Dead Horse Point State Park, and on the iconic Devil's Tower, where she climbs unroped the second half of the classic 130-foot route 'El Matador' (5.10d).
Gallery
