Félicité Carrel was an Italian mountaineer, known for her 1867 attempt to climb Mount

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

Biography

Carrel was the daughter of Italian mountaineer

Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making th ...

. In 1867 Carrel and her father joined climbers Caesar Carrel, J.J. and J.P. Maquignaz in an attempt to scale Mount Matterhorn. Carrel climbed to 400 feet from the summit, but was prohibited from going further by her skirts which had caught in the wind and returned with her father while the others continued on.

Legacy

Carrel's 1867 climb attempt makes her the first woman to do so. The point on Mount Matterhorn that she reached is named for her: Col Felicite.

References

Italian mountain climbers Female climbers {{climbing-bio-stub