Therese Bertheau (23 November 1861 – March 1936) was a pioneering female

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

mountaineer. She was among the first in modern times to introduce trousers as an everyday item of clothing for women. Bertheau was born in

Skjeberg Skjeberg is a district of Sarpsborg, Østfold County, Norway. Skjeberg was formerly a municipality in Østfold County. The last administrative centre was at Borgenhaugen. As of 2018, Skjeberg has a population of 1,397. The parish of Skjeberg ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, Norway. She was the daughter of timber merchant Hermann Bertheau (1800-1864) and Borghild Bertheau (1820-1897). From 1879, she took a job as a language teacher at the Nissens Pigeskole which was a school for young girls. She taught the subjects of English and French. She was an active mountaineer 1884 to 1910 and climbed over 30 peaks. She achieved many first ascents, as well as being the first woman on

Store Skagastølstind Store Skagastølstind (also known as Storen) is the third highest peak in Norway. It is situated on the border between the municipality of Luster and Årdal in Vestland county, Norway. The mountain is part of the Hurrungane range. The mountai ...

(2405m) in 1894. In 1900 she was again on

accompanied by English mountain climber

William Cecil Slingsby William Cecil Slingsby (1849–1929) was an English mountain climber and alpine explorer from Carleton, North Yorkshire. Born in Bell Busk, near Gargrave, Yorkshire, Slingsby first visited Norway in 1872 and fell in love with the country. He h ...

(1849-1929). In 1904 she took the first known ascent of the walls at

Kolsås Kolsås (), sometimes called Kolsaas, is a hill in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Geologically, Kolsås belongs to the Oslo Graben area. Its two peaks consist of hard rhomb porphyric lava covering softer rocks, forming steep cliffs to the ...

with Norwegian mountain climber Henning Tønsberg (1907–1987). In 1902 she was elected as the first woman in the Norwegian Tourist Association Board, and in 1909 she was invited member of the Norwegian Alpine Club, which previously had not been open to women.

Notes

References

''Therese Bertheau - Tindestigerske og Lærerinde''
DF Anne-Mette Vibe, Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo 2012, ''Therese Bertheau - Tindestigerske og Lærerinde'', new and expanded edition, Anne-Mette Vibe, Oslo, Fri Flyt AS, 2016, 1861 births 1936 deaths People from Sarpsborg Norwegian mountain climbers Female climbers Norwegian educators Sportspeople from Viken (county) {{Norway-bio-stub