Ginette Harrison (28 February 1958 – 24 October 1999) was a professional climber of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

origin. She also lived in Australia and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

She studied medicine at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and later specialized in high altitude medicine. At age 25 she climbed

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...

, the highest mountain in North America. It was the first of her series of climbs of the highest peaks on all seven continents, which included

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

on 7 October 1993, making her only the second British woman to climb Everest, after Rebecca Stephens. On 1 December 1995, she became the third woman, and the first British woman, to climb all seven continental summits inclusive of

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National ...

, the highest mountain in mainland Australia. On the same date, she also became the fifth woman, and the second British woman (behind Rebecca Stephens), to climb all seven continental summits inclusive of the

Carstensz Pyramid Puncak Jaya (; literally "Glorious Peak") or Carstensz Pyramid, Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz () on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth. The mountain is located in the Sudi ...

in Australasia. On 18 May 1998, she climbed

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the ...

by its north face, making her the first woman to have reached the summit of the world's third highest mountain. Her obituary in The Guardian quotes her as "She watched in sorrow as other climbers she knew were lost –

Alison Hargreaves Alison Jane Hargreaves (17 February 1962 – 13 August 1995) was a British mountain climber. Her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest alone, without supplementary oxygen or support from a Sherpa team, in 1995. She soloed all the great ...

Chantal Mauduit Chantal Mauduit (24 March 1964 – 13 May 1998) was a French alpinist. Biography Born in Paris, Mauduit arrived in the French Alps at age five and started climbing at the age of 15. After several difficult routes in the Alps, she focused her ...

– and wrote of her historic ascent: "Over the years four women had died while attempting to climb Kangchenjunga and it made me appreciate all the more how lucky I was to make the first female ascent and return safely." She later became the first British woman to summit

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

on 22 May 1999.

Marriage

She was married to Gary Pfisterer, whom she met on her expedition to Mount Everest.

Death

She died under an avalanche when climbing

Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapurna I () is ...

, the seventh highest mountain in the world.

Legacy

A memorial lecture is held in Ginette's memory each year, part of th
Wilderness Lectures
series. The event raises money for the Shiva Charity, which she supported, and which sponsors a school in Nepal, named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ginette 1958 births 1999 deaths Alumni of the University of Bristol English mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths in Nepal Natural disaster deaths in Nepal British summiters of Mount Everest Deaths in avalanches Female climbers