Cathy O'Dowd (born 1968) is a South African rock climber, mountaineer, author and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both the south and the north sides on 25 May 1996 and 29 May 1999, respectively. O’Dowd grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended

St. Andrew's School for Girls , motto_translation =Through trials and tribulations to glory , established = , type = Private & Boarding , district = District 9 , number = , locale = , grades = Preschool - grade 12 , head_name = , head = Ms I ...

. She has climbed since her university days. When she was 21, she took part in her first mountain expedition, to the Ruwenzori in Central Africa.

Everest expeditions

Southeast ridge route

Towards the end of 1995, O'Dowd was finishing a master's degree in Media Studies at Rhodes University when she applied for and got a place on the First South African Everest Expedition. On 11 May 1996, eight climbers died in a severe blizzard on their descent from the summit on the south side. This included a climbing guide and the leaders of two expeditions, American

Scott Fischer Scott Eugene Fischer (December 24, 1955 – May 11, 1996) was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were t ...

and the New Zealander

Rob Hall Robert Edwin Hall (14 January 1961 – 11 May 1996) was a New Zealand mountaineer. He was the head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition during which he, a fellow guide, and two clients died. A best-selling account of the expedition was ...

. O'Dowd was at the high camp just below the southeast ridge preparing to summit with her expedition when the blizzard struck, forcing the team to delay the summit attempt. She finally reached the summit on 25 May 1996. One member of the South African party, 37-year-old Bruce Herrod, died on the descent. His body was discovered the following year by an Indonesian expedition party led by Anatoli Boukreev.

North ridge route

In 1998 she attempted the north side of Everest, where George Mallory had disappeared in 1924. Her attempt ended hours from the summit when she came across Francys Arsentiev, an American climber who had collapsed. They attempted to help her for over an hour but were forced to turn around and descend, leaving Arsentiev behind. Two of the Sherpas went on to the summit. She described this decision to Michael Buerk on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'The Choice' aired in November 2009. In 1999 she returned, and on this occasion succeeded, becoming the first woman to climb Everest from both north and south sides. In 2000, she became the fourth woman to climb Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain.

East face route

In 2003, she made an unsuccessful attempt at a new route up the east face of Everest.

Other expeditions

In the spring of 2004 she joined British woman Rona Cant and Norwegian Per-Thore-Hansen on a dog-sled expedition of 650 km through the Norwegian Arctic, from Styggedalen to Nordkapp, the most northerly point in Europe. Cathy O'Dowd has climbed mountains across southern and central Africa, in South America, in the Alps and in the Himalaya. She remains an active mountaineer, rock-climber and skier. She married the First South African Everest Expedition leader Ian Woodall in 2001 and lives in Andorra in the Pyrenees.anine

Books

*''Everest: Free To Decide'' - Cathy O'Dowd & Ian Woodall (Struik Publishers 1998) *''Just for the love of it'' - Cathy O'Dowd (Free To Decide Publishers 2001)

References

External links

Cathy O'Dowd Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odowd, Cathy South African mountain climbers Summiters of Mount Everest South African rock climbers South African emigrants to Andorra Rhodes University alumni 1969 births Living people Female climbers