Miriam O'Brien Underhill (July 22, 1898 – January 7, 1976) was an American

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, best known for the concept of "manless climbing" – organizing all-women's ascents of challenging climbs, mostly in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Early life

Miriam Eliot O'Brien was born in

Forest Glen, Maryland Forest Glen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 6,897 as of the 2020 census. Geography Forest Glen is recognized by the United States Census Bureau and the United States Geologi ...

on July 22, 1898. Her father was a newspaper editor and government official, and her mother was a physician. With her parents, she first visited the Alps in 1914, and completed an introductory climb near

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

in 1920, and a master's degree in psychology from the same university in 1921. She visited the Alps during several summers after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and dabbled with mountaineering. She studied physics at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

from 1923 to 1925. She was an active member of the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., wit ...

her entire adult life. She joined the

Ladies' Alpine Club The Ladies' Alpine Club was founded in London, England in 1907 and was the first mountaineering club for women. It merged with the Alpine Club of Great Britain in 1975. History In December 1907 a group of ladies who were climbers in the Alps m ...

in 1926, was vice-president 1931-1970 and was made an honorary member in 1970.

Mountaineering

Miriam O'Brien began serious rock climbing in the Alps in May 1926, completing a

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

on Torre Grande in the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

by a route now known as the "Via Miriam" in her honor. She also completed the first ascent of the Aiguille de Roc on August 6, 1927 with Alfred Couttet also known as Couttet Champion and Georges Cachat in the massif of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

. On August 4, 1928 O'Brien, accompanied by Robert L. M. Underhill and guides

Armand Charlet Armand Charlet (9 February 1900, Argentière – December 1975) was a French mountaineer and mountain guide. Alpinism Charlet was amongst the most celebrated mountaineers and guides of his era. Alain de Chatellus regarded him as the "undisp ...

and G. Cachat, completed the

of the traverse from the Aiguilles du Diable to

Mont Blanc du Tacul Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles H ...

in the

. This route involves "climbing five outstanding summits over 4000 meters in superb surroundings." In 1929, she completed a climb of the Aiguille du Grépon with French climber Alice Damesme. This achievement by two women led mountaineer Étienne Bruhl to complain "The Grépon has disappeared. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb". On September 3, 1930, she climbed the most difficult route on the

Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn () is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Canton of Bern, Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the List of prominent mountains of Switzerland, most prominent peak of Switzerland. ...

, the north-east face, with guides A. and F. Rubi. This peak is the highest in the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

. Her climb was the third ascent, and the route had only been climbed twice in the preceding 24 years. In 1931, she climbed the

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the ...

and the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

in the Bernese Alps with Micheline Morin. In 1932, she completed the first all-women's ascent of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

with Alice Damesme. She married mountaineer and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

professor Robert L. M. Underhill in 1932. They had two sons, born in 1936 and 1939. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she climbed with her husband in the

Wind River Range The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short) is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW–SE for approximately . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and incl ...

of Wyoming, the

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

Swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

and Beartooth ranges of Montana, and the Sawtooth range of Idaho. She climbed the Matterhorn for her third and final time in 1952. She, along with her husband, were charter members of the Four Thousand Footer Club, a section of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The only membership requirement was climbing all 48 four thousand foot peaks of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They were the first to climb all of those peaks during the winter, completing the quest with their ascent of Mount Jefferson on December 31, 1960. At that time the list consisted of just 46 peaks.

Writer and editor

She wrote an essay titled ''Manless Alpine Climbing: The First Woman to Scale the Grépon, the Matterhorn and Other Famous Peaks Without Masculine Support'', which was published by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

in 1934. This essay, or excerpts from it, has been republished in several compendia of mountaineering literature. In this essay, she explained her mountaineering philosophy this way: "Very early, I realized that the person who invariably climbs behind a good leader...may never really learn mountaineering at all and in any case enjoys only part of the varied delights and rewards of climbing." She went on to say, "I did realize that if women were really to lead, that is, to take the entire responsibility for the climb, there couldn't be any man at all in the party." Her autobiography, ''Give Me the Hills'', was published in London by

Methuen Publishing Methuen Publishing Ltd (; also known as Methuen Books) is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially, Methuen mainly published non-fiction acade ...

in 1956. It was republished in the United States in 1971. She edited ''Appalachia'', the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club, from 1956 - 1961, and also in 1968.

Legacy

The Robert and Miriam Underhill Award is given annually by the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 26,000 members. The club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in Golden, Colorado. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers d ...

"to a person who, in the opinion of the selection committee, has demonstrated the highest level of skill in the mountaineering arts and who, through the application of this skill, courage, and perseverance, has achieved outstanding success in the various fields of mountaineering endeavor." In 2022, the American Alpine Club changed the name of the award to the Pinnacle award in light of Robert Underhill’s anti-Semitic and racist views. There is no evidence that Miriam held the views of her husband. Miriam Peak in the

of Wyoming is named after her.
SummitPost.org: Miriam Peak - retrieved September 1, 2009

Early life

Mountaineering

Writer and editor

Legacy

References

Further reading