REPORT BY FRAN HUNZIKER:
As much energy was expended on the last night of the International Women's Symposium and Meet, organised by the British Mountaineering Council and initiated by Celia Bull and Kath Pyke, as during the whole week's climbing. Dancing all night to the sounds of the local band, the delegates celebrated the culmination of a week's hard climbing, hard talking and some good laughs. It wasn't just a girls' night. Word got out during the week that there were 'loads of wimmin' at Plas y Brenin. Loved ones joined in and for the first time in the history of the pub, it ran out of half pint glasses!
The aim of the international meet was to create an opportunity for women climbers to share in each other's company, explore some of the issues facing women climbers today and to enjoy rock climbing in one of the premier venues in Britain. 'The Women's meet is not about discrimination, it's about something more positive than that. It's seeing where we've got to and what we still need,' said symposium organiser Celia Bull.
If this was the aim of the meet, it was a huge success, but the delegates gained much more. About 100 women from 27 nationalities from countries as far afield as Nepal, Ukraine, Mongolia, Slovenia, Norway and Finland attended. They shared ideas and seven climbing days in glorious sunshine! It was a privilege and an inspiration to meet so many women who had made tremendous strides and contributions in some way or another.
There was Bachendri Pal who was the first Indian women to have climbed Everest. Nepalese Nimi Sherpa, who has overcome extreme cultural obstacles by first following her husband who was a guide on a French expedition at the time, up Lhotse). Surreptitiously she climbed each day, from one camp to the next, with a solemn promise to her husband to descend the following day, until she finally made it to the top. Today she is a mountain guide in her own right.
Shadmina Khanun from Pakistan made an emotive impromptu plea for support from the international community. 'We have the best mountains but no women climbers.' It was a treat to watch as Franciose Aubert, a French mountain guide based in Chamonix, made a beautifully controlled and fluid ascent of Left Wall (E2) at Dinas Cromlech. On reaching the top, she turned with a huge grin and silenced the applause from below with 'No, no es me job!'
And, of course, the almost 50 British hosts blew me away. Names that one sees in the press and associates with big walls and hard routes, Glenda Huxter, Geraldine Westrupp, Airlie Anderson, Libby Peters, Angela Soper and of course Celia and Kath. But it is unfair to mention names as it is the depth of Britian's strong solid climbers that impressed me most. Confident in their climbing skills and, yes it is true, very bold but sensible. It is easy to mumble excuses about youth and strength and such, but with the likes of Geraldene and Angela, it is obvious that there are no excuses to be made on that score. They are only some of the ladies who have raised their families, enjoyed careers, and are out on the rock, having fun and leading some very hard routes!
I arrived on a Sunday afternoon and it was a pleasure to stretch travel-weary muscles on the impressive indoor climbing wall at Plas y Brenin. And to meet up with the other South African delegate Megan Beaumont, a Magaliesberg member and the first South African woman to top out on Mt McKinley. She is at present working and studying in Gwent. We enjoyed the luxury of the outdoor center for the duration of the week. It was a treat to be able to climb, sleep in a comfy bed, have dinner and breakfast served, and then climb again the next day! A huge thank you goes to the BMC and everyone at Plas y Brenin.
Trad climbing expertise varied amongst the group. Initially, I think I was not alone in my feelings of total intimidation. The thought of placing gear and leading on these famous crags! Some of the women had exceptional mountaineering skills and a few clipped bolts only, having never placed any protection. Foreign tongues added to the confusion but by the middle of the week confidence grew with experience and many a personal best was achieved.
I was determined to try something new each day and enjoyed some of the classics with the infamous and a very wet Cenotaph Corner presented to me on a platter by Emma Alsford at Dinas Cromlech. We climbed at Tremadog, Llanberis Pass, the Slate Quarries, the Ogwen Valley and the sea cliffs of Gogarth where to the disbelief of all, a SA climber and her host were rumored to have lost their way to the crag! We enjoyed some intense and some very light moments, but most importantly the learning curve shot up! Evenings were filled with workshops, discussions and guest slideshows - the climbing destinations possibilities list grew rapidly. We held gear workshops with suppliers and manufacturers who allowed gear to be tested for the duration of the week. We reconsidered the importance of climbing in a woman's life and the roles women play in climbing.
Alison Osius (a very impressive person and climber and an editor of Climbing magazine and now president of the American Alpine Club) and Gill Kent (editor of On the Edge) led us through some discussions on how women are represented in the climbing media. Very few articles and books on climbing are forthcoming from or are about women climbers. The reasons for this are varied and if Alison's statistic that only 10% of Climbing's readers are women is accurate, then the female writer is probably proportionally well represented. (This prompted me to count SA's climbing mag High Life's subscribers and voila - 10%.) Alison did urge everyone to write, as 'it is the only record of what we do' and hopefully after Gill's assurance that she welcomes experimental writing, readers will be inundated with new and fresh material.
The role and the power that the mainstream press has to influence the general public's understanding and perception of the significance of climbing cannot be underestimated. This was illustrated by Ed Douglas, a seasoned climber, writer and mainstream journalist in an interesting insight into the relationship between Alison Hargreaves and the press. Alison, who caused a major stir in the British, and to some extent in the South African press, is ironically not famous for her solo and oxygenless ascent of Everest. She is definitely not the only women who has ever been critisized for taking risks, but she is in the public's eye most famous for dying on K2 and leaving two young children behind. In a book Ed is in the process of writing he examines Alison's need for publicity and how the relationship worked well for a while but eventually for whatever reason, the press turned on her. He expressed an earnest warning to all climbers to 'think long and hard before you invite the press into your life, for once they are in they will not leave!'
An eye opener was a slideshow and lecture by Leyla Pope, a student who spent the last year studying in Tehran. She dispelled some misconceptions that spring to the minds of those with little understanding of the complex cultural and political situation experienced there. Yes, women do have to cover themselves in public but this is in fact a gesture that allows them the freedom to follow their goals and dreams. And this is where climbing and the mountains play a significant role with regular meets and rockclimbing courses being available for both trad and sport climbing. Information on climbing is available in most of the tiny villages as more than half of Iran is mountainous. The highest peak, Mt Demavand is 5 674 m high with another 600 peaks over 4 000 m. Two climbing magazines are published with both offering 'women's pages' and the principle is not seen as being patronising.
Children and motherhood brought out some mixed reactions. An emotional subject which those who are 'not ready yet' or 'not interested' see as something at opposing poles to climbing. Those in the know agreed a little smugly, that yes it does create scope for some serious time management skills, and it is not just for biological reasons that parents come in twos. In the end, time spent with your child is precious and well spent and the demands made on that time are limited, while the climbing years do linger on. Clubs and organisations could follow the example of the Womens' Meet who organised a child care service, or at the very least be more considerate when planning outings and meets.
Sincere thanks go to the MCSA not only for their
financial support but also the vote of confidence.
FRAN HUNZIKER - 28 AUGUST 1998
The 1998 BMC International Women's Meet firmly believes that climbing is a legitimate activity for women. Whether they are young or old, single or in a relationship, with or without children or family responsibilities, they should be able to pursue their climbing at whatever level they choose, whether on the crags or in the high mountains. Over 100 women delegates representing 27 countries world wide request that the UIAA and the national federations adopt and endorse the following principles: