Chantal Mauduit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chantal Mauduit was a noted female French alpinist. Born on 24 March 1964 in Paris, she arrived in the French Alps at age five and started climbing at the age of 15. After several difficult routes in the Alps, she focussed her attention on the Andes, and then the Himalayas, where she climbed, always without oxygen K2 (August 1992 - fourth woman), Shisha Pangma (1993), Cho Oyu (1993), Lhotse (1996 - first woman solo), Manaslu (1996), Gasherbrum II (1997). Her promising climbing career was cut short by an avalanche on Dhaulagiri on May 13, 1998 that killed her and her Sherpa partner Ang Tsering while they were asleep in their tent. She is remembered for her high spirits and smile.

[edit] Controversy

Ed Viesturs wrote in his autobiography No Shortcuts To The Top that Mauduit had needed to be rescued several times by other climbing expeditions, and had never publicly thanked or even acknowledged the assistance she had been given.

He also raises doubts about the cause of her death, suggesting either suffocation or carbon monoxide poisoning as the likely causes. The French autopsy suggested a broken neck as a result of ice or rock strike. In his book, Viesturs acknowledges this is a personal statement about what he believes to be feasible given first hand observation. He does not formally question the autopsy's findings.