Catherine Destivelle (born 24 July 1960) is a French

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

and

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

who is considered one of the greatest and most important female climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for

sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors ...

by winning the first major female climbing competitions, and by being the first-ever female to redpoint a sport climbing route with ''Fleur de Rocaille'' in 1985, and an route with ''Choucas'' in 1988. During this period, she was considered the strongest female sport climber in the world along with the US climber

Lynn Hill Carolynn Marie Hill (born January 3, 1961) is an American rock climber. Widely regarded as one of the leading competitive climbers, traditional climbers (and particularly big wall traditional climbers), sport climbers, and boulderers in the ...

, however, in 1990 she retired to focus on

alpine climbing {{unreferenced, date=March 2019 Alpine climbing (german: Alpinklettern) is a branch of climbing in which the primary aim is very often to reach the summit of a mountain. In order to do this high rock faces or pinnacles requiring several lengths ...

. In 1990, she made the first-ever female alpine ascent of the ''Bonatti Pillar'' on the Petit Dru, which she followed up in 1991, by becoming the first-ever female to create a new extreme alpine route, also on the Petit Dru, which was named ''Voie Destivelle'' in her honor. From 1992 to 1994, Destivelle became the first female to complete the winter alpine

free solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own indivi ...

of the " north face trilogy" of the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exte ...

, the

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by Ho ...

, and the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of th ...

. She also made Himalayan and high-altitude ascents such as the Nameless Tower in 1990, the southwest face of Shishapangma in 1995, and the south face of Peak 4111, in Antarctica, in 1996. As well as her Alpine free solos, she made other notable free solos, such as the Devils Tower in 1992, and the

Old Man of Hoy The Old Man of Hoy is a sea stack on Hoy, part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Formed from Old Red Sandstone, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was firs ...

in 1997. She is the subject of several documentaries, including Rémy Tezier's, ''Beyond the Summits'', which won the best feature-length film award at the 2009 Banff Film Festival. In 2007, she was made a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and in 2020, became the first-ever female recipient of the Piolet d'Or ''Lifetime Achievement Award''.

Early life and education

Catherine Destivelle was born in Oran, in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, to French parents, Serge and Annie Destivelle. Catherine was the eldest of six (four sisters Florence, Sophie, Martine, and Claire, and one brother Hyacinthe). Her father was an amateur climber and mountaineer. As a young teenager, her family moved to Paris, France, where she attended the Lycée Corot in

Savigny-sur-Orge Savigny-sur-Orge (, literally ''Savigny on Orge'') is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 19.1 km (11.9 mi) from the center of Paris in the département of Essonne. During the 2005 civil unrest in France, ...

. At the age of 12, Destivelle became a member of the Club alpin français, and started

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

, and multi-pitch

big wall climbing Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing where a climber ascends a long multi-pitch route, normally requiring more than a single day to complete the climb. Big wall routes require the climbing team to live on the route often using portaledge ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

, and alpine climbing in the

Massif des Écrins The mountains of the Massif des Écrins (; Écrins Massif) form the core of Écrins National Park in Hautes-Alpes and Isère in the French Alps.Verdon Gorge The Verdon Gorge (French: ''Gorges du Verdon'') is a river canyon located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and up to 700 metres (0.4 mi) deep. It was formed by the ...

, with climbing-partner, Pierre Richard. In that year, Destiville made alpine ascents of the ''Cousy-Desmaison Route'' (ED) on the north face of l'Olan, and the ''Devies-Gervasutti Route'' (TD+), on the northwest face of Ailefroide. The following year, in 1977, she ascended the ''American Direct Route'' (ED1), on the west face of Le Petit Dru in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it ha ...

. From 1980 to 1985, Destivelle focused on studying

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patie ...

at the ''Ecole de kinésithérapie de Paris'', and then working full-time as a physiotherapist.

Climbing career

Sport climbing

In 1985, Destivelle became a professional climber, which happened almost by accident after being asked to do a climbing film, ''E pericoloso sporgersi'', that captured her making the first-ever female ascent of the 1,000-metre multi-pitch sport route ''Pichenibule'' in Verdon, which was only the second-ever female ascent in history of a route; after the film, she was offered sponsorships. In 1985, Destivelle made what was thought to be the first-ever female breakthrough into the grade with ''Fleur de Rocaille'', however, its grade was subsequently softened to 7c+/8a. Destivelle initially rejected competition climbing, signing the 1985 , but then changed her mind and won at Sportroccia in 1985, the first international climbing competition (held in

Bardonecchia Bardonecchia (; french: Bardonèche or ; pms, Bardonecia ; oc, Bardonescha ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley. It grew out of a small villa ...

and

Arco ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

), which later became the

Rock Master Rock Master is an international climbing competition held every year in Arco, Italy. The event takes place in two rounds: the first is an on-sight __NOTOC__ This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related ...

annual competition. Later that year, she fractured her pelvis in a fall in Chamonix. Destivelle recovered and in 1986 set new records by becoming the first-ever female to climb an route with ''Fleur de Rocaille'' (later downgraded to 7c+/8a), and winning again at Sportroccia, beating her main rival

. 1988 would be the pinnacle of Destivelle's sport climbing career when she redpointed ''Choucas'' in

Buoux Buoux ju̟ːksis a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Located on the north side of the Luberon, the town is known for the high cliffs that surround it, making it a popular venue f ...

, the first-ever female ascent of an graded route. She had already repeated several routes that year in preparation, including ''Rêve de Papillon'', ''Elixir de Violence'', ''Samizdat'', and ''La Diagonale du Fou''. She also beat her fellow French rival

Isabelle Patissier Isabelle Patissier (born March 1, 1967) is a French world champion rock climber and more recently a rally driver. She is known for winning two Lead Climbing World Cups (1990, 1991) and for being the first-ever woman in history to climb an route ...

to win her third Sportroccia title. In 1989, Destivelle won the first-ever international climbing competition held in the US, and organized by Jeff Lowe at

Snowbird, Utah Snowbird is an unincorporated community in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is most famous for Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, an alpine skiing and snowboarding are ...

. In 1990, Destivelle finished third at the annual Snowbird international climbing competition and decided to retire from competition climbing to focus on mountaineering and alpine climbing.

Alpine climbing

In 1990, Destiville came to international attention with the first female ascent of the ''Bonatti Pillar'' (TD+: 5.9 A1) on the southwest face of the Petit Dru, which she completed as a

in 4 hours; in 1955 Walter Bonatti spent six days on the route as he made what became regarded as one of the most famous ascents in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. In 1991, Destivelle completed one of her most notable alpine climbing feats by opening up a new route on the west face of the Petit Dru, named the ''Voie Destivelle'' (or ''Destiville Route'') (VI 5.11b A5). Her 11-day free solo of the route, which bears her name in her honor, was captured in the film ''11 Days on the Dru'', and covered widely in the international media. Destivelle turned her attention to completing the free solo climb, in winter, of the three greatest north faces in the Alpes (the winter " North Face Trilogy" of

Ivano Ghirardini Ivano Ghirardini (born 1 May 1953) is a French mountaineer. Early life He was born in Montefiorino in Emilia-Romagna. He left Italy with his family in 1954 and was naturalized in 1972. He attended school in Marseille, earning a Baccalaurea ...

). She started in 1992, making the first female solo ascent of the ''1938 Heckmair Route'' (ED2) on the north face of the

in 17-hours (and featured in the 1992 climbing film, ''Eiger''). In 1993, she made the first female solo ascent of the ''Walker Spur'' (ED1: 5.8 A1) on the north face of the

. In 1994, she completed the winter solo trilogy climbing the ''Bonatti Route'' (ED2/3), on the north face of the

. In 1999, she completed the first-ever female free solo of the ''Brandler-Hasse Route'' (ED-: 5.10c A0), on the north face direct of the Cima Grande di Lavaredo; her last major alpine climb.

Himalayan and high-altitude climbing

In 1990, Destivelle went on an expedition with Jeff Lowe and David Breashears to try a new route on Nameless Tower in the

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under t ...

, however, poor conditions forced them to change plans and they instead made the second free ascent of ''Yugoslav Route'' (VI 5.12a) (and featured in the 1990 climbing film, ''Nameless Tower''). In 1992, Destivelle went on another expedition with Jeff Lowe to climb the north ridge on the north face of Latok I, in the

, but was forced back due to severe storms. In 1993, she went on an expedition to the west face of Makalu with Jeff Lowe and French mountaineering guide, Erik Decamp (who would later become her husband). Lowe tried an alternative solo route while Destivelle and Decamp tried the West Pillar, however, both groups were unsuccessful due to severe snowfall. In 1995, Decamp and herself made a successful ascent of the ''Loretan-Troillet-Kurtyka Route''on the southwest face of Shishapangma. In 1995, the pair were less successful in attempting to open a new route on the south face of

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...

, beside the old ''Bonington Route''. In January 1996, after the pair successfully completed a new route on the south face of Peak 4111 in Antarctica, Destivelle fell 20-metres through a cornice while momentarily unroped on the summit, and suffered a severe compound leg fracture. Destivelle thought she would die given their remote position, however, a 15-hour self-rescue brought her to safety.

Free soloing

Destivelle is known for her free soloing of multi-pitch rock climbs, and both alpine big wall and alpine mixed climbs (i.e. rock climbing and ice climbing). On a 1992 tour to the US, she free soloed the second half of ''El Matador'' on the Devils Tower in Wyoming, and ''Supercrack'' , in

Indian Creek Indian Creek may refer to the following: Communities * Indian Creek, Orange Walk District, Belize, a village in Belize * Indian Creek, Toledo, a village in Belize * Indian Creek, Florida, U.S. * Indian Creek, Illinois, U.S. * Indian Creek No. 7 Pr ...

, Utah (both are captured in the 1992 climbing film, ''Ballade à Devil's Tower''), and in 1997, while four months pregnant, free soloed the

in Scotland (captured in the 1998 film, ''Rock Queen''). During 1992–1994, she completed the winter free solo trilogy of the north faces of the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn. In a 2020 interview with ''

Rock & Ice ''Rock & Ice'' is a magazine published by Outside focusing on rock and ice climbing. The first issue came out in March 1984. The first publisher was Neal Kaptain. George Bracksieck worked for him, beginning in January 1984, and the two became ...

'' she said: "When I'm free soloing, I feel O.K. I always have a big safety margin, I'm not struggling. You feel quite powerful and calm. If I ever felt afraid, I wouldn't go. I don't like to bet". She said of her Eiger free solo: "I didn't want people to say it was the first female ascent, I wanted to be the first person to climb the Eiger onsight and solo in winter".

Legacy

Destivelle is widely considered one of the greatest all-around female climbers in the history of the sport. In 2014, the former editor of the ''

Alpine Journal The ''Alpine Journal'' (''AJ'') is an annual publication by the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world. History The magazine was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longman in Londo ...

'', Ed Douglas, called her "the world's most famous woman alpinist during the 1990s". When she became the first-ever female recipient of the Piolet d'Or ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' in 2020, ''PlanetMountain'' said: "the 59-year-old Frenchwoman is considered one of the greatest climbers and mountaineers of all times". In 2020, ''

Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

'' magazine noted her pioneering role in competition climbing and her rivalry with Lynn Hill as their vied for the title of the strongest female sport climber, but noted that her true passion was for alpinism, and said of her achievements: "Catherine Destivelle crushed the stereotypes that top-level sport climbing and daring alpinism were reserved for men. She is one of the most well-rounded climbers of all time—from the boulders of Fontainebleau to the Himalaya—and her storied career serves as inspiration to climbers everywhere".

Personal life

In 1996, Destivelle and Erik Decamp were married, and their son, Victor, was born at the end of the following year. After the birth of Victor, Destivelle began to cut back on free solo and extreme climbs in the late 1990s and developed a career as a lecturer, speaker and a mountaineering writer. In 1998 she told ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'': "I can't bear to leave Victor for more than an hour", and "I don't want to climb with anyone except Eric. And we could not leave Victor behind". By 2000, she has completely retired from any major sport climbing or alpine climbing activities. In 2011, in partnership with Bruno Dupety, she became a publisher at her firm, "Les Editions du Mont Blanc", a company specializing in books about mountaineering and alpinism.

Awards

*In 1993, Knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's es ...

in France. *In 2007, Knight of the

in France. *In 2008, King Albert Mountain Award. *In 2020, 12th Piolet d'Or ''Lifetime Achievement Award'', she became the first-ever female recipient and its youngest-ever recipient.

Notable climbs

Sport climbing

During her competition years, Destivelle was considered one of the world's best sport climbers. *1983 – ''La Dudule'' , Saussois, France, the third-ever female 7a in history. *1985 – ''Pichenibule'' , Verdon, France, the second-ever female 7b+ in history (captured in the 1985 climbing film, ''E Pericoloso Sporgersi'). *1985 – ''Fleur de Rocaille'' , Mouriès, France, the first-ever female 7c+/8a; this was initially considered the first 8a, but it was later downgraded one notch. *1988 – ''Rêve de Papillon'' ,

, France, the fourth-ever female 8a in history. *1988 – ''Elixir de Violence'' ,

, France. *1988 – ''Samizdat'' , Cimaï, France. *1988 – ''La Diagonale du Fou'' ,

, France. *1988 – ''Chouca'' ,

, France, the first-ever female 8a+ in history.

Free solo rock climbing

Destivelle was also one of the few rock climbers who practiced

free soloing Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own individ ...

at extreme grades. *1985 – El Puro, Mallos de Riglos in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

*1987 – Bandiagara Escarpment in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

(captured in the 1987 climbing film, ''Seo''). *1989 –

Phi Phi Islands The Phi Phi Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะพีพี, , ) are an island group in Thailand between the large island of Phuket and the Straits of Malacca coast of Thailand. The islands are administratively part of Krabi Province. Ko Ph ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

(captured in the 1989 climbing film, ''Solo Thai''). *1992 – ''Supercrack'' ,

, Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah (captured in the 1992 climbing film, ''Ballade à Devil's Tower''). *1992 – ''El Matador'' , Devils Tower in Wyoming (captured in the 1992 climbing film, ''Ballade à Devil's Tower''). *1997 –

sea-stack in Orkney Islands,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

(captured in the 1998 film, ''Rock Queen'').

Alpine climbing

Destivelle was the first woman to complete the following solo alpine climbing and big wall climbing ascents:. *1990 (October) – ''Bonatti Pillar'' (TD+: 5.9 A1), on the southwest face of the Petit Dru, first-ever female free solo. *1991 (June) – ''Voie Destivelle'' (VI 5.11b A5), west face of the Petit Dru,

first free ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they ...

and first-ever female to free an alpine route of that level of technical difficulty; also the first major Alps route to be named after a woman (captured in the 1991 climbing film, ''11 Days on the Dru''). *1992 (March) – ''1938 Heckmair Route'' (ED2), north face of the

, first-ever female winter free solo (captured in the 1992 climbing film, ''Eiger''). *1993 (February) – ''Walker Spur'' (ED1: 5.8 A1), north face of the

, first-ever female winter free solo. *1994 (February) – ''Bonatti Route'' (ED2/3), north face of the

, first-ever female winter free solo; and first female to complete

's winter "North Face Trilogy". *1999 (June) – ''Brandler-Hasse Route'' (ED-: 5.10c A0), north face direct of the Cima Grande di Lavaredo, first-ever female free solo of one of the six

great north faces of the Alps The six great north faces of the Alps are a group of vertical faces in the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps known in mountaineering for their difficulty, danger, and great height. The "Trilogy" is the three hardest of these north faces, being t ...

Himalayan and high-altitude climbing

She also went on innovative and challenging Himalayan and high-altitude mountaineering projects. *1990 (September) – ''Yugoslav Route'' (VI 5.12a), Trango (Nameless) Tower,

, second free ascent with Jeff Lowe and David Breashears (captured in the 1990 climbing film, ''Nameless Tower''). *1992 (August) – North Ridge, north face of Latok I,

, unsuccessful attempt with Jeff Lowe that retreated at 5,800-meters due to storms. *1993 (May) – West Pillar, west face of Makalu,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, expedition with Jeff Lowe (who tried a different route); Destivelle and Erik Decamp reached 7,600-metres before retreating due to heavy snow. *1994 – ''Losar'' (VI, ice grade WI5), Namche Bazaar, Nepal, first ascent of the 700-metre frozen waterfall with Erik Decamp (captured in the 1997 climbing film, ''La Cascade''). *1995 (September) – ''Loretan-Troillet-Kurtyka Route'', southwest face of Shishapangma, China, summitted with Erik Decamp. *1995 (October) – South Face of

, Nepal, Destivelle and Erik Decamp reached 7,800-metres on a new route (right of the ''Bonington Route''), before retreating due to heavy snow. *1996 (January) – South Face (TD: V 5.10), of Peak 4111,

Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minnesota ...

, Antarctica, first ascent with Erik Decamp; suffers compound leg fracture after a 20-metre fall on summit cornice.

Bibliography

Destivelle is the author of the following books: *''Danseuse de roc'', Denoël, 1987 () *''Rocs nature'' (with photos by Gérard Kosicki), Denoël, 1991 () *''Annapurna: Duo pour un 8000'' (with Érik Decamp), Arthaud, 1994 () *''L'apprenti alpiniste: L'escalade, l'alpinisme et la montagne expliqués aux enfants'' (with Érik Decamp and Gianni Bersezio), Hachette Jeunesse, 1996 () *''Ascensions'', Arthaud, 2003 () *''Le petit alpiniste: La montagne, l'escalade et l'alpinisme expliqués aux enfants'' (with Érik Decamp and Claire Robert), Guérin, 2009 () *''Rock Queen'', Hayloft Publishing Ltd, 2015 () *''L'escalade, tu connais?'', Editions du Mont Blanc, 2017 () *''L'alpinisme, tu connais?'', Editions du Mont Blanc, 2019 ()

Filmography

Destivelle has been the subject of several films and documentaries:''The Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Biography''
"Destivelle, Catherine"
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003, p. 429. *''E Pericoloso Sporgersi'', Robert Nicod, 1985 *''Seo'', Pierre-Antoine Hiroz, 1987 *''Solo Thai'', Laurent Chevallier, 1989 *''Nameless Tower'', David Breashears, 1990 *''11 Jours dans les Drus'', Gilles Sourice, 1991 *''Eiger'', Stéphane Deplus, 1992 *''Ballade à Devils's Tower'', Pierre-Antoine Hiroz, 1992 *''La Cascade'', Pierre-Antoine Hiroz, 1997 *''Rock Queen'', Martin Belderson, 1998 *''Au-delà des cimes'' (''Beyond the Summits''), Rémy Tézier, 2008; winner of the best feature-length film award at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival.

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.c ...

Finding Farley wins at Banff Mountain Film Festival
November 9, 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2010