Emmeline Lewis-Lloyd (18 November 1827 – 22 September 1913) was an early Welsh alpine mountaineer. She was in the first party to climb Aiguille du Moine in 1871 with Jean Charlet.

Life

Lloyd was born in 1827 in Wales. She was the fourth child. Her father and mother owned the Nantgwyllt manor house in the, now flooded, Elan valley. Her father, Thomas Lewis-Lloyd, was a Justice of the Peace and

High Sheriff of Cardiganshire The office of High Sheriff of Cardiganshire was established in 1541, since when a high sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Dyfed as part of the creation of Dyfed from the amalga ...

in 1822. Lewis Lloyd was an independent child and she ran a farm at Llandyfaelog Fach that bred mountain ponies. Her hobbies included walking, fishing and otter hunting. She would tell stories of her exploits climbing the alps with her friend and second cousin Isabella Straton. One of her guides had been Jean Charlet, a French mountain guide from

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 ...

, who had been a groom in Nantgwyllt for a year. Lewis Lloyd and Straton had been two of the very rare women who climbed 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. ...

and

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

in the 1860s and 70s. In 1869 just four years after it was first climbed they made an unsuccessful attempt on 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, ...

. In 1870 they became the first women to climb

Monte Viso Monte Viso or Monviso (; ; or simply ) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peak ...

and the following year they made the first ascent of Aiguille du Moine guided by Joseph Simond. The summit is at an altitude of 3,412 m and it requires climbers to abseil on the descent.Aiguille du Moine
summitpost.og, retrieved 6 April 2014 Lewis Lloyd retired from climbing in 1873, but Straton continued to climb with Jean Charlet and she eventually married him. Lloyd died at Hampstead Hill Gardens in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She is buried at Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr and the church there has a memorial. The plaque notes that she was the eighth woman to climb Mont Blanc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Emmeline Lewis 1827 births 1913 deaths People from Powys Welsh mountain climbers British female climbers