Isabella Charlet-Straton
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Mary Isabella Charlet-Straton (née Straton; 28 August 1838 – 12 April 1918) was a British female mountain climber. She made several first ascents in the Alps with her 2nd cousin
Emmeline Lewis Lloyd 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 chi ...
as well as the first winter ascent 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 ...
with her future husband Jean Charlet in January 1876. The peak Pointe Isabella was named in her honour after she had taken part in its first ascent.


Biography


Early years

Straton was born in
Willsbridge Willsbridge is a village in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, England, located on the outskirts of Bristol. Willsbridge Castle, situated on a prominent hillside site, was built around 1730, with crenellations added in the nineteen ...
, England in 1838. When she was eight years old she moved to
Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...
and relocated again at the age of seventeen to
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 ...
in pursuit of a better education. Following the deaths of her parents and sisters, she inherited the Straton family fortune in her twenties, becoming financially independent with an income of roughly £4,000 per year.


Career

Straton was introduced to climbing through her friend
Emmeline Lewis Lloyd 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 chi ...
, with whom she travelled throughout 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. ...
on hiking and climbing expeditions in the 1860s–70s. One of their first climbs was an 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 1869. In 1870 they became one of 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 did make the first ascent of Aiguille du Moine. When Lewis-Lloyd retired from climbing in 1873, Straton climbed with Jean Charlet, a French
mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
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 accompanied her and Lewis-Lloyd on their previous expeditions. Straton and Charlet climbed together for twenty years and eventually married. Some of the ascents they made together included the
Aiguille du Midi The Aiguille du Midi (, "Needle at midday") is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Ca ...
, the
Aiguille de Blaitière The Aiguille de Blaitière (3,522 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territor ...
, the
Dents du Midi The Dents du Midi (; French language, French: "teeth of midday") are a three-kilometre-long mountain range in the Chablais Alps in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. Overlooking the Val d'Illiez and the Rhône valley to the south, they face the L ...
, and the Dom. In 1875 they made the first ascent of a peak on the Aiguille de Triolet, which Charlet named Pointe Isabella. This peak actually has two summits joined by a small ridge. The northern peak in high and is the usual one that is climbed.Punta Isabella
summitpost.org, retrieved 5 April 2014
They climbed a new peak in the
Aiguilles Rouges The Aiguilles Rouges (, "Red Needles") are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc Massif. The colour of the iron rich gneiss (metamorphique) mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Ai ...
in 1881, which they named Pointe de la Persévérance in honour of "the perseverance that they had shown before they had dared to confess their affection for one another". Straton climbed
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 ...
four times. This included the first winter ascent in January 1876, accompanied by Charlet and Sylvain Couttet. This feat was published in local and foreign newspapers which turned Straton into a climbing celebrity.


Personal life

Straton and Charlet married in November 1876, both adopting the surname Charlet-Straton, and settled in
Argentière Argentière () is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, at an altitude of .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 ...
. They had two sons whom they encouraged to take up climbing; one climbed Mont Blanc at the age of thirteen and the other at eleven. One of their sons, Robert, was killed in
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 ...
in 1915. Straton died in 1918 in
La Roche-sur-Foron La Roche-sur-Foron (; Arpitan: ''La Roche'') is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located about 23 km (14.2 mi) southeast of Geneva, Switzerland. La Roche-sur-Foron sta ...
,
Haute Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva; to the south and southeast are Mont Blanc and the Aravis mo ...
, and was buried in Argentière. When Straton and Charlet's grandchildren opened a hotel in Chamonix, they named it Pointe Isabelle in memory of Straton.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlet-Straton, Isabella 1838 births 1918 deaths English mountain climbers British female climbers People from Sussex English emigrants to France People from Kingston upon Hull People from Chamonix