Isabelle Patissier (born March 1, 1967) is a French world champion

rock climber Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

and more recently a

rally driver Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

. 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 Route or routes may refer to: * Air route, route structure or airway * GPS route, a series of one or more GPS waypoints * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * Route (command), a program used to configure the routing table * ...

Climbing career

Patissier started climbing at age 5 or 6 with her parents. At 14 she practised mountaineering in

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 ...

and also slalom and

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

. In 1986 at the age of 19, she won the first French official

climbing competition Competition climbing is a form of regulated rock-climbing competition held indoors on purpose-built artificial climbing walls (earlier versions were held on external natural rock surfaces). The three competition climbing disciplines are lead c ...

, taking place in the sportshall in

Vaulx-en-Velin Vaulx-en-Velin () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, eastern France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is located to its northeast, on the river Rhône. History The rivers, including the Rhône, ...

only steps from her highschool, climbing barefoot. After this she devoted herself full-time to climbing and in 1988 became both the first woman to climb an 8b (''Sortilèges'' at Cimaï) and French champion. She subsequently won this title a further 3 times.

Personal life

Between 1993 and 1996 she was married to

Nicolas Hulot Nicolas Jacques André Hulot (; born 30 April 1955) is a French journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and honorary president of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, an environmental group established in 1990. Hulot ran as a candid ...

a TV presenter and writer. In 1995 she retired from climbing. In 2000, she made her motorsport debut in the

Rallye Aicha des Gazelles The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc is a rallying, rally which is held in the deserted parts of southern Morocco. The distinctive feature of the rally is that participation is restricted to women only. In 2009, the 20th edition of the ra ...

and in 2002 competed in her first

Paris-Dakar rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than conventi ...

.''Dakar.com''
"Fiche pilote Isabelle PATISSIER"
. Retrieved on 17 May 2013. She later married her copilot/mechanic Thierry Delli-Zotti.

Notable climbs

:* ''Les sucettes à l'anis'' - Cimaï (FRA) - 1989 :* ''Sortilèges'' - Cimaï (FRA) - 1988 - First-ever woman in history to redpoint an :* ''Échographie'' - Gorges du Verdon (FRA) - 1988 :* ''Katapult'' -

Frankenjura Franconian Switzerland (, ) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main in the north, its relie ...

(GER) - 1985

Rankings

Lead Climbing World Cups

Lead Climbing World Championships

Lead Climbing European Championships

Lead Climbing
Rock Master Rock Master is an international competition climbing event that is held every year in Arco, Italy. The event takes place in two rounds: the first is an on-sight session and the second is called "after work". The final classification is given by ...

Number of medals in Lead climbing World Cups

Rally results

*2000 - 3Com Star Challenge - 2nd *2000 - Trophy des Gazelles - 3rd *2004 - 1st woman world champion (Production category), with Team Nissan Dessoude *2004 - Oman Desert Express - Winner *2004 - Rally of Tunisia - 9th *2006 - Rally of Tunisia - 7th *2007 - Rally of Tunisia - 4th *

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

- competed

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

(3rd in

2WD Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes vehicles with a drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive power and torque from the engine, simultaneously. Four-wheeled vehicles For four-wheeled vehicles (and by extension, vehicles with six, eigh ...

, 16th in overall ranking) and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

*
IFSC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patissier, Isabelle French rock climbers French rally drivers French female mountain climbers 1967 births Living people IFSC Climbing World Championships medalists IFSC Climbing World Cup overall medalists Female rally drivers French female climbers French competition climbers 20th-century French sportswomen