Kitty Calhoun
Catherine Howell "Kitty" Calhoun[1] (formerly Kitty Calhoun Grissom; born 1970) is an American mountain climber.
Early life
Calhoun was raised in Greenville, South Carolina. Her father, a corporate lawyer and a descendant of John C. Calhoun,[2] sent her to an exclusive private school in Greenville where she excelled in sports, particularly hockey and skiing.[3] She began rock climbing through an Outward Bound course at the age of 18 and took up ice climbing at 19.[3][4] She attended the University of Vermont and graduated in 1982 with a degree in recreation management.[3]
Calhoun's parents separated while she was in high school, and her younger brother Gib committed suicide shortly after she left college.[5]
Mountaineering
Calhoun began her career in mountain climbing as an Outward Bound guide in Colorado after graduating from college.[3] She later became a guide for the American Alpine Institute, with whom she led climbs in Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, Argentina, and Nepal.[4] On a personal trip to Peru in 1984, she climbed Pirámide, Alpamayo and Qitarahu.[5] She climbed Dhaulagiri in Nepal in 1987, marking her first 8,000 meter peak, although she and her teammates had no Himalayan climbing experience.[3][5] When she reached the summit, she became the first American woman to do so.[2] She subsequently received invitations to climb Mount Everest and join other high-profile expeditions, but she opted instead to lead her own expeditions with close friends. In recognition of her second 8,000 meter summit—an expedition she led up Makalu's highly technical West Pillar route—she was awarded the Robert and Miriam Underhill Award, the highest honor given by the American Alpine Club.[3] She was the first woman to successfully climb Makalu.[2]
In 1991 Calhoun relocated to Seattle and undertook a Master of Business Administration which she completed in 1993.[3] After receiving her MBA, she founded Exum Mountain Adventures, a guiding company based in Salt Lake City.[2] In 2006, she climbed the Diamond Couloir on the south face of Mount Kenya with Jay Smith.[6]
Personal life
Calhoun was formerly married to Colin Grissom, one of her climbing partners, with whom she has one son.[3][5] She currently lives in Castle Valley, Utah.[4]
References
- ^ Waterman, Jonathan (April 1988). "The Education of an Alpinist: Kitty Calhoun". Climbing.
- ^ a b c d Hilgers, Laura (May 30, 1994). "Her Not So Serene Highness". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McCann, Clark (spring 2003). "Kitty Calhoun: Fire on Ice" (PDF). UW Business. University of Washington. pp. 40–41. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c "Kitty Calhoun". Patagonia.com. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Krakauer, Jon (June 1993). "What's a Nice Southern Girl Doing in a Place Like This?". Outside. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ MacDonald, Dougald (2006). "Kenya" (PDF). American Alpine Journal. 48 (80): 308. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
External links
- Kitty Calhoun at Patagonia
- Kitty Calhoun at Scarpa