Reading Semester II Form 8

The Rock Star

Catherine Destivelle is a rock star. She loves rock but she can’t sing or play the guitar. She is a rock climber and a big star in France and Italy. She is probably the most famous woman climber in the world because she often climbs without ropes. She climbs in many countries but most often in the French Alps near Chamonix where she lives.

She started climbing near her home in Paris when she was five. Then, at fourteen, she joined the French Alpine Club to learn more but immediately she climbed better and more quickly than the older members of the club. She won her first competition in Italy in 1985.

Three years ago she founded a new route up the Dru Mountain near Chamonix. The climb took eleven days, and for four days the snow was so heavy that she could not move. She slept and ate in a bivouac on the side of the mountain. Last year other climbers tried to follow the new Destivelle route but they failed. They are going to try again this year.

People always ask her a question “Why does she climb?” She says “I climb because I’m in love with mountains. I like touching the rock and reading the face of the rock. I like it a lot: I feel comfortable and at home on the side of a mountain. I prefer well before I go, so I’m never worried”.

Catherine chooses new mountains from the books – like buying from a shopping catalogue! “I see a nice mountain and I go to climb it!” Her next mountain is in Pakistan. She is going there next month. “It’s much bigger than Dru, so it’s going to take longer to climb. An American climber, Jeff Lowe, is coming with me to help.”

Catherine is good at singing and playing the guitar.

The Rock Star

Catherine Destivelle is a rock star. She loves rock but she can’t sing or play the guitar. She is a rock climber and a big star in France and Italy. She is probably the most famous woman climber in the world because she often climbs without ropes. She climbs in many countries but most often in the French Alps near Chamonix where she lives.

She started climbing near her home in Paris when she was five. Then, at fourteen, she joined the French Alpine Club to learn more but immediately she climbed better and more quickly than the older members of the club. She won her first competition in Italy in 1985.

Three years ago she founded a new route up the Dru Mountain near Chamonix. The climb took eleven days, and for four days the snow was so heavy that she could not move. She slept and ate in a bivouac on the side of the mountain. Last year other climbers tried to follow the new Destivelle route but they failed. They are going to try again this year.

People always ask her a question “Why does she climb?” She says “I climb because I’m in love with mountains. I like touching the rock and reading the face of the rock. I like it a lot: I feel comfortable and at home on the side of a mountain. I prefer well before I go, so I’m never worried”.

Catherine chooses new mountains from the books – like buying from a shopping catalogue! “I see a nice mountain and I go to climb it!” Her next mountain is in Pakistan. She is going there next month. “It’s much bigger than Dru, so it’s going to take longer to climb. An American climber, Jeff Lowe, is coming with me to help.”

She was good at Sport in school.

The Rock Star

Catherine Destivelle is a rock star. She loves rock but she can’t sing or play the guitar. She is a rock climber and a big star in France and Italy. She is probably the most famous woman climber in the world because she often climbs without ropes. She climbs in many countries but most often in the French Alps near Chamonix where she lives.

She started climbing near her home in Paris when she was five. Then, at fourteen, she joined the French Alpine Club to learn more but immediately she climbed better and more quickly than the older members of the club. She won her first competition in Italy in 1985.

Three years ago she founded a new route up the Dru Mountain near Chamonix. The climb took eleven days, and for four days the snow was so heavy that she could not move. She slept and ate in a bivouac on the side of the mountain. Last year other climbers tried to follow the new Destivelle route but they failed. They are going to try again this year.

People always ask her a question “Why does she climb?” She says “I climb because I’m in love with mountains. I like touching the rock and reading the face of the rock. I like it a lot: I feel comfortable and at home on the side of a mountain. I prefer well before I go, so I’m never worried”.

Catherine chooses new mountains from the books – like buying from a shopping catalogue! “I see a nice mountain and I go to climb it!” Her next mountain is in Pakistan. She is going there next month. “It’s much bigger than Dru, so it’s going to take longer to climb. An American climber, Jeff Lowe, is coming with me to help.”

She didn’t start climbing until she was fourteen.