Climbing Mont Blanc like it’s 1838

In 1838, Henriette d'Angeville became the first woman to climb Mont Blanc unaided in a 12-kilogram wool dress, a matching bonnet, and hobnail boots, with 18 bottles of wine and a carrier pigeon tucked into her pack. Her name was largely forgotten until adventurer and filmmaker Lise Wortley decided to find out exactly what that climb felt like by doing it herself, in the same outfit, from the same church in Chamonix, via the original route.

Lise joins Hugh to talk about her project Woman With Altitude, which researches and retraces the overlooked journeys of history's women adventurers - wearing exactly what they wore, right down to the corsets. She recounts the 2024 attempt that ended in a storm (four climbers died the following day), the return in 2025, and what it actually feels like to jump crevasses in a floor-length dress while looking into the darkness below. But this episode is about more than one extraordinary climb.

Find out more about Lise on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woman_with_altitude/?hl=en

Or her website: https://www.womanwithaltitude.com/

Photo credit: Grace Taylorson Smith Pritchard