Kitty Calhoun

Catherine Howell "Kitty" Calhoun[1] (formerly Kitty Calhoun Grissom; born 1960) 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 died by 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] In 1987 she was the first American woman to climb Dhaulagiri in Nepal,[2] marking her first 8,000-meter peak, although she and her teammates had no Himalayan climbing experience.[3][5] 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 climb Makalu, the world's fifth-highest mountain.[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. She currently lives in Castle Valley, Utah.[4]

References
  1. Waterman, Jonathan (April 1988). "The Education of an Alpinist: Kitty Calhoun". Climbing.
  2. Hilgers, Laura (May 30, 1994). "Her Not So Serene Highness". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  3. McCann, Clark (Spring 2003). "Kitty Calhoun: Fire on Ice" (PDF). UW Business. University of Washington. pp. 40–41. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  4. "Kitty Calhoun". Patagonia.com. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  5. Krakauer, Jon (June 1993). "What's a Nice Southern Girl Doing in a Place Like This?". Outside. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  6. MacDonald, Dougald (2006). "Kenya" (PDF). American Alpine Journal. 48 (80): 308. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
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