Yvette Vaucher
Yvette Vaucher (née Pilliard; 11 November 1929 – 30 September 2023) was a Swiss
Biography
Yvette Pilliard was born on 11 November 1929 in Vallorbe, Switzerland. She took up rock climbing in 1951 and climbed mainly on the Salève in the French Prealps near Geneva, where she joined a group of women climbers who were regulars on the Salève.[1][2] In 1955, she moved to Neuchâtel, where she began free fall parachuting.[1] She is credited as Switzerland's first female parachutist.[3] She had made over 100 mountain descents via parachute before she formed a climbing team with Michel Vaucher, a mountaineer whom she married in 1962.[1]
One of Vaucher's most famous climbs was the
Yvette and Michel Vaucher made numerous significant climbs in the Alps throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including
Vaucher and her husband joined an international expedition to Mount Everest headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth in 1971; she intended to become the first woman to reach the summit of Everest.[5] Tensions and conflict were rife within the team, however, and the expedition was ultimately unsuccessful.[6] Vaucher, upset with Dyhrenfurth's leadership, is said to have thrown snowballs at him before leaving the expedition.[1]
Vaucher was denied membership of the Swiss Alpine Club until 1979, when she became one of the first women to be made an honorary member.[2][3] As of 2012, she continued to hike regularly in the Alps, despite having hip and knee replacements.[2]
Vaucher died on 30 September 2023, at the age of 93.[7][8]
References
- ^ The Mountaineers Books.
- ^ a b c d Vollenwyder, Usch (2012). "Ein Leben am Berg" (PDF). Zeitlupe (in German). Retrieved May 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Ernst, Dominique (August 2, 2012). "Yvette Vaucher, une belle marraine pour Orjobet". Le Messager (in French). Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ St. Petersburg Times. July 15, 1965. p. 16-A. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
- ^ Sayle, Murray (July 2, 1971). "Defeat on Everest". Life. pp. 22–29.
- ^ Viesturs, Ed (2013). The Mountain: My Time on Everest. Simon & Schuster. pp. 235–245.
- ^ "Yvette Vaucher, pionera en el alpinismo femenino, muere a los 94 años". Marca. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "Décès de Yvette Vaucher". Le G.H.M. en direct. Retrieved 4 January 2024.