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 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] 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 was also married to Lyle Dean.[3][5] She currently lives in Castle Valley, Utah.[4]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Kitty Calhoun at Patagonia
- Kitty Calhoun at Scarpa
