Marie Paradis

Who was Marie Paradis?

Maria Paradis was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc.

Paradis was a poor maidservant who lived in Chamonix at that time part of the kingdom of Sardinia. On 14 July 1808, in the company of renowned mountain guide Jacques Balmat, she became the first woman to climb Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain. The party camped on the Grand Mulets, and during the final ascent Paradis suffered from fatigue and was assisted by her guides. On the summit, Paradis was in such poor condition that she had difficulty breathing, was unable to speak, and could not see. Mark Twain reports that she took her boyfriend with her, a detail not found in other sources. In 1809 she recorded her experience in an "admirably graphic and picturesque" account. Le Blond reports that Paradis made "quite a fortune" out of her achievement.

Afterward she was known as "Maria de Mont Blanc"; Charles Edward Matthews notes, in The Annals of Mont Blanc, that after her own successful climb she would leave refreshments for others who attempted Mont Blanc.