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Basecamp Podcast Discussion with Lydia Bradey, Everest and Yosemite Legend

Lydia Bradey is now known as the first woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. She grew up in New Zealand with her mother who struggled financially. As a teenager, she took up climbing and by 17 had climbed Mount Cook and Aspiring. At 19, she travelled the world and attempted Mount McKinley. She climbed 10 big walls in Yosemite, seven were first female ascents.

Lydia Bradey. Photo courtesy The Banff Centre
Lydia Bradey. Photo courtesy The Banff Centre

In 1987, she jumped onto the international climbing radar with an ascent of Gasherbrum II, which made her the first Australasian woman to climb an 8,000-metre peak. As she only had a permit for Gasherbrum I, her ascent was illegal.

When she climbed Everest in October 1988, her team broke rules agreed with the Nepalese. She was not permitted to climb the route she did. Her partners were Rob Hall and Gary Ball, who did not reach the summit to avoid being banned from the mountain. After claiming the ascent, Bradey retracted to avoid a ban. She later reasserted her claim and endured years of backlash from the community.

Since 2000, she has been a climbing guide and makes regular trips to Everest. She has climbed the peak a number of times as a guide. Listen to this Basecamp Podcast from The Banff Centre as Gripped editor Brandon Pullan talks to Bradey about the controversial summit, what prevented her climb from being recognized for years, and the backlash she faced after her ascent.

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