Iain is joined by adventurer Elise Wortley. In the last 7 years, Elise has taken on some hugely challenging projects to highlight some of the original – and largely forgotten - female mountaineers and explorers. 

What makes her ‘Woman With Altitude’ project unique is that she has climbed and trekked in places such as the Himalayas, the Alps and the Cairngorms using the same equipment and clothing that was available to her female predecessors at the time.

We discuss what it’s like trying to summit Mt Blanc in hobnail boots, how you source a wooden-framed backpack and the challenges of hiking in woollen knickerbockers. 

Elise also featured in the Channel 4 programme ‘Alone’ where she spend over a month in the Canadian wilderness completely alone. 

If you are heading to the snow then don’t forget that you can save money when you book your ski hire at intersportrent.com and use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ 

You’ll get a guaranteed discount for ski hire in France, Austria and Switzerland and to make it even simpler you don’t even need to use the code, just take this link and your basket will automatically be reduced. 

Listen to Iain’s previous interviews with:

·       BBC Ski Sunday presenter Chemmy Alcott

·       GB Snowsport CEO, Vicky Gosling 

·       Former Erna Low MD Joanna Yellowlees-Bound

·       Team GB freestyle skier, Zoe Atkin

Inghams are celebrating their 90th anniversary this winter (2:45)

Take a look at Elise’s website ‘Woman With Altitude’ (3:30)

Elise was inspired by Alexandra David-Neel’s book ‘My Journey to Lhasa’ (4:00)

Nan Sheperd wrote ‘The Living Mountain’ after hiking in the Cairngorms (11:30)

Find out more about Iain’s ski touring trip to Ben Lawers in Scotland (15:15)

Find out more about Elise’s Scottish adventure (15:30)

Jane Inglis-Clarke founded the Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club in 1908 (17:00)

Henriette d'Angeville was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc solo (17:30)

Look out for Henriette on the mural in the centre of Chamonix (18:15)

Elise’s hobnail boots were supplied by shoe specialists Trickers (20:15)

Dorothy Pilley wrote the book ‘Climbing Days’ and was the co-founder of the Pinnacle Club (24:00)

Elise travelled from Bastia to Monte Cinto in Corsica in February 2025 (24:30)

Watch the Channel 4 series ‘Alone’ (26:15)

[Spoiler] Elise came second after spending 34 days in the Canadian wilderness (32:00)

Elise will be returning to Chamonix in June 2025 to try and complete her recreation of Henriette d'Angeville’s historic climb (33:00)

Hotelplan are funding Elise’s 2025 attempt on Mont Blanc (34:15)

Only 2% of mountain guides are women (35:30)

FEEDBACK (37:00)

I enjoy all feedback about the show, I’m always interested to hear what you think, so if you enjoyed this episode, please do let me know on social @theskipodcast or by email [email protected] 

We’ve had a couple of items of feedback since the last podcast: 

Emma Budget: “Fantastic podcast! My husband and I have been listening religiously since before Covid. Now that we’re taking our first holidays as a young family, it’s been so useful picking up tips and tricks from your episodes about skiing with kids! It’s unbelievably rewarding skiing the slopes for the first time with them. Thanks for the podcast, we love it!”

Ian Simpson: "Great podcast. Gives me so many travelling ideas especially by train. Any chance you could do one exploring by motorhome? Small community type resorts working together for the van people who like exploring the mountains in Europe."

[Try this episode, Ian]

There are now 253 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with and 166 of those were listened to in the last week. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, why not to go theskipodcast.com and take a look around the tags and categories – you’re bound to find something of interest. 

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You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast. You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.