In her 40s, Dierdre Wolownick taught herself to swim. In her 50s, she took up running. At 66, Wolownick made a record-breaking ascent (攀登) of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park's granite monolith that has some of the longest, most challenging rock climbing routes in the world.
Wolownick had one of the most skilled rock climbers in the world guiding her: her famous son Alex Honnold, the star of the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo. The film tells her son's breathtaking journey to becoming the first person to climb El Capitan.
Reaching the top of El Capitan in 2017, Wolownick became the oldest woman to make that ascent. In late September, Wolownick climbed El Capitan again to celebrate her 70th birthday. On that adventure, she climbed up along an easier route that climbers typically use to descend. It took her six hours to reach the top, and after camping there overnight, she came down in 6.5 hours the next day.
Growing up in New York, Wolownick painted and played the piano in Jackson Heights, Queens. As an adult, she taught five languages and wrote books, including a 2019 memoir The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story, which is in part about her first El Capitan ascent. In 1990, she founded an orchestra in West Sacramento and conducted it.
"There certainly was no danger in those things. But none of them was really physical," she said. "I never in a million years thought that I could climb El Capitan."
A. However, she has not slowed down. B. Then, at 60, she became a rock climber. C. She gave full support for her son's career. D. But my feet no longer work the way they should. E. They were wonderful, greatly satisfying things. F. His climb didn't use any rope or safety equipment at all. G. The tiring climbs were quite different from Wolownick's life before. |
