Jolene Unsoeld Dead at 89
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In 1955, Jolene became the first woman to climb the Direct North Face of Grand Teton in Wyoming. She was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. Her 22-year-old daughter Nanda Devi tragically died while on an expedition with her father, Willi, as she was climbing her namesake mountain Nanda Devi, the second highest peak in India. Jolene wrote a diaryish book called Wild Adventures We Have Known about life with her husband who in 1963, joined Tom Hornbein as the first climbers to ascend Mount Everest's West Ridge. Her life as a climber never matched Willi's but her passion for adventure and a life well lived certainly did. |
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Rest in Peace, Jolene. |
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What an impressive life, truly remarkable. |
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Collin H wrote: Jolene outshined her husband's climbing and professional accomplishments in the long run and had a real impact on society. By most accounts, including Jolene's, Willi & Jolene were an oddball couple. Her passing is noted due her scrappiness to climb with Willi on the North Face of the Grand, the historical footnote for her, and Willi's connection to climbing history. Her ascent would not have happened without his insistence and help, however. Both had a flair for insufferable high-mindedness that extended into a kind of metaphysical wokish goop akin to something Gwyneth Paltrow would dream up while high on weed but Jolene was more practical, informed, and self aware. |
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Climbing.com published an obit on Dec 6th written by Jed Williamson who was editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering for 40 years. |
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That’s rad that she climbed the North Face of the Grand under any circumstances. And three terms in Congress isn’t trivial either. The story of Nanda Devi was heartbreaking, even for a distant observer. Rest in Peace. |