Charlotte Fox (mountaineer)

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Charlotte Fox
Born	(1957-05-10)May 10, 1957 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	May 24, 2018(2018-05-24) (aged 61) Telluride, Colorado, U.S.
Known for	First American woman to reach the summit of three eight thousanders; survivor of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster
Spouse	Reese Martin III

Charlotte Conant Fox (May 10, 1957 – May 24, 2018) was an American mountaineer and the first American woman to reach the summit of three eight thousander peaks. She survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster as a member of Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness expedition. She died of head injuries on May 24, 2018, after falling over a stairway railing at her house.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Early life

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina on May 10, 1957, Charlotte Conant Fox was the daughter of Jared Fox and Ann Robinson Black. She described her upbringing as that of a "southern debutante."^[6] A graduate of St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Virginia and then of Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1979 after college, she relocated to Colorado and later married Reese Martin III, who preceded her in death in 2004.^[7]^[8]

Climbing career

Fox was the "first American woman to climb three mountains at altitudes of 8,000 meters or higher", according to The Washington Post, who also said that Fox was "the first American woman to summit the 8,000-meter Gasherbrum II in Pakistan in 1994 — which Fox once said in an interview with Rock and Ice was her most important expedition — and then Cho Oyu in 1995."^[9] According to the American Alpine Club, Fox "climbed all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers, involving all kinds of terrain and weather," as well as the Seven Summits worldwide. Her summit list included:^[10]

Aconcagua, Argentina
Cho Oyu (1995)
Denali, Alaska, United States
Dhaulagiri, Nepal (2017)
Gasherbrum II, Pakistan (1994)
Manaslu, Nepal (2016)
Mont Blanc
Mount Elbrus, Russia
Mount Everest (1996)
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia
Puncak Jaya, New Guinea
Vinson Massif, Antarctica

Charitable and public service activities

Fox spent twenty-four years as a member of the Ski Patrol in Aspen, Colorado before relocating to Telluride, Colorado, circa 2007.^[11]
American Alpine Club (board of directors)
The Access Fund (board of directors)

References

^ Flynn, Meagan (31 May 2018). "Charlotte Fox, climber of the tallest peaks, survivor of 1996 Everest disaster, dies after an apparent fall at home". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ "Charlotte Fox, 1957-2018, Accomplished High-Altitude Mountaineer, Dies in Telluride". Rockandice.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ "Former Aspen climber Charlotte Fox, survivor of Mount Everest disaster, dies in home accident, friends say". Aspentimes.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ "Friend Remembers Climber Charlotte Fox, Survivor Of 1996 Everest Expedition". Wbur.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ "Charlotte Fox obituary". Thetimes.co.uk. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/obituaries/charlotte-fox-61-trailblazing-alpinist-and-everest-survivor-dies.html
^ "Charlotte Conant Fox" (obituary). Aspen, Colorado: The Aspen Times, June 7, 2018.
^ Criado, Justin (May 29, 2018). "Remembering Charlotte Fox". telluridenews.com. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
^ Flynn, Meagan (31 May 2018). "Charlotte Fox, climber of the tallest peaks, survivor of 1996 Everest disaster, dies after an apparent fall at home". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
^ "Charlotte Fox, 1957-2018." Golden, Colorado: The American Alpine Club, 2019.
^ Criado, Justin (May 29, 2018). "Remembering Charlotte Fox". telluridenews.com. Retrieved May 12, 2014.

External links

Charlotte Fox, in "The Lure of Everest," in "Frontline." Boston, Massachusetts: WGBH-TV/PBS.
"Storm Over Everest" (documentary), in "Frontline." Boston, Massachusetts: WGBH-TV/PBS.

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