Isabelle Patissier

French rock climber and rally driver

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Redpoint: 8b (5.13d)

Known forFirst woman to climb 8b (5.13d)

Medal record

Women's competition climbing

Representing France
World Cup
Winner	1990	Lead
Winner	1991	Lead
World Championships
	1991 Frankfurt	Lead
	1993 Innsbruck	Lead
European Championships
	1992 Frankfurt	Lead
Sport Roccia
	1986	Lead
	1988	Lead
Rock Master
Winner	1991	Lead

Updated on 29 March 2013

Isabelle Patissier (born March 1, 1967) is a French world champion rock climber and more recently a rally driver. She is known for winning two Lead Climbing World Cups (1990, 1991) and for being the first-ever woman in history to climb an 8b (5.13d) route

Climbing career

Patissier started climbing at age 5 or 6 with her parents. At 14 she practised mountaineering in Chamonix and also slalom and downhill skiing. In 1986 at the age of 19, she won the first French official climbing competition, taking place in the sportshall in Vaulx-en-Velin only steps from her highschool, climbing barefoot. After this she devoted herself full-time to climbing and in 1988 became both the first woman to climb an 8b (Sortilèges at Cimaï)^[1] and French champion. She subsequently won this title a further 3 times.

Personal life

Between 1993 and 1996 she was married to Nicolas Hulot a TV presenter and writer. In 1995 she retired from climbing. In 2000, she made her motorsport debut in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles and in 2002 competed in her first Paris-Dakar rally.^[2] She later married her copilot/mechanic Thierry Delli-Zotti.

Notable climbs

8b (5.13d)

Les sucettes à l'anis - Cimaï (FRA) - 1989
Sortilèges - Cimaï (FRA) - 1988 - First-ever woman in history to redpoint an 8b (5.13d)^[3]

8a (5.13b)

Échographie - Gorges du Verdon (FRA) - 1988

7c (5.12d)

Katapult - Frankenjura (GER) - 1985

Rankings

Lead Climbing World Cups

1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
?	1	1	2	7	2

Lead Climbing World Championships

1991	1993
2	3

Lead Climbing European Championships

1992
2

Lead Climbing Rock Master

1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992
3	2	2	2	1	2

Number of medals in Lead climbing World Cups

Seasons	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
1989
1990	2	2	1	5
1991	3	1		4
1992	1	3	2	6
1993	1		1	2
1994		2	1	3
Total	7	8	5	20

Rally results

2000 - 3Com Star Challenge - 2nd
2000 - Trophy des Gazelles - 3rd
2004 - 1st woman world champion (Production category), with Team Nissan Dessoude
2004 - Oman Desert Express - Winner
2004 - Rally of Tunisia - 9th
2006 - Rally of Tunisia - 7th
2007 - Rally of Tunisia - 4th
Dakar Rally - competed 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 (3rd in 2WD, 16th in overall ranking) and 2012^[2]

References

^ Maurizio Oviglia (23 December 2012). "The evolution of free climbing". planetmountain.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b Dakar.com. "Fiche pilote Isabelle PATISSIER" Archived 2013-06-16 at archive.today. Retrieved on 17 May 2013.
^ Oviglia, Maurizio (23 December 2012). "The evolution of free climbing". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.