While most kids sign up for sports they see on TV, like soccer, basketball, or tennis, when you’re born and raised in the Burgundy region of France, surrounded by world-class granite and basalt mountain ranges from the Alps to Morvan, you’re pulled in a different direction: up. Before she was even 10 years old, Charlotte Durif was exploring the alpine with her brother and father on multi-pitch routes. When she discovered indoor gyms at age 9, she never stopped climbing outside, but her practice turned more to single-pitch routes, which enriched her motivations.

In the 20+ years she’s spent climbing, Charlotte has covered a wide range of styles and formats, including: alpine multi-pitch, sport climbing, bouldering, and competitions. She has won 6 World Championships and 17 National Championships (including one in the U.S.). She was the second woman in history to climb a 9a/5.14d and has climbed more than 680 routes/boulders 8a/5.13b and up.

With more than 200 climbing destinations throughout the world under her belt, she is proud to have bolted and climbed many routes up to 8c, both abroad and close to home. When she’s not traveling the globe, she resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she co-owns and produces photo and video content for Cold House Media.