Brede Arkless (née Boyle) (10 August 1939 – 18 March 2006) was a British female rock climber and mountaineer, and was actively involved in the all-women's climbing movement.
As a teenager, having left school at 14, she was happiest wandering around the Wicklow Mountains, where she first saw rock climbers in action on the cliffs at Glendalough; she started climbing herself at Dalkey Quarry.
In 1998, an expedition party of five, including a 59-year-old Arkless, succeeded in crossing the Garhwal region of the Indian Himalayas between the Hindu temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath, a feat that had only been accomplished once before, in 1934.
[3] In 2000 Arkless tried to become the oldest woman to ascend Mount Everest, but failed when she had to abandon her attempt at 8,500 m (28,000 ft) due to severe altitude sickness.
After being diagnosed, Arkless rode her bicycle more than 150 miles over high mountain passes from her home in Twizel to a hospital in Christchurch for exploratory surgery, which revealed that her illness was inoperable.