They had three children, including Christopher, later Count Gravina, and Michael[5] who also took up climbing and was part of the team which made the first ascent of Pumasillo in 1957.

[9][10] She joined the Ladies' Alpine Club in 1955 and in 1959, aged 55, went to the Himalayas as a member of the International Women's Expedition to Cho Oyu, 8,188 m (26,864 ft) and the sixth-highest mountain in the world.

[11] The all female team also included Loulou Boulaz from Switzerland, Margaret Darvall and Eileen Healey from the UK, and the French mountaineers Claudine van der Straten, Jeanne Franco, Colette LeBret, Micheline Rambaud and Claude Kogan, who was the overall leader.

[13] Their attempt to scale the sixth highest mountain in the world was the first time in history that an expedition composed entirely of women (excepting guides and porters) had ever challenged such a peak.

[15][16][17][18] The Pinnacle Club party successfully made the first ascents of Kagmara I, II and III[19] in the Dolpo area of Nepal.