Like Mother, Like Daughter

In 1946 foreign travel, which for seven years had been virtually at a standstill all over the world, was at last possible again. The nations were exhausted, their cities lay in ruins and vast areas of Europe were devastated; the Alps, however, remained – untouched and eternal. War-weary climbers came flooding back seeking restoration and peace among the hills. There were great, glaring gaps in their ranks: Jean Morin, Roeli Roelfsema brother of Anna, Graham Jackson brother of Eileen, Hugues Paillon nephew of the famous Mary Paillon and countless others were all gone. Many women climbers returned to the mountains poignantly aware that for them climbing would never be quite the same again. Perhaps this had something to do with the rapid development of mother and daughter, mother and son ropes; whatever the cause, this was one of the important new movements of the post-war climbing world and as such deserves a short chapter to itself.