Silvia Vidal, the Piolets d'Or 2021 Special Mention video

Silvia Vidal is absolutely unique and it is no coincidence that ace mountaineers such as Sean Villanueva have been inspired by the formidable Catalan prior to embarking on their own ascents. There is no other alpinist who has spent so much time alone on the world’s biggest rock faces, establishing new climb in the most far-flung and inhospitable corners of the planet, encountering huge technical difficulties in a pure and uncompromising style of ascent. Shunning even modern means of communication.

The following example is a case in point: in order to forge a line on the west face of Xanadu in Alaska in 2017, Vidal was alone for 53 days, 36 of which she spent transporting the approximately 150 kg of food and gear before spending 17 days alone on the wall while tackling difficulties up to A4+.

For her "outstanding contribution to solo big wall climbing over the last two decades" the Catalan climber received a Special Mention at the recent Piolets d'Or 2021 in Briançon, France. Here is the video portrait that was aired during the celebrations and also, for those wishing to delve in a little deeper, an interview she gave to Kay Rush at the 2008 Trento Film Festival.