Cathy O'Dowd is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, from both its north and south sides. She remains an active adventurer, dog-sledding in the remote wilderness of the Norwegian Arctic, tackling the sheer rock walls of Yosemite, skiing untracked snow in the Alps.

Cathy, who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, has climbed ever since leaving school. She was completing her Masters degree in Media Studies at Rhodes University, and working as university lecturer, when she saw a newspaper advert for a place on the 1st South African Everest Expedition.

She was one of 200 women who applied for the Everest place, and was the one finally selected. The team followed the route made famous by Edmund Hillary. Despite being the apprentice on the team Cathy O'Dowd reached the summit. It was, however, a tough introduction, as a team-mate was killed on the descent.

Following the expedition the South African government passed a Resolution saying: "Cathy O'Dowd joins illustrious women in South Africa who are demonstrating that women have come into their own and are contributing to the many glories achieved by our nation."

Two years later she took on the challenge of the treacherous north side of Everest, where George Mallory had famously disappeared in 1924. Her attempt ended just hours below the summit when she stopped to try and save a dying American woman.

The following year she returned once more, and succeeded, becoming the first woman in the world to climb Everest from both north and south sides. She returned to Everest one more time to make a bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to climb a new route on the notorious east face of Everest.

Cathy O'Dowd has written two books about her Everest experiences, Everest: Free To Decide, co-written with Ian Woodall, and Just for the love of it, translated into German as Aus Liebe Zum Berg.

Cathy O'Dowd is currently living in Andorra, in the Pyrenees mountains, while she pursues her speaking career, and explores the mountains of Europe.