Kelly, Emily "Pat" (?–1922)
Kelly, Emily "Pat" (?–1922)
British mountain and rock climber. Birth date unknown; died in 1922, following a fall on Tryfan; married Harry Kelly (a rock climber).
Primarily a rock climber, Pat Kelly, who loved solo climbing, helped found the Pinnacle Club in 1921 and was its first honorary secretary. It was the earliest rock climbing club founded by and for women. "Perhaps we got tired of being taken in hand by men climbers, kind and helpful though they may be," said Kelly, "perhaps we sympathised with the would-be climbing woman who had no man friend to take her in tow; what would then become of her latent climbing powers, if she were never to be able to exercise them, except by favour? As in other walks of life, women wanted to find their own feet."
sources:
Birkett, Bill, and Bill Peascod. Women Climbing: 200 Years of Achievement. London: A. & C. Black, 1989.