[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15819]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              WORLD-RENOWNED ROCK CLIMBER SASHA DiGIULIAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate 
Sasha DiGiulian, a constituent and world-renowned rock climber. She is 
the first woman in the world and the first American to free-climb one 
of the most difficult routes up the north wall of the Eiger in the 
Swiss Alps.
  I have known Sasha for a long time. She is a family friend and a 
schoolmate of my daughter. She began climbing at just 6 years old at 
Sportrock in Alexandria, Virginia, and has since become the top female 
climber in the world. She is small, slender, lithe, and incredibly 
strong. Sasha has the uncanny ability to defy gravity.

                              {time}  1030

  Sasha was the overall female world champion in 2011, is the reigning 
Pan-American champion since 2004, and is a three-time U.S. national 
champion. She is the only North American woman and the third woman in 
the world to climb the grade 9a, 5.14d, the hardest sport climbing 
grade ever achieved by a woman, doing so in Kentucky's Red River Gorge.
  In August, at age 22, Sasha climbed the north wall of the Eiger, a 
massive 1-mile vertical rock face in the Swiss Alps. This is one of the 
most difficult and deadliest mountains in the world. Sixty-four people 
have died attempting the Eiger since 1935, earning it the German 
nickname ``Mordwand'' or ``Murder Wall.''
  It took Sasha and her climbing partner, Carlo Traversi, nearly a 
month to make the climb, facing constant rockfall, rain, ice, and 
snowstorms throughout their ascent. Sasha became the first woman and 
the first American to climb the face via the Magic Mushroom route, one 
of the most difficult paths to the summit.
  As if her accomplishments were not impressive enough already, Sasha 
is also a third-year student at Columbia University, where she is 
studying nonfiction writing and business. She has been published in 
National Geographic and several other outdoor publications, and is an 
athlete representative on the board of the International Federation of 
Sport Climbing.
  I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sasha on her 
outstanding achievements. She is a shining example of how hard work, 
determination, and dedication can lead anyone to unprecedented heights. 
I wish Sasha all the best in her future ascents as she continues to 
make us proud. To paraphrase Maurice Herzog: There are other Eigers in 
the lives of women and men.

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