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Columbia student becomes first woman to free climb 'murder wall' in Swiss Alps

Emma Miller

Pick your classes. Stock up on study snacks. Buy a shower caddy. These are just a few things the average college student might do the week before the semester begins.

But if you’re Sasha DiGiulian, you’re gearing up for the school year by setting some serious records.

On Aug 29, the 22-year-old professional rock climber became the first woman to free climb the perilous Magic Mushroom route up the North Face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. She and her climbing partner, Carlo Traversi, were the first American team to make the ascent.

Standing alongside Carlo Traversi, DiGiulian was all smiles. “I've never tried harder on anything in my life. I am wrecked and can't believe it's real. 4 days 3 nights and the dream is complete! We did it!” she tweeted.

Known as the “murder wall,” the climb is one of the most difficult in the Swiss Alps — and DiGiulian respects that.

“There were definitely points on the climb where I would feel almost paralyzed by fear,” she says. “It hit me in waves, realizing the extent of the danger that the Eiger actually has to climbing it.”

Although she and Traversi arrived in Switzerland Aug 1, they didn’t summit until the Aug. 29, largely due to inclement weather conditions. Storms can roll in unexpectedly on the Eiger, she says, which increases the danger of rock fall.

“And when they’re large chunks of rock, no helmet is going to protect you,” DiGiulian says.

In addition to the threats of dangerous weather and falling rocks, DiGiulian says she also had to overcome the pure physical exhaustion that comes along with a challenge like the Eiger.

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“On Saturday morning before reaching the summit and completing the climb, I felt like I couldn’t even open my hands, they were so tired,” she says. “It’s a lot of suffering, and a lot of convincing yourself that you can do something when there’s a lot of uncertainty and doubt.”

DiGiulian and Traversi arrive at the Eiger.

When she’s not scaling cliffs, DiGiulian is a senior at Columbia University. She says she tries to split her time between her school and her sport.

“I have a nontraditional approach to school, in that I live off-campus in my own apartment and travel every weekend,” she explains. (Living off-campus is rare at Columbia, where nearly all undergraduates live in university housing all four years.) “When I’m traveling, I’m doing school work on the plane.”

In addition to majoring in nonfiction writing and minoring in business, DiGiulian participates in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta.

DiGiulian schedules her classes for three days each week, and then spends Thursday through Monday traveling -- on a climbing trip, at a speaking engagement or attending an event for her sponsors, which include Red Bull and Adidas Outdoor. When asked about her weekend plans, she tosses around the names of cities she's planning to visit might the way most students toss around restaurant ideas.

“I’m probably leaving for LA tomorrow to go climb Mount Whitney,” she says nonchalantly. She should be back just in time for the start of class this Tuesday.

DiGiulian posing with friends on Columbia’s campus.

Despite her hectic schedule, DiGiulian balances her school life and professional life with the same precision with which she scales mountains — and she has genuine passion for both pursuits.

“School was something I was brought up to value,” she says simply.

And when she talks about her recent summit, her voice gets soft and dreamy.

“Up on the Eiger you’re living in your own little world. You look around, and you see a sublime landscape of mountain ridges and snow-capped peaks,” she sighs. “It’s beautiful.”

Emma Miller is a student at Columbia University and a fall 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.

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