Meet the ACTION heroines

Photographer MARIANNE SCHWANKHART, 43, is a rock climber specialising in extreme climbs. In 2004 she became the first  woman to scale the central Torres del Paine peak in Chilean Patagonia. To date, she is the only woman to have summited all three of them.

“Working my way up a vertical wall in a remote corner of the world is my happy place. Looking down at the sun shining over a craggy, iced landscape is almost ethereal. It’s like being somewhere heavenly.

I became hooked on climbing in 1996 when, as a student studying fine arts, I joined what is now the University of Johannesburg’s climbing club. I met a group of like-minded, thrill-driven climbers there, and that was the start of it all. Two decades later, our group still climbs together. Scaling mountains with other people takes a lot of trust – you have to believe they’ll have your back no matter what happens – so I cherish the close relationships I have with my climbing crew.

Over the years, and