Elvira Shatayeva

Elvira Shatayeva (1 December 1938 - 8 August 1974) was a Soviet mountaineer and professional athlete. In 1974, she led an all-female expedition to Lenin Peak. During the descent, she and the seven other members of her expedition were caught in a snowstorm and died.

Early life Shatayeva was born in Moscow. A former art student, she was introduced to climbing and mountaineering by her husband, Vladimir Shatayev.

Climbing career Shatayeva achieved the rare distinction Master of Sport, one of the top levels of the Unified Sports Classification System of the then-Soviet Union.

Shatayeva was the third woman to ascend 24,590‐foot Ismoil Somani Peak, the highest in the Soviet Union. In 1972, she was the first Soviet woman to lead an all-female ascent of a peak above 7,000 meters. This ascent took place on Ozodi Peak, located in Tajikistan. In 1973, she led a five-woman expedition on the north–south traverse of Mount Ushba in the Caucasus.

In popular culture "Phantasia for Elvira Shatayev" by Adrienne Rich (poem, 1974) "Phantasia for Elvira Shatayev" for soprano and orchestra, by Thomas Oboe Lee (1981) "Climbing the Mountain" by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (poem, 1975)