2009 Spirit of Adventure Awardees: Natasha Sebire and Gemma Woldendorp

Gemma and Natasha became the first Australian team to climb the largely unexplored routes on granite peaks (which are up to 6000m in altitude) and towers in remote Miyar Valley of the Indian Himalayas in early 2008.

Gemma Woldendorp and Natasha Sebire have been awarded the Australian Geographic Society Spirit of Adventure Award for 2009. Gemma and Natasha became the first Australian team to climb these largely unexplored routes on granite peaks (which are up to 6000m in altitude) and towers in remote Miyar Valley of the Indian Himalayas in early 2008.

Their key objective for the trip was to explore the climbing potential of the rocky spires and snow-clad peaks around the Miyar Valley. They climbed two new rock and a mountaineering route, having to carry all their equipment with them (ropes, rock climbing equipment and rock shoes, etc).

Most excitingly, two of the new routes were first ascents, peaks that had never been climbed by anyone before. This gave Gemma & Natasha the right to name the peaks.

Gemma and Natasha first teamed up in 1999 and from that their climbing partnership has gone from strength to strength.  Their passion lies in adventurous climbing- exploring rarely visited remote areas and discovering new routes and peaks, and their search for new climbing has taken them to places such as Bolivia and Greenland, where they have also implemented new routes.

Gemma is a keen writer, with many of her articles appearing in climbing magazines and newsletters.  Natasha is an ardent photographer and videographer, taking her camera up steep mountains and terrains to capture the essence of the experience.  In 2005 Natasha won an encouragement award at the ‘In the Bin- Board Shorts’ short-film festival in Queensland.  The festival later toured in 2006 around Australia.

Displaying their love and drive for exploration in any circumstance, Gemma and Natasha truly demonstrate the Spirit of Adventure.

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The AG Awards