Bio
Kitty began climbing in her home state of South Carolina at the age of eighteen. In college she started ice climbing and in 1984 she traveled to Peru and it was here she fell in love with big mountains. She climbed Dhualagiri in the Himalaya and three years later led an expedition to the West Pillar of Makalu and summited. She has climbed all over the world including a new route on the West face of Middle Triple Peak in Alaska. She first met fellow Patagonia ambassador, Barry Blanchard at 17,000 ft. after topping out on the Cassin Ridge of Denali; Barry was bringing her and her partner fresh hot chocolate.

Kitty has worked extensively with the Castleton Tower Preservation Initiative and "Chicks with Picks," a series of women's-only ice climbing clinics. She lives in Castle Valley, Utah when she is not out on the road.

When asked what she would like people to know about her, she smiles and says, "I'm a mom and a storyteller."

Recent Projects
"My most recent project was climbing the Diamond Couloir on Mt. Kenya and climbing the Salathé Wall on El Cap with Becca Roseberry. An ongoing project is that I'm a mom to Grady Grissom and a wife to Jay Smith. As for future projects and new routes I have planned, I'm not telling."

Environmental Projects
"I've worked with Utah Open Lands to purchase land at the base of Castleton Tower and I'm working with Friends of Indian Creek to help preserve the area so that we don't end up having to pay fees for resource management."

Favorite Products
"I like the Houdini Jacket because it's light and valuable for keeping me warm if there's a breeze. I like the Specter Pullover because it's super light and compressible and I can depend on it to keep me dry if I'm caught in a storm on a rock wall. I also like the Capilene Silkweight Long-Sleeved Shirt because I like the soft feel. Plus, it's not too hot to wear in the middle of the summer if I want added protection while climbing an offwidth crack."

Other
"My favorite mags are Alpinist and She Sends."

Quotable
"I was raised as an alpinist, so the thing I'm most afraid of is falling."

"Until I found God, climbing was my only religion. I was drawn to climbing because I knew nothing about it. Although I was afraid of heights, I wanted to challenge myself and alpine climbing, especially in the winter in the Rockies, became my passion … climbing at my limits keeps me humble. I am trying to lose the judgmental attitude and focus instead on my connections with other people and the environment. I have finally reached a place where I can be a driven climber, but content at the same time. Though I am still looking for the next cool line to do, that search no longer defines who I am."