Kate Ballard was born into a mountain world. A life of open skies, valleys and peaks. She is the daughter of world-famous mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, the first woman to solo Everest without support or oxygen. In 1995, when Kate was just four, Alison was caught in a storm on K2 in the Karakoram and died. Despite the tragedy, her father James had promised Alison that no matter what happened, they would continue to bring up their children with the spirit of adventure. Side by side with her brother, Tom, their childhood took them to the wilderness.
In adulthood, Kate travelled the world in the pursuit of wild places and extreme sport.
Tom was quickly becoming reputedly one of the best Alpinists of his generation taking the mountain world by hold.
Both, living free in a world of rock and snow. Until, Tom, was lost to the elements, in the same mountain range as his mother. History repeating itself. Kate, distraught in grief, fought to survive this terrible turn of fate. From within the darkness that consumed her, she would fight back and go back to the mountains alone.
Kate’s love of the mountains is undiminished, and she is an accomplished snowboarder, skier, climber, alpinist, rock collector, moi artisan, speedrider and paraglider. Stones And Feathers is her first book.
