The North Face Presents: Didi Marion Haerty And Her Team Of Didis Challenge Cultural Norms To Explore More Than Just Lobuche Peak

The North Face aren’t just celebrating International Women’s Day on 8th March, but throughout the whole month. The aim is to celebrate the achievements of their female athletes and show how they can shape the future.

On 10th March, ‘Didi’ the film documentary will launch, featuring Marion Haerty and her female team in Nepal. TNF athlete Marion is the most decorated Freeride World Tour athlete of all time with 4 wins to her name and craved something bigger after years of competitive snowboarding.

The film delves into her personal journey of life outside the competition track and the team focus on exploration and pushing boundaries, as well as delving into the role of the mountains in each of their lives.

Delving into a personal journey of life outside of the competition track, ‘Didi’ the documentary featuring Marion Haerty launches today. Didi, meaning woman or bigger sister in Nepali, is a story about exploration and pushing boundaries whilst tackling the reality of mountaineering as a means of emancipation in Nepal. Together the team journey to summit Lobuche Peak at 6,117m, aiming to complete the first known descent of the Lobuche by a female snowboarder.

Marion Haerty is the most decorated Freeride World Tour athlete of all time with 4 wins to her name alongside countless other competitions including the infamous Natural Selection. After years of competitive snowboarding, she craved something bigger. Didi is a quest in the heart of the Himalayas, setting foot in the high mountains and a challenge to climb and ride a 6’000 summit: the Lobuche Peak.

Summiting the highest peak of her life was not however the sole purpose of her expedition. Nepal is steeped in a long history of mountainous accomplishments, and there she spends her time discovering the culture of this legendary country that holds a vital place in alpinism history. Central to this is her commitment to a 100% local female team; Dawa Yangzum Sherpa (the first and only female Nepali IUAGM guide), Fura (Everest and Ama Dablam summiteer, amongst others), Mingma, Maia and Phurba. Five very strong and inspiring women who work tirelessly to negate the country’s culture of stereotypical gendered roles and chose the mountains as a means of emancipation.

Marion has been competing on the freeride snowboard scene for the past six years. She explains: “Snowboarding is more than just collecting medals on a shelf, it’s also about meeting people and living extraordinary moments. After these four world champion titles and the NST vice-champion title, I wanted to express myself elsewhere, to celebrate these last years of sports and emotions, sharing these moments of flow, where we are just human beings looking for sensations, looking for freedom.”

The documentary explores the powerful connections within this extraordinary group of women and the role of the mountains in each of their lives. Producer Alicia Cenci adds: “This movie is about sports as an emancipation tool and the importance of putting light on inspiring stories. What isn’t visible doesn’t exist to the eye of others, the aim of this film is to make them visible and build role models for future generations of women.”