The Story of the Matryoshka-Climber
2009
The Matryoshka-Climber was originally designed by Irina Morozova, co-founder of the Steel Angel Award, and painted by artist Natalija Likonova in 2009.
The world’s first Matryoshka-Climber was crafted specifically for the women’s mountaineering festival Dolomites Women, held in the Dolomites
Artist Nadezhda Likonova, who worked on the Matryoshka-Climber while interacting with climbers for the first time, shared her thoughts:
“I only learned from your website that women even do this… I was amazed by the fearlessness of the girls. And the guys, too. I suppose only the beauty of the mountains you see could overshadow such fear… It’s something unreal, breathtaking. It was a great honor for me to create this for you.”.
The first Matryoshka-Climber, painted in 2009 for the Dolomites Women festival, was presented to the Municipality of Auronzo.
2010
The second Matryoshka-Climber, painted in 2010 for the next women’s festival, Lofoten Women, held in Norway, was gifted to Marco Prezelj during the event.
2024
Four new Matryoshka-Climbers were painted specifically for the Steel Angel Award nominees.
Two of them were created with the support of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, while the other two were crafted with the support by Irina Morozova, Olga Lukashenko, Oksana Kotlyar, Nadezhda Bogdanova and Daria Manziy. The original 2009 design was faithfully reproduced by artist Elena Semenova from Sergiev Posad.
