Climbing mostly in the Alps, she was described by Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed as "one of the greatest women climbers of her time".[1] Margaret Jackson was born in 1843 to Jane and George Samuel Sanderson.[2] Jackson began climbing in the 1870s with her husband;[3] together they made the first ascents of the Weissmies' east face in 1876 and the Dom's west ridge in 1878.[3][4] In 1884 she, Alois Pollinger (a Swiss mountain guide) and Johann-Josef Truffer became the first climbers to descend the west ridge of the Dent Blanche.[3] Her most famous expedition was made in January 1888:[4] over twelve days, Jackson made the first winter ascents of the Lauteraarhorn, the Pfaffenstöckli, and the Gross Fiescherhorn, followed by the first winter traverse of the Jungfrau[5]—a feat that had previously been considered close to impossible.
