When I was halfway up Everest, there were moments when I wished I was somewhere warm – just like the characters in this fun Disney cartoon about two princesses, Anna and Elsa, whose kingdom has been thrown into eternal winter. But you have to love winter to be a mountaineer – and cold, mountainous environments are incredibly beautiful. The illustrators have done a nice job of capturing that beauty.  Trekking across the snow in a dress and high heels like Anna isn't exactly practical, though. I'd have fitted her out with a proper pair of boots, but it is good to see a Disney film about a strong female character. I wouldn't say I've had to struggle to be taken seriously as a female mountaineer – I've had a lot of respect – but there certainly aren't many women in mountaineering.  Anna and the other characters have bravery and perseverance, exactly the qualities you need to be a successful mountaineer. I was 21 when I climbed Everest last year: it took more than a year of training and it was painful. But it was worth it. I do motivational speaking about the climb and I'm even thinking about going back to try the north ridge.  In one scene, Anna and her friends are attacked by wolves. That's a real hazard if you're trekking in places like Canada and the US - along with attacks by bears. But there are no animals at high altitude. I must admit I have sometimes been very tempted, like Anna, to stop and build a snowman. Everest isn't really the place to do that though: it's a serious environment. Snowman-building would have felt inappropriate.  Magic is at the heart of Frozen and mountaineering can also be a really magical experience. There's an area on Everest, right after base camp, called the Khumbu icefall, that is utterly magical: it's where the Khumbu glaciers come down through the valley, creating these crazy, beautiful ice sculptures. It's a scary, dangerous place, but it's also very beautiful. I don't think any of the Disney landscapes were based on real places like this. But I do wish the mountains in the film were real – I'd love the chance to climb them!
Women climbers are not high in number, but Disney's heroine Anna has the right credentials to join them – as long as she ditches the high heels, says Mollie Hughes