How to Climb Mt. Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer

by Mick Conefrey

• Which explorer found the lost site of Jesus' first miracle?• Who was first to the top of the highest mountain in Peru?• Who was the first Westerner to visit the Ottoman harem in Constantinople?• Who held the world record as the only person to fly from Britain to Australia for 44 years? You'll find the answers to these questions and more in Mick Conefrey's charming new book (a none of them had beards). In 1870, New York mountaineer Meta Brevoort climbed Mt. Blanc in a hoop skirt. Pausing at the summit only long enough to drink a glass of champagne and dance the quadrille with her alpine guides, she marched back down the mountain and into history as one of the first female mountain explorers. Here, Mick Conefrey weaves together tips, how-tos, anecdotes, and eccentric lists to tell the amazing stories of history's great female explorers—women who were just as fascinating and inspiring as all the Shackletons, Mallorys, and Livingstones. Most were brave, some were reckless, and all were fascinating. From Fanny Bullock Workman, who was photographed on top of a mountain pass in the Karakoram, holding up a banner calling for "Votes for Women" to Mary Hall, the Victorian world traveler, whose motto was, "take every precaution and abandon all fear," How to Climb Mt. Blanc in a Skirt is uproariously funny and occasionally downright strange.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, History, Feminism, Reference

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Mick Conefrey is the author of the award-winning Adventurer’s Handbook and How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt. An internationally recognised filmmaker, he has produced several BBC documentaries on mountaineering and exploration, including The Race for Everest. He lives in north Oxford with his family.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for a source for names of female explorers, and a short bibliography of their writings, this book will suit. If, however, you are looking for an in-depth look at female explorers, go elsewhere.

Additionally, don't expect the sort of tongue-in-cheek humor suggested by the title to pervade the book. Although it exists in places, the book as a whole is fairly dry.

This, unfortunately - for I'm sure the author didn't mean this to happen - lends an air of subtle sexism to the book. Like I said, I'm sure the author didn't intend it, but unfortunately a book, written by a man, that talks about the gender differences between men and women, while quoting - surely with humorous intentions but without humorous delivery - sections from previous female explorers' writings that discuss details of wardrobe and toilette, etc... It just doesn't sit quite right.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es handelt sich hier tatsächlich um eine Sammlung von Anekdoten. Leider fand ich das für die Struktur eher nachteilig. Man kam kaum in einen Lesefluss und
ich zumindest konnte die Reisenden kaum auseinander halten. Wenn ein Thema mal über mehr als zwei Seiten, gegen Ende des Buchs auch mal fünf Seiten ging, war das schon auffallend angenehm. Eine Aufteilung nach Chronologie oder nach Personen hätte mir persönlich besser gefallen. Dennoch eine kurzweilige Anekdotensammlung.
Hier ein Zitat:
Tipps für den Umgang mit Behörden:
"Der große und nahezu einzige Vorzug, den man genießt, wenn man eine Frau ist", schrieb Freya Stark, "besteht darin, dass man sich immer dümmer ausgeben kann, als man ist, ohne dass sich jemand wundert" - schon gar nicht dumme Männer. Beamte fallen meist in diese Kategorie.

[SmartBitches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Oh my gosh, fellow history buffs, clear your schedule – How To Climb Mt. Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer is so much fun. This book is all about women who were explorers and adventurers, including early explorers such as Lady Hester Stanhope (1776 – 1839) and more modern women such as Jerri Nielsen (1952-2009).

In an earlier book, Conefrey wrote about male adventurers and tried to distill some universal life lessons from their experiences. Later he realized that almost everyone he wrote about in that book (The Adventurer’s Handbook) was male, not because he intended to exclude women but because he was “simply ignorant of the long history of female travelers and explorers.”

In How to Climb Mt. Blanc, he attempts to “redress the balance.” He was also curious about what, if any, general differences there are or were between male and female explorers. This question forms the framework of the book, which is more of a big picture look at female explorers than it is a set of biographies.

Here’s what you can expect to find in the book – lots and lots of anecdotes about women doing amazing things. Usually, instead of giving one person’s life story from start to finish, Conefrey uses one example from their life to address the topic he’s exploring. There are also sections of tips, usually re-printed from the explorer’s writings.

- Carrie S.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book overviews female explorers and adventurers from the 1800’s through the 2000’s. There are succinct summaries describing specific events for each woman. The author focuses on women, interestingly enough, from English speaking countries (the author is British).
This is a nice book to start reading about different female adventurers and maybe look into something more in-depth about one of them somewhere else.
The book is nicely organized and I personally enjoy the drawings throughout the book. I would certainly recommend this book to who ever would be interested in reading it. I am even thinking of different young women who might enjoy it.

[Carol Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Many women explorers I had never heard of. Old packing lists were amusing.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this book reads likes a college essay on women explorers, I still enjoyed learning about the wide variety of women and their adventures. There is little depth, just a simple lighthearted reporting on women adventurers over the last 200 years.

[Hel Gibbons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have done without all the 'so we find women are better than men at x and worse at x'. The material is interesting enough on its own without clumsy editorial gender commentary.

[Charlotte Beauvoisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains a hugely inspiring collection of stories.

I like the format of the book. There is some discussion on differences - if there are any - between men and women explorers and travellers, some wonderful - and sometimes inappropriate - travel tips and best of all, stories about the adventures these ladies somehow (but not always) survived. I was also particularly happy to see a bibliography which will keep me busy reading for many years.

You can't fail but want to do some mad crazy trip after reading this book. (I did notice that if you don't die along the way, hardened female adventurers do tend to live to until their mid 80s or 90s).

“A brief history of paper underpants” is of course worth buying the book for too!

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book based on a review from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. The review came out in 2015 so I may have had more excitement had I been able to track the book down sooner and/or read it right after I tend to not re-read reviews before reading the book but it would have been helpful in this case and would have reset my expectations and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more. I picked it up a couple of years ago. I was expecting more of a deep dive into a few prominent explorers, especially those women who had climbed Mt. Blanc. Instead, there are a series of explorers, most with only a couple of paragraphs, many about whom the author seems to be smirking.

[Annika Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really quick yet thorough read. I had only heard of a few female explorers before. I liked how this book was divided - the climates, companions, etc. It made much easier to compare and contrast the explorers. I also liked the inclusion of the little anecdotes or lists from their diaries.

[Ness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting snippets about female explorers arranged in themes.

[Fee-Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love this book. Brings me Wanderlust and makes me Proud to be a Woman!

[Sarahs bunte Welt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, aber wo sind die Geschichten über die Frauen. Ein langweiliges Lexikon. https://www.sarahhatsgetestet.de/2023...

[jj Grilliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why women explore. Where women go. What women wear. Books women have written on their journeys. Brief descriptions of what different women explorers did. Worth reading

[Maiyaiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

as a non climber it was boring but i love the fact that it shows the diversity of every woman when it comes to facing such criticism in a men dominated work

[Michele Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for an interesting, informative read that’s been broken down into bite-sized portions, consider giving this one a space on your coffee table. Read full review here.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. An entire book devoted to women explorers / travelers / badasses? Sweet!

Not so much.

This book is obviously well researched. But completely lacking in any sort of story that you can really bite into. More "She did this, then this, then came back and did this."

Two, the layout is kind of distracting. The insets aren't necessarily set off enough to realize when you've got one, versus continuing on the story you've got.

Three, I'm not entirely sure if it's tongue and cheek, but the repeated comparison of male and female explorers is really tiresome. Is this really some inquiry into who's better at exploring? I don't think so, but if not -- then what's the point?

[Io Nuca · Rating 5 out of 5]

O mini-enciclopedie despre unele dintre cele mai aventuriere femei. Girl power ftw!

„May French Sheldon armed herself with a pair of Colt revolvers and a Winchester rifle, giving her '31 chances to shoot without having to reload'. One day, when her porters were looking particularly mutinous, she unholstered her Colts and downed a vulture with her first shot. Then she turned the guns on her men and ordered them to keep moving - or else. No one argued. On another occasion, a Masai warrior flew at her waving his spear, shouting 'Wow, wow, wow!' She took out her pistol, fired into the air, and then ran at him. 'Suffice to confess,' she wrote, 'I now own that spear.'”

[Sho · Rating 5 out of 5]

a thoroughly ripping read, it made me want to get my exploring boots on and hotfoot it to the Amazon or Darkest Africa.

In the history of exploration, avaition, mountineering and the like the women who forged their way through jungle, accross glaciers or flew accross sees are often overlooked. So when this came up as the Kindle Deal of the Day i couldn't resist it.

It's in public-transport friendly, or bedtime-reading sized chunks, and is a well written jog through a brief explanation of the journeys and personalities of some rather interesting women.

thoroughly recommended.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! this book. Mick Conefrey gives women their just due as explorers and does it in a funny way! The book celebrates females throughout history who have been adventurers to foreign lands. It is set up so you can easily pick it up, thumb through and read a few pages. Although I do recommend starting at the beginning as Conefrey does a great job describing the inhibiting clothing women had to wear, and the awful food they sometimes ate. A great bedside table book to pick up as you are about to fall asleep.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an early birthday gift from my dear friend Elisa. It was very interesting, and I think the thing that kept me at 3 stars was that I wish the author would've gone into more detail on some of the adventurers he discussed. Everyone knows Amelia Earhart's name, but there are so many other women who have been pilots, hikers, climbers, sailors, and pioneers that we just don't hear much, if anything, about. This book was a good overview of many of those women who went places in the day and age where men didn't think that women could do it. Girls rock!!!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely! Never the less, it took me a while to get through because after reading each vignette, I HAD to look up photos and read more about that particular explorer. I now have a whole slew of fascinating women to admire, and hopefully inspire my own traveling adventures. Not to mention, several of their books to read!

[Santhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snippets into the varying adventures of female explorers throughout past centuries. Isabella Bird, Gertrude Bell, Freya Stark, Jenny Darlington - among so many others, did not just open new chapters of exploration but new worlds for me to discover through their eyes.

[yengyeng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ascending a mountain in Victorian skirts and petticoats can be done. Well researched, with more useful survival tips, and a joy to read, especially for an armchair traveller.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun and educational. I now have some names to look up for more in depth reading on female explorers.

[Littlenightowl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read!

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This interesting topic was covered with no depth whatsoever; each explorer was described in about 3 paragraphs. Too bad, because I wanted to enjoy it.

[Austra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travel is a form of madness.

[Nadia Mughal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Just a light introduction to some of the most gutsy, adventurous women out there. Inspiring but not heavy. Good beginners guide

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a compelling and entertaining book, full of tales of amazing, inspirational and often humerus women. I'm off to read some of Freya Stark's books now!