Women on High: Pioneers of Mountaineering

by Rebecca A. Brown, Arlene Blum (Foreword)

These tales of courageous women of centuries past will captivate anyone who loves a good story of the mountains. In Women on High , Rebecca A. Brown traces the lives and achievements of the inspiring women of mountaineering's early days, who bravely bucked convention to pursue a passion for standing atop the world's highest places. Defying Victorian perceptions of women as frail, delicate creatures, these bold women traveled above and beyond where women--and most men--had gone before.

More than a retelling of first ascents and summits climbed, Women on High delves into the heart of what compelled these women to break with tradition to pursue these high the quest for independence, the search for spiritual and personal fulfillment, and the longing to step outside proscribed gender boundaries. Brown's riveting portraits of these pioneers of mountaineering reveal how their astonishing ascents of some of the world's highest summits are as extraordinary today as they were more than one hundred years ago.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Feminism, Adventure, Climbing, Outdoors, Womens

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good set of essays about many of the early women mountain climbers – from the late 19th through early 20th centuries. The picture of early mountain climbing is very interesting. It is amazing that anyone could climb some of the highest mountains in Europe and the U.S. wearing Victorian dresses and corsets and basically regular shoes. Climbers also did not seem to have water or much in the way of food compared with how we climb today. It is also nice to read about women who challenged the Victorian standards.

[Minna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahtava kirja naisista vuorikiipeilyn historiassa! Heitä ei hidastanut heikot varusteet, karut olosuhteet eikä muiden epäilykset.

[KatieSuzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm impressed with any story about early mountaineers. Climbing mountains, often in winter, with unlined leather boots, blacksmith forged ice axes, tweed suits, barrels of wine, baskets as backpacks, candle lamps…seriously how did these people make it up there and across those crevasse filled glaciers with hemp ropes tied around their waists?!?! A friend once told me you could climb Everest with stuff you can buy at Walmart, and it's totally true, because basically that's how they used to do it. They talk about sleeping bags as if they're some awesome new invention when really it was just a bag full of quilts. I can only imagine what those mountaineers could do now with our modern equipment and technique, not to mention everything being lighter and warmer. So on top of all that this book focused on the women who first had to overcome the prejudice against them even being capable of the sport, and then they did it all in a skirt, sometimes a corset. Are you serious?!?! Yes they were and totally inspiring.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a rock climber, hiker, and ultrarunner. Brown's compilation of these courageous and inspiring stories of the pioneering women in our sport was so inspiring and necessary for my appreciation of the trails blazed for me literally and figuratively in the outdoor space. Additionally it provided me with inspirational role models that I didn't know I was lacking, especially reading about Fanny Bullock Workman who shared a hometown with my father's family and Dora Keen with my mother's family, as well as reading about Miriam O'Brien Underhill and her numerous admirable ascents and qualities. I now have so much love and admiration for a myriad of women I would not have been exposed to otherwise. I did not realize how impactful seeing people I can relate to in the mountaineering realm would be to me and now see it as invaluable for all women in the outdoor community.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not believe how interesting this book was. I found it in a hut while I was backbacking the Whites, and I had to look it up when I got home so I could finish it. Unbelievable women climbers of the 1800s. Not only did they climb some of the most difficult peaks in the world, but they did it in long, wool skirts and nailed boots. They did it in the face of societal and cultural restrictions. I was so inspired by these women.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not an engrossing story that has you eager to turn pages. It reads more like a textbook than a narrative even with the personalized introductions to each chapter.

[Mylissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a female climber or mountaineer you want to read this book.

This has a lot of really interesting information about early women mountaineers. It has dramatized bits at he beginning of chapters based on writings from that particular woman climber and then goes into the more non fiction aspects of who they were, why they climbed, and often one of their trips. It's interesting to see all the things they had to go through to be a mountaineer in the 1800s/early 1900s which is majority of the time frame or the book.

But I have a personal grievance with books that have inserts in the middle of chapters. Rather than at the end or beginning of the chapter, when it's in the middle I have to stop in the middle of what I'm reading about and then pick it up later or skip the insert and come back to it. Can we instead not layout books like magazines? I'd be okay if we didn't lay out magazines like this but I really don't understand to do it to books. This is a totally personal pet peeve however. There is a lot of interesting information in the book, even if at times it's presented a little blandly.

[SP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read describing what were and still are quite incredible feats. The book is well researched and an easy read. It is not surprising that most of these female mountaineering pioneers were from well off backgrounds which allowed them to enjoy regular and extended trips to the Alpes and other regions of the world. If there is one frustration that I had with the book then it is that few of the companions that these women had on their often quite sizeable expedition teams were ever named in the book, even if they made it to the top with them. Maybe they were never named in the original sources as I am sure many of the women in the book were after all children of their time. But is this not something to point out? Without that reference, it made me wonder whether the book was written with the same attitude that lead to the first Nepali to climb Mt Everest to remain nameless for so many years and that presents us today with countless books of European explorers who did not seem to see the need to name those who put their lives at risk for their expeditions.

[Babs Schmerler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book at a High Pointers Convention and wanted to add it to my collection of books about women mountaineers. What those women wore was mind boggling and, given the weight of their clothing, they had to be at least as strong as the men. Mountaineers in the Victorian era were a hardy bunch, and women really had to prove themselves. Unfortunately, the competitiveness between women was as bad as among the men. It took a very long time for women to be respected in the sport, but I am glad they paved the way for those of us today. Reading about the expeditions of the past makes a person thankful for the light weight gear of today and our many advantages in terms of navigation.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like it more than I did. However, it was fascinating to read about the diversity of methods used to take on these early expeditions to climb peaks. Some methods of organization, like those used by Peck in the early starting in 1895, seemed downright irresponsible. Others, like Workman, threw money at the problems and succeeded. (I found myself wondering what would have happened with Peck if only she had the money of Workman.) If nothing else, these stories solidify the Chamonix/Zermatt area of the Alps as the birthplace of mountaineering. All the best climbers of the early 1900s seemed to have had some influence from that place.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liechtenstein, the Alps

Women are so cool! I love us!
Essays about different historical women mountain climbers.

I climbed to the top of the 2nd Highest Mountain in the Continental USA: Mount Elbert in Colorado, 14,440 feet tall, which is NOTHING compared to how high some women climbed, and I didn’t even climb in a corset or dress!!

[Siffy Torkildson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of some amazing female mountaineers. As important today as they were in their time

[Alpha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 - The author does a great job presenting each woman as a distinct figure, which was a nice change of pace after reading Inverting the Pyramid. I could've done without the fictional accounts before each chapter, though; they seemed unnecessary.

[Audra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book. Interesting subject matter to me. The writing was solid but a little dry. Early climbing is fascinating and the conditions/equipment these women encountered is pretty remarkable. Certainly got me excited about climbing this year.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an enjoyable read! Women mountain climbers who climbed in SKIRTS!!! Amazing individuals who followed their dreams rather than convention.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history. I am more of a "tramper" than an alpinist, for sure!