Accidental Adventurer: Memoir of the First Woman to Climb Mount McKinley

by Barbara Washburn, Bradford Washburn, Lew Freedman (Contributor)

Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer, but she wasn't content to be a stay-at-home wife, either. In 1947, defying social convention, Washburn became the first woman to climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley. She accompanied her husband, Bradford Washburn, on other expeditions to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Everest, while raising three children at their home near Boston. "Reaching the summit had been an emotional experience, and as we were about to begin our descent a funny thing happened. One of the boys announced he had to relieve himself. That gave me courage to confess that I did too. We were all young and modest, and there were no trees to hide behind. Brad responded, 'No problem, we have plenty of rope.' He tied the rope around my waist and lowered me down one side of the summit. As I relieved myself, looking over the magnificent scenery, I began to laugh uncontrollably. What would my friends at home think of me now?"

Genres: Adventure, Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Travel, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Womens

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story and think the book is worth reading, I found myself frustrated by her lack of self-reflection. My guess is is her co-writers strung together bits of her journals into a coherent story. But the reasons behind her actions were never clear, and my book club argued over her intentions. Those that enjoyed the book more than I did saw her as traditional New Englander who was brought up not to dwell on emotions. For me, the book read as a very repressed and privileged woman who did exactly what was expected of her without questioning it. It's hard to defend it as typical of the times because her contemporaries, like Mary Austin, expressed themselves much more freely about the mountains and nature. Barbara Washburn clearly seemed to enjoy mountaineering, but the book often made it seem like she was doing it only because her husband wanted her to.

The book is a fast read and contains enough interesting information about Alaska and Brad Washburn to make it a worthwhile read. But I finished it feeling like while I knew what Barbara had accomplished in her like, I had no understanding of who Barabra Washburn was and why she lived the live she did.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good account of Barbara Washburn's climbs and other work. It did lack some depth. I didn't really feel like I knew who she really was, other than someone that wanted to please her husband and children. I know she accomplished a lot, but I didn't really feel that she loved what she did, other than maybe some of her teaching. I felt like I had a better understanding about her husband. That said, she accomplished a lot and her story was interesting.

[Jenreiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a life! It is probably really a four star, but I read it while traveling in Denali so it was extra meaningful!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed her story but found myself very critical about her elitism and snobbish mentality.

[Patrice La Vigne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman is the epitome of a badass. A devoted wife, she goes with the flow, even when it includes climbing mountains like it's as easy as taking out the trash! I don't know how she did it—and with such grace—but she has my admiration. A very quick and easy read.

[J Hobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun quick read. Washburn led a fascinating life and did things that were unheard of for women of her time. I wish she had discussed her feelings about it all in more depth though.

[Karen Quigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable due to the amazing experiences she had, even though the book itself is superficial and limited. I note that I described her experiences in the passive sense, which is how she describes them, just as going along, rather than as choosing.

The self-disparagement, the guilt about leaving her children, the minimizing want to make you scream, but are a constant reminder of the acculturation of women in the 50s and beyond. She is totally committed to that view of women in her marriage and in her family and builds a strong wall between the viewer and any sense that her life was less than perfect. In only a few cases does her evident personal feistiness (and a little frustration) through, always with a laugh and a light touch.

On the other hand, despite her denials, she embraced and took advantage of all the opportunities she had to make a substantial mark on the world. Her fearlessness, her stamina, and dare we say her ambition, while tied to her husband's goals, make her an adventurer in her own right. This book deals with all of them so lightly I'm not sure I would have appreciated them without having read a biography of her husband. which gives all the details she does not. The sum of them both is an adventure story, indeed, and an appreciation of what two people can do.

[Carl Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara Washburn lived an incredible life, becoming the first woman to summit Denali (then Mount McKinley) and some smaller Alaskan peaks, participating in mapping the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, the Presidential Range in New Hampshire, and more--while raising three children and being the proper wife of the era to the director of a noted museum. Her memoir describes her adventures and is lavishly illustrated with photographs. I enjoyed reading about her adventures very much, admiring her desire to accompany her husband that took her all over the world. I did feel like the work was largely based on journal entries, and given the time since much of the events, has a distant feel that doesn't transport me to the locations or share her feelings with me, but nonetheless a good memoir of a life well lived.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a rather easy ride told as a narrative from Barbara’s point of view. The issue I had it wasn’t really a hiking story like buried in the sky and other mountaineering feats instead a story of a wife traveling with her husband. Yes she was the first women to climb McKinley but there was little on this and it was successful halfway through the book then it just rambles on for too long. No real insights as to what made hiking in early equipment such a challenge so in short not a hiking book but a book of a wife following her husband on his travels. I say it like this as she admits she went because he was there and she repeats this often. Not very progressive thinking but it is traditional for the time and Barbara.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked:
* Quick, easy read
* Packs a ton of adventures into a short book that gives you a great sense of all she accomplished with Brad
* Inspiring -- seriously, Barbara is a badass, a pioneer, and an incredible lady

What I didn't like:
* Too 'diary style' (as in "first this happened, then this, then this, and then that)
* Sense of adventure, big moments, scary bits, boring parts all read similarly -- I never felt particularly worried about knife edge ridges or avalanches because they are all presented so blasé
* Some sense of elitism or failure to see risk on what she had done (possibly because she had some really good luck?)

Overall, worth reading and enjoyable.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library by chance as it was on the shelf next to the book I intended to get and it sounded interesting. I couldn’t put it down! We have a shared connection of the same alma mater which I didn’t know about until I started reading, but that aside the writing is such that it felt like her story was being recounted to me, personally. Barbara Washburn is the personification of every strong woman you’ve met who does amazing things but is so amazing herself that she doesn’t appreciate her own contributions to the world. It was very refreshing to read about this incredible woman who just so happened to be the first woman to climb Mt. McKinley.

[Robin Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfectly paced story of an amazing life. It's refreshingly concise and satisfying - just as long as it needs to be a no longer - and it comes as no surprise that the co-author was a newspaper sports writer. I read it in one sitting.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, engaging tale of the author's life as the wife of an explorer. She accompanies him on many journeys, such as summiting Mount McKinley in Alaska. A fast read and interesting to think of how mountaineering was done in the 1940s.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest and humble read by an amazing woman. I felt like I was in front of Barbara, listening to her tell the stories of her life. This isn’t the best written memoir, but that’s what I enjoyed about it. It feels more honest and less polished, coming straight from the source.

[Jenny Dohner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very amazing woman, but the style in which this book was written just didn’t keep my attention. Too much journal-like plodding along through her life.

[BCM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and endearing read! It made me want to get out and climb a mountain... and I barely like to go hiking.

[Kari Paulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard book to put down, read in two sittings. Incredibly inspirational!

[Scott Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at a library book sale, knowing nothing about it. Quite a life story and glad I picked it up

[Nikki Wisniewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love how down to earth she was!

[Grace Crowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read to learn about the photography and their adventures over time!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story & a quick read.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably would normally give this book 4 stars, however, my respect for Barbara Washburn is giving it 5 stars. Not so much a "page turner" but a pleasure to read. I believe that everyone has a story, and Mrs. Washburn has several that she modestly shares. Her life was quite adventurous because of the man she married. She didn't actively seek out adventure. It found her, when she met her husband. (Hence the title). She was the first woman to climb Mt. McKinley. She helped map the Grand Canyon, the white mountains, and Everest. Whenever I hike, I think, someone had to make this trail. Someone had to make the map that's in my day pack. She was a pioneer. The author turns 100 this year. Her husband passed in 2007. I loved what she did, what she accomplished, and I would love to meet her! Their story is beautiful, and I'd like to read more about Brad Washburn and his accomplishments. A short, quick read that will make you want to seek more adventure in your life. Illustrated with black and white pictures. I found myself looking up her husband's photography of their adventures while I read.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up this one and A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska (recommend) while on summer vacation in Alaska. I enjoyed Accidental Adventurer in part because it reminded me of my grandmother-in-law who was born and raised in the same times with similar cultural norms for middle/upper middle class educated white women and who supported her husband doctor's career. Both women are intrepid and have their own opinions and sense of self-worth, yet also humble and highly supportive of their husband's professional career that then became theirs. Washburn and her husband are fascinating, as is the telling of the adventures - great quick read.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir from Barbara Washburn, the first woman to reach the top of Mount McKinley. This is a quick read (less than 200 pages) and always entertaining. Washburn worked with her husband to summit several mountains. The pair also mapped McKinley, Everest, the Grand Canyon, and many other areas. Much of their work was done for the National Geographic Society. Washburn tells her story in a conversational tone, which makes the book a pleasure to read.

[Nann · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 2001, this is a delightful memoir of the Washburns who traveled the world to map mountains. Bradford Washburn was director of the Boston Museum of Science and a mountain climber/cartographer. Barbara Washburn accompanied her husband. She also had a 20-year career as a remedial reading teacher. [Brad died in 2007 at age 96. Barbara died in 2014, just weeks before her 100th birthday.]

[Shawnee Loris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this woman! She is a stand by her man no matter what kind of lady and it led her to places she never dreamed of! This is a real simple read. When I was working in Denali this book really came to life for me! It was a fun one to read while the nations tallest mountain loomed overtop!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by a trip to Denali National Park and a talk on climbing the mountain, I bought this biography. It was easy reading, well written and inspiring. A woman ahead of her times, who worked to change things and yet so unassuming and humble. A good read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

a mom does adventure. nice lady from old-fashioned era joins her husband in mountain climbing. enjoyed this book.

[Shannon Hollinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting account of a groundbreaking life!