Also important is its delineation of the outrageous sexism that Blum talks about, mainly at the beginning of the book. It was a monumental achievement, to be sure, and this account is a valuable one in the literature of mountaineering, particularly in its fulsome details on the frustrating difficulties of logistical and human-resource management, eg., the cultural and gender clashes between the native Sherpa guides and the Westerners. And Annapurna: A Woman’s Place has become an acknowledged classic in the annals of women’s achievements-a story of challenge and commitment told with passion, humor, and unflinching honesty.Īrlene Blum and her crew of women climbers were the first Americans of any sex to scale the deadly 8,000-meter Himalayan peak of Annapurna in 1978. By proving that women had the skill, strength, and courage necessary to make this difficult and dangerous climb, the 1978 Women's Himalayan Expedition’s accomplishment had a positive impact around the world, changing perceptions about women’s abilities in sports and other arenas. Never before has such an account of mountaineering triumph and tragedy been told from a woman’s point of view.

On October 15, two women and two Sherpas at last stood on the summit-but the celebration was cut short, for two days later, the two women of the second summit team fell to their deaths. Expedition leader Arlene Blum here tells their dramatic story: the logistical problems, storms, and hazardous ice climbing the conflicts and reconciliations within the team the terror of avalanches that threatened to sweep away camps and climbers.

In August 1978, thirteen women left San Francisco for the Nepal Himalaya to make history as the first Americans-and the first women-to scale the treacherous slopes of Annapurna I, the world’s tenth highest peak.

A woman's place is on top annapurna