Climbing Days

Book excerpt: When Dorothy Pilley first set hand on the rope in the 1910s, women climbers were seen as a dangerous liability, their achievements ignored, unrecorded or disbelieved. Undeterred, Dorothy proved herself on the vertiginous slopes of Wales, Scotland and the Lake District before tackling the rock faces of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Rockies, Mount Fuji and the Himalayas. Her tireless championing of other women climbers as well as her own trailblazing example led to women being seen as serious mountaineers with impressive records on bravery, skill and endurance. First published in 1935, Climbing Days tells a daredevil tale of adventure, near-death slips and rapturous achievement in high places, interleaved with moments highlighting the particular challenges of being a woman in a sport seen as the province of men.