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turtlewomyn
Mar 18, 2003, 9:56 PM
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Registered: May 19, 2002
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What books out there are about female climbers? I am especially interested in famous female climbers writing about their experiences.
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indigo_nite
Mar 18, 2003, 10:26 PM
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Robyn Erbesfield wrote "Rock Climbing Skills: The Basics & Beyond". she referred a little to her experience as an indoor competition climber but it's a general instruction book. there's also Lynn Hill's bio (co-written w/ Greg Child), I think called "Climbing Free". I haven't read it and heard mixed reviews. I think it was the '93 version of "The Best of Ascent" where an essay by Katie Calhoun was published. it was about a mountaineering feat and it was enjoyable albeit kind of macho. the 1st and 3rd books mentioned were available at my library (Cerritos public in Calif.)
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squishclimber
Mar 18, 2003, 11:05 PM
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I loved the Lynne Hill book. Very inspiring to see that someone, whether male or female, is so truly psyched on climbing for the sake of climbing and not money.
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iamthewallress
Mar 19, 2003, 1:13 AM
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In addition to those above... "Rock and Roses" edited by Mikel Vause. The title makes me want to puke, but the book is great. The newer edition has more stories than the original. It's a collection of short stories from climbing women of all ages and varied abilities. "The View From the Edge" by Gabriel (Gabriella?) Zim. This is a biography of Bev Johnson who is probably the woman climber (that I don't know in real life) who I find most inspiring. Stacy Allison's autobiography (not sure of the name) was pretty interesting. I haven't read it, but "Climbing High: A Woman's Account of Surviving the Everest Tragedy" offers a womans perspective of the events recounted in "Into Thin Air." I've heard that it wasn't very well written. The Lynn Hill book was surprisingly good. I give it strong thumbs up too.
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novus-ordotw
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Mar 23, 2003, 12:45 AM
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:shock:
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alpinelynx
Mar 24, 2003, 7:03 AM
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I really dug the book on Bev Johnson, definitely my personal hero (okay, and chuck pratt). The Lynn Hill book was great too - she always looks so enigmatic and this book gave the woman a little more dimension. Not to mention the personal account of the Nose free climb. I also have the Arlene Blum book about the all woman expedition to Annapurna gone sour. Haven't read it yet. Heidi Pesterfeld (spelling?) wrote an instructional book on learning to lead thats pretty good. Covers a lot and frankly, I like that a chick wrote it.
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aimeerose
Mar 24, 2003, 11:38 PM
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Registered: Jan 21, 2003
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Heather Sagar wrote a training book. She's amazing. The Lynn Hill book rocks!
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kcrag
Mar 28, 2003, 9:26 PM
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Registered: May 27, 2002
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Just my quick opinions: Lynn Hill's (Climbing Free) book was great. Loved the insight to the history of J-tree and Camp 4 climbers. Lene Gammelgaard's book, Climbing High was another account of Everest '96, but as metioned before, not very well written. I'd highly recommend Arlene Blum's Annapurna, A Woman's Place, if you are interested in the planning, execution, and politics of a mountaineering expedition (plus it's a captivating story and really well written, thanks for the borrow, skibby!). Oh, I also enjoyed Ruth Ann Kocuour's Facing the Extreme. She and her team survived (as well as summited) Denali during a hellish storm in '96. cheers, -kelly.
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