Climbing Days - Dorothy Pilley

In the 1920's it was rare for women to climb in the Alps, let alone without a guide, and to do so without a man at all was practically revolutionary! Dorothy Pilley was among the founding members of The Pinnacle Club (an all women's climbing club that still exists to this day), and paved the way for women to record their achievements through this and the Ladies Alpine Club. She was a true pioneer and champion of women in mountaineering.

From the back cover:

When Dorothy Pilley first began climbing in the 1910s, female mountaineers 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 rock faces in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Rockies, Mount Fuji and the Himalayas. Her tireless championing of fellow women climbers and her own trailblazing example helped establish female alpinists 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.