Climbing Days

by Dorothy Pilley, Dan Richards (Introduction)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781837261529
Publisher:	Canongate Canons
Publication date:	07/04/2024
Series:	Canons
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400

About the Author

Dorothy Pilley (1894–1986) was a trailblazing writer and mountaineer who led the way for women’s climbing and co-founded the Pinnacle Club for women in 1921. She climbed ridges and sheer faces around the world, creating a legacy that is admired to this day. In 1928, together with her husband I.A. Richards and Swiss Guides Joseph and Antoine Georges, she pioneered a route up the north-north-west ridge of the Dent Blanche in Switzerland. Climbing Days, a celebrated memoir of her early life and climbs was published in 1935.
Dorothy Pilley (1894–1986) was a trailblazing writer and mountaineer who led the way for women’s climbing and co-founded the Pinnacle Club for women in 1921. She climbed ridges and sheer faces around the world, creating a legacy that is admired to this day. In 1928, together with her husband I.A. Richards and Swiss Guides Joseph and Antoine Georges, she pioneered a route up the north-north-west ridge of the Dent Blanche in Switzerland. Climbing Days, a celebrated memoir of her early life and climbs was published in 1935.
Dan Richards is the co-author of Holloway (with Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood), and the author of The Beechwood Airship Interviews, Climbing Days and Outpost. He has written for the Guardian, Economist, Caught by the River, Monocle and Quietus. Dan teaches creative non-fiction at the National Centre for Writing and Arvon Foundation. His next book, Overnight, is set to be published in 2023. @Dan_Zep

Editorial Reviews

"Some climbing books grant you insights into geography, or topology, or human psychology. Some climbing books simply scare you to death. Just now and then, there's one that conveys the sheer fun of it all"

RONALD TURNBULL

"A superb chronicle of vertiginous exploits and derring do . . . a luminous, questing mountain odyssey"

DAN RICHARDS

"Throughout history, there have been British women at the forefront of climbing, on both a national and global scale. Dorothy Pilley is one such lady"

UK Climbing

"A true classic. An invitation to be bold, have fun and find the best words for adventure"

HELEN MORT

"Fizzes with energy, crackles with chutzpah - a groundbreaking account of a pioneering life"

ROBERT MACFARLANE