Synopses & Reviews
Barbara Washburn was the first woman to climb Alaska's Mount McKinley, at 20,320 feet the highest peak in North America. The ascent in 1947 was but a single feat of a woman who, by ordinary standards, has lived several lifetimes' worth of adventure. THE ACCIDENTAL ADVENTURER chronicles the life journey of a Massachusetts girl through college to a job at Harvard; her romance with a handsome, irrepressible young scientist and explorer named Bradford Washburn; and her emergence as an Alaskan mountaineering pioneer. Soon after she and Brad Washburn exchanged vows, she found herself a member of a climbing team led by her husband making an ascent of Alaska's Mount Bertha. A first ascent of Mount Hayes followed. Then came her historic climb of Mount McKinley (Danali). The decades that followed brought adventure in many forms as she raised three children, helped map the Grand Canyon, became an award-winning teacher, and traveled the world. In an era when a woman's place was in the home, she climbed - literally - beyond the limitations of her gender, becoming a role model for successive generations of young women who learned anything is possible. Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer, but she wasn't content to be a stay-at-home wife, either. In 1947, defying social convention, Washburn became the first woman to climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley. She accompanied her husband, Bradford Washburn, on other expeditions to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Everest, while raising three children at their home near Boston.
Synopsis
"Reaching the summit had been an emotional experience, and as we were about to begin our descent a funny thing happened. One of the boys announced he had to relieve himself. That gave me courage to confess that I did too. We were all young and modest, and there were no trees to hide behind. Brad responded, 'No problem, we have plenty of rope.' He tied the rope around my waist and lowered me down one side of the summit. As I relieved myself, looking over the magnificent scenery, I began to laugh uncontrollably. What would my friends at home think of me now?"
Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer, but she wasn't content to be a stay-at-home wife, either. In 1947, defying social conventions, Washburn became the first woman to climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley. She accompanied her husband, Bradford Washburn, on other expeditions to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Everest, while raising three children at their home near Boston.
Synopsis
Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer, but she wasn't content to be a stay-at-home wife, either. In 1947, defying social convention, Washburn became the first woman to climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley. She accompanied her husband, Bradford Washburn, on other expeditions to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Everest, while raising three children at their home near Boston.
Synopsis
The memoir of Barbara Washburn, wife of mountaineer Bradford Washburn, and the first woman to climb Mt. McKinley
About the Author
Barbara Washburn was born in 1914. A graduate of Smith College, she married mountaineer-explorer-mapmaker Bradford Washburn in 1940. Six years later, climbing with her husband, she became the first woman to reach the summit of 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, North America's highest peak. The mother of three, she also became one of the nation's earliest remedial reading teachers, and received awards in several fields of endeavour.
Lew Freedman has written more than a dozen books about Alaska. A former sports editor at the Anchorage Daily News, Freedman is now outdoors-adventure writer for the Chicago Tribune.