The magnificent mountain women : adventures in the Colorado Rockies /

The Colorado Rocky Mountains have attracted myriad fascinating women since the gold-rush days of the 1850s. Robertson uses a biographical approach to chronicle the resilient, independent women homesteaders, botanists, physicians, recreationists, and trail guides who have climbed, skied, and reveled in Colorado's backcountry from 1858 to the present. The contributions the mountain women made are as varied as their individual backgrounds. The suffragist Julia Archibald Holmes came to Colorado with her gold-seeking husband and became the first white woman to ascend Pikes Peak. Susan Anderson, MD, settled in the isolated mountain village of Fraser, Colorado, where she found people to be more accepting of a female doctor. Coral Bowman Wilber became enamored of rock climbing in Colorado, where she established the first American school of technical climbing for women in the 1980s. All of the women in Robertson's book created an awareness and appreciation of mountain splendor through their work, writings, and the lives they lived. Useful maps, photos, and a glossary of mountaineering terms. General readers. -E. Kuhlman, University of Montana

Mountain women are "those who deliberately pursue mountain encounters," in these cases, women who chose to spend time in some of America's most rugged terrain. Jane Robertson, herself a climber and skier, has done remarkable research, culling anecdotes from letters, journals, and old newspapers, and bringing back to life more than 60 adventurous women who braved skepticism and hardship to experience the challenge and beauty of the Rockies. The earliest stories are the best--women hiking in long skirts, or shockingly, in bloomers, braving rough trails and snowy weather with minimal equipment and no training. Even so, tragedies were the exception, and many thrived on mountain adventure. Almost all were highly educated and from urban areas; they came for recreation, as botanists, writers, and to study Indian culture. In 1873, Isabella Bird climbed on horseback, befriended a mountain man, and helped round up cattle. Virginia Donaghe McClurg was the first white woman to visit the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde and worked to establish the national park. Doc Susie Anderson visited her patients on skis, snowshoes, or by foot at any time and in all kinds of brutal weather. A chronology and lots of photographs add to the appeal of this welcome glimpse into our past. Glossary, notes; to be indexed. --Donna Seaman

Since the 1850s, women have come to the Colorado mountains under their own steam. Robertson recounts the experiences of some of these independent, courageous women and their successes. Julia Archibald Holmes, a suffragist and the first woman on record to climb a Colorado mountain (Pikes Peak, 1858); Susan Anderson, a physician who tended the folks in Fraser Valley until she was 80 years old; and Coral Bowman, who started an American school of technical climbing, are among the mountain women included in the book. Robertson's superbly crafted book will introduce YA readers to the achievements of women that they perhaps never knew existed through a fascinating historic perspective. Climbers and skiers will enjoy stories of those who participated in a dangerous sport requiring much skill and courage. Highly recommended for regional history and women's history/achievement collections. --Carol P. Clark, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.