High-Altitude Woman: From Extreme Sports to Indigenous Cultures―Discovering the Power of the Feminine

I really first discovered adventure skiing when I picked up some ski brochure in the late 70s with pictures of Ned Gillette's trips to Ellesmere Island and New Zealand. Skitouring itself wasn't new but to see it done with Epoke 900s and Kastle cross-country skis was an eyeopener, and apparently that was the big novelty introduced by Ned Gillete --- pushing nordic touring style to extremes. It inspired me to ski on Mt. Cook with people I met on line in the early 90s, Nearly 40 years later, nordic touring is once again eclipsed by alpine touring, and maybe it is time to bring it back by reading about the nordic side from the first practitioners, of which Jan Reynolds was a formidable leader. Her first chapter on the New Zealand Southern Cross Expedition was a fascinating read because it was done from the point of view of somebody who was new to it herself, even though she was already an extremely accomplished cross-country skier. I considered that the finest chapter in the whole book. It set the tone for the rest of the book, which mostly covered Reynolds' adventures till the end of the 80s. When you consider how much she'd done within those 10 years, it is truly astonishing. Chapter Two is the Muztagh Ata ski ascent and descent, this time on Ramer's alpine touring bindings, which opened up the mountain to the whole world, till today it's done routinely, sometimes even within a day by strong individuals. But at that time it was a big novelty and the subject of a Nat Geo article with the understated title: Americans ski a Chinese Peak. It was also the trip that formed the opening chapter of Galen Rowell's book The Mountains of the Middle Kingdom. Chapters Three to Five is all about the Everest Grand Circle, which has already been told in the Reynolds/Gillette eponymous book, but from the POV of the seemingly current emphasis on gender neutrality, where the issue of male and female leadership, performance, and rivalry, and physical differences such as subcutaneous fat, are wrestled with almost down to the ground, only to be washed under by the tide of suffering and the starvatation the expedition party had to endure, which was ultimately the big leveler. When you are down to one bouillon cube for three people over three days, who cares if you're male or female? I totally emphasize, since I've experienced it myself in Canada on a canoe trip where we lost our rations and were down to 800 calories or less food intake a day. All I dreamt of was buttered toast, not chicken or sex. A few years ago, somebody did a Nat Geo reported ski trip on alpine touring skis in Patagonia, which I'd put in the same class as the Everest Grand Circle, but expeditions like this are still rare. After the crucible of these remarkable adventures, it isn't surprising that Reynolds emerged her own woman and found her voice in planning and executing her own adventures, most notably apart from Ned Gillette. She wanted to be an adventure writer, while Gillette wanted to continue as an adventurer, though to an outsider, it seems to be too fine a distinction, but nevertheless, she became successful at it. The only point I'd deduct from five stars can be attributed to the slowness in some sections where I was led on an extended tour of an emotional rollercoaster. Given how little energy she and her companions could spare from merely surviving, I can only admire her remarkable memory for remembering everything after all these years. Lastly, there was no tally of how many people in the book are still alive at this point. Gillette died from a failed robbery in the Hindu Kush, Carter from a climbing accident in the Tetons, Steve McKinney in a collision with a truck while being asleep in the back of his parked car, Galen Rowell in an aviation accident --- this adventure business has no intrinsic value but has claimed many lives directly and indirectly. Was it worth it? It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

I loved this book. It’s a great composite of the wild adventures that Jan has been on. Jan is a very insightful person and this shows in her writing. She points out dynamics in adventure partners that people like me, a guy, would never clue in to. So besides being great accounts of high adventure, it also makes you think about how you act towards other people in stressful situations. And especially, how you act towards the opposite sex.Disclaimer: I was once on a high school ski team with Jan. We all figured back then in high school that Jan was one of a kind. Time soon proved that we were definitely right! Read this book and you too will agree!

I have always admired Jan Reynolds and have followed her career. This book would seem to be gender specific but it is very revealing about how men and women interact not only in our society, but in the life of the indigenous people that Jan visited during her travels around the globe. It is interesting to read how her interactions with a basically male climbing partnership can reveal how women react and how men view and deal with an accomplished woman. Jan's views and comments about topics like Buddhism, climbing, children of vanishing cultures, are very enlightening. I could not put this book down.

I really enjoyed Jan's take on being a woman in a man's world. She is and was one of the guys! and her accomplishments to blend in and acclimate are amazing! I like the light-hearted manner in which she describes some of her epic adventures, and also enjoyed hearing her thoughts during those times. This is an eloquently written book to let the adventurer in all of us know that nothing is impossible!I would recommend this book wholeheartedly!

An exciting adventure by a H.S. classmate. She is one tough woman and an inspiration to all women....an men, who have a dream of doing greater things.

enjoyed reading this.....