The '78 team actually had multiple issues with the Sherpa staff. On a positive note, this year a group of Nepali women became the first all-women team to summit the highest mountains on all seven continents. Women in Nepal today rank 145th out of 187 countries on the gender inequality index (the US rates 5th and we still have a long way to go). Unfortunately the women chosen had no porter experience whatsoever and were hired to do camp chores (quite opposite of the team's intentions).

The team originally planned for Sherpanis (female Sherpas) with porter experience, willing to be trained to climb. Most high altitude climbers start as porters. Porters can also be Sherpa people, but not necessarily mountain climbing guides. Sherpa actually refers to an ethnic group in Nepal. The Nepali staff included porters (men and women who carry gear at lower elevations) and Sherpas for the high altitude climbing. The trip took incredible fundraising efforts, including selling some pretty fabulous T-shirts with the slogan, 'A Woman's Place is on Top.' The book chronicles the intense logistical challenges of gear, food, and Nepali staff. But the publicized success of the venture brought that message to people all over the world. We did not organize the Annapurna expedition to prove that women could climb high mountains.

The first chapters discuss some historical high altitude female climbers and then highlight each individual member of the '78 team, including ten climbers, one base camp manager, and two film crew. The introduction discusses past and present challenges for women climbers-not the general challenges of a massive mountain climb in the Himalayas, but the intense sexism surrounding the climb. This book is about the 1978 women's climb to Annapurna I in the Nepal Himalayas. By Arlene Blum. This book review also published in Misadventures Magazine.

A woman's place is on top annapurna