A Woman’s Place is on Top… by Sheila

How to Climb Mont Blanc in a SkirtI recently walked into a second hand book shop attached to a National Trust property we were visiting, and as I went in the door, I saw this book in front of me.  I tried to ignore it at first, but couldn’t resist having a quick look and, of course, ended up buying it.  I thought there might be a few ideas for me in it, given that it is in fact full of retro tips from history’s greatest female adventurers.  There is no way I will be going up Kilimanjaro in a skirt, although I note Jae has got herself a rather natty little walking skirt.  I rarely wear a skirt in normal life – maybe on half a dozen days a year – and the week of walking uphill on the mountain will not include one of these days.  However there are a few gems in the book that are worth sharing, and I suppose Jae and I are sort of “lady” adventurers.

The book goes into some detail about a trip made towards the end of the nineteenth century by May Sheldon.  “She organised and led an expedition through the East African bush from Zanzibar to Mount Kilimanjaro” having hired “138 porters to carry her goods and equipment”.  I am not too sure that we can expect to travel in quite such luxury: I doubt anyone is going to carry us in a Palanquin!  Actually, to be fair to her, I think she only travelled to the foot of the mountain – there is no indication that she was actually carried up it.

A Palanquin

In the book I came across this lovely clothing list: a bit different in style from what we will need, although we will have to cater for similar temperatures.  I have looked in vain for a photograph of a “knitted kidney protector”: it seems to have been a kind of corset made out of wool.

Packing list from How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt
Packing list from How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt

I have been more successful in finding out what a “Jaros combination suit” was.  In fact I have found pictures for both the male and female suits: I imagine Oscar would look quite fetching in one! They were made of a “wool knit fleece material” and were recommended for “hygienic, therapeutic and prophylactic application”.  As children, we wore something not dissimilar to the Jaros combination suit as pyjamas – I suppose it was the precursor of the babygro and the onesie.  Ours were made out of fine cream coloured wool and had buttons up the front, and quite a large buttoned flap at the rear for obvious purposes.

Jaros combination suit for women
Jaros combination suit for women
Jaros combination suit for men
Jaros combination suit for men

Alison Hargreaves was an English mountaineer in the second half of the twentieth century and like many women adventurers was vilified in the press for embarking on risky expeditions.

“During her life and after her death … she was frequently accused of selfishness for going on high-altitude expeditions and leaving her young children behind.  Male explorers, by contrast, are never criticised for leaving their families to go off on expeditions, however perilous”

Well – that’s just the usual guilt trip that women with children always have to face, isn’t it?

Another recent mountaineer, the American Arlene Blum, planned an expedition to Annapurna in the Himalayas in 1978.  She had great difficulty in raising funding for the trip until she

“came up with the bright idea of selling an expedition T-shirt, and someone came up with the even brighter idea of using the slogan, ‘A Woman’s Place is on Top……. of Annapurna.’  Its mixture of humour and sexual assertion was perfect for the times; Blum and her team managed to sell over 15,000 T-shirts, which went a long way towards financing their expedition.”

I must say that I am extremely grateful not to have to resort to such lengths.  Thank you very much indeed to Exodus Travels and Ethiopian Airlines for helping to make our record breaking attempt possible.