Among the usual stories of mountaineering and early exploration in the Himalayas are a few hidden gems—pioneering women who beat all odds, defying the lazy stereotypes about gender, to explore and conquer the high Himalayas.

Contained in this magnificent collection of daring exploration are accounts by four of these ‘high altitude heroines’—Alexandra David-Néel, Fanny Bullock Workman, Henrietta Sands Merrick and Lilian A. Starr.

Alexandra David-Néel writes about her 1923 secret expedition to Tibet and its capital, Lhasa. Accompanied by a young lama, Yongden, she willingly suffers the harsh travel conditions, frequent outbreaks of disease, the ever-present danger of border control and the military to reach her goal, becoming the first Western woman to reach the ‘forbidden city’.

American geographer and travel writer Fanny Bullock Workman recounts her astonishing exploratory adventure in 1906 around Nun Kun, the mountain massif located on the border of Jammu and Kashmir. Forty-seven years old at the time, she conquers Pinnacle Peak without any modern equipment and encumbered in her voluminous skirts, setting an altitude record for women.

Henrietta Sands Merrick narrates her exciting journey through and around Ladakh in 1931. On her journey, joined by her friends Sandy and Margot, and her orderlies Happy and Gulam, she travels to one of the deepest gorges in the world, experiences the ‘Devil Dances’ at Hemis and spends a night below the stars at the Khardong Pass.

And, Lilian A. Starr, a nurse from the Peshawar Hospital, journeys to the tribal country of Tirah near the Khyber Pass to rescue a young girl abducted by the Afridis. Encountering fierce tribal chieftains and exploring the surrounding Khanki Valley, she is able to successfully negotiate the girl’s release.

Filled with riveting tales of breathtaking ascents in sub-zero temperatures, perilous journeys to the unknown, and rare anecdotes of life in the high Himalayas, this is a one-of-a-kind collection for all lovers of adventure and travel writing.