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Thirty Below
The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women's Ascent of Denali
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The gripping story of a group of female adventurers and their treacherous pioneering ascent of Denali.
Excerpted in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Men's Journal, and named one of the most noteworthy books of the month by the Washington Post
Cassidy Randall draws on extensive archival research and original interviews to tell an engrossing, edge-of-the-seat adventure story about a forgotten group of climbers who had the audacity to believe that women could walk alone in extraordinary and treacherous heights.
Grace Hoeman dreamed of standing on top of Denali. The tallest peak in North America, the fierce polar mountain loomed large in many climbers’ imaginations, and Grace, a doctor in Alaska, had come close to the top, only to be turned back by altitude sickness and a storm that took the lives of seven fellow climbers in one remorseless blow.
Other expeditions denied her a place because of her gender, and when a letter arrived from a climber in California named Arlene Blum, who’d also been barred from expeditions—unless she stayed in base camp and cooked for the men, Grace got a defiant idea: she would organize and lead the first-ever all-female ascent of the frozen Alaskan peak.
Everyone told the “Denali Damsels,” as the team called themselves, that it couldn’t be done: Women were incapable of climbing mountains on their own. Men had walked on the moon; women still had not stood on the highest points on Earth. But these six women were unwilling to be limited by sexists and misogynists. They pushed past barriers in society at large, the climbing world, and their own bodies.
And then, when disaster struck at the worst time on their expedition, they could either keep their wits and prove their mettle, or die and confirm the worst opinions of men.
Excerpted in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Men's Journal, and named one of the most noteworthy books of the month by the Washington Post
Cassidy Randall draws on extensive archival research and original interviews to tell an engrossing, edge-of-the-seat adventure story about a forgotten group of climbers who had the audacity to believe that women could walk alone in extraordinary and treacherous heights.
Grace Hoeman dreamed of standing on top of Denali. The tallest peak in North America, the fierce polar mountain loomed large in many climbers’ imaginations, and Grace, a doctor in Alaska, had come close to the top, only to be turned back by altitude sickness and a storm that took the lives of seven fellow climbers in one remorseless blow.
Other expeditions denied her a place because of her gender, and when a letter arrived from a climber in California named Arlene Blum, who’d also been barred from expeditions—unless she stayed in base camp and cooked for the men, Grace got a defiant idea: she would organize and lead the first-ever all-female ascent of the frozen Alaskan peak.
Everyone told the “Denali Damsels,” as the team called themselves, that it couldn’t be done: Women were incapable of climbing mountains on their own. Men had walked on the moon; women still had not stood on the highest points on Earth. But these six women were unwilling to be limited by sexists and misogynists. They pushed past barriers in society at large, the climbing world, and their own bodies.
And then, when disaster struck at the worst time on their expedition, they could either keep their wits and prove their mettle, or die and confirm the worst opinions of men.
Extent: 288 pp
Format: Hardback
Illustrations: 49 black-and-white images throughout
Publication date: 2025-05-04
Size: 23.6 x 16.1 cm
ISBN: 9781419771538
Praise for Thirty Below
The prejudices, intimidation, and exclusion of the male-dominated sphere of mountaineering affected, angered, and motivated each of the Denali Damsels differently, but readers will be left in awe of the women’s enthrallment to the sport, their determination, and the bittersweet spirit of their life-changing experience. An entrancing tale of a harrowing adventure.
Kirkus (Starred Review)
“An amazing story of grit [and] determination.”
The Explorers Journal
“Thirty Below is fast paced, with incredible characters who make you appreciate how far mountaineering (and society in general) has progressed in the last fifty years and exciting all the way to the end. This is a gripping story that's worth telling, and Randall has done a great job in bringing it to life.”
Alex Honnold, professional climber and author of Alone on the Wall
“Climbers climb a peak because ‘it’s there.’ But these six athletes had an additional reason: No team composed entirely of women had ever reached the rooftop of North America. For them, seizing the grail involved not only overcoming the usual physical and organizational challenges of a dangerous ascent, but also upending a host of ingrained perceptions that had long suffused this most macho of sports. The saga of how they pulled off their historic feat is an immensely enjoyable read—part Into Thin Air, part Thelma and Louise."
Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice and The Wide Wide Sea
About the Author
Cassidy Randall is an award-winning writer who tells stories on the environment, adventure, and people who expand human potential. Her stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, National Geographic, the New York Times, TIME, Atavist, Outside, and Men’s Journal, among others. She wrote The Hard Parts with Paralympian Oksana Masters, which won an Alex Award from the American Library Association and was listed as one of the best sports books of the year by the Times. Her work has been awarded the Lowell Thomas Gold Medal in Adventure Writing, short-listed for the True Story Award, and included in The Year’s Best Sports Writing. She lives in Montana.
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