Rising : Becoming the First North American Woman on Everest

2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition Category Finalist in Mountain Literature On May 20, 1986, high on Mount Everest, Sharon Wood was ready to give up. Snow plumes swirled off the summit ridge and spilled down the North Face, engulfing her. A four-hundred-foot high rock wall, the crux of the Hornbein Couloir, loomed above—impossible. Then Wood's partner, Dwayne Congdon, handed her the end of the rope and said, "your lead." Hours later, at the far too late hour of 9:00 p.m., Wood became the first North American woman to reach the summit, and the first woman in the world to do so via the difficult West Ridge. Their ascent of the West Ridge by a new variation, without Sherpa assistance, is an accomplishment that has never been repeated. In Rising, Wood reflects on the seventy days she spent on the mountain and on the pivotal experiences and influences that brought her to that staggeringly beautiful and austere corner of the world. Beyond the physical hardships, she faced personal challenges as an outlier in the male bastion of Himalayan climbing. These were compounded by the vexing presence of her past mentor and lover with his new girlfriend on the American team climbing on the same side of the mountain. It didn't help that the media pitched the two women as rivals, both vying to become the first North American woman to reach the summit of the highest mountain in the world. Wood rose to all these challenges, finding camaraderie and inspiration among her teammates, particularly in the expedition cook, a strong woman whose perspectives were essential to the team's remarkable esprit de corps, as well as with "the other woman," her so-called American rival. Rising is both a gripping, adrenalin-filled mountain story and a reflective memoir that reaches beyond the summit to explore a life lived in Everest's long shadow: unexpected acclaim, outrageous expectations, and personal struggles. As Wood tells her story today, her perspective is steeped in six decades of life experience rich with adventure, change, growth, and humility. It is a tale that feels poignantly relevant—a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles, whether mountain peaks, social expectations, or self-imposed barriers. Memoir of an elite alpinist Authentic story of rising above limitations to realize your potential In 1986, Sharon Wood was part of a self-supported Canadian team with big ambitions: they were attempting to reach the summit of Everest via a variation on the dangerous West Ridge. And they intended that Wood would be the first North American woman to reach the summit. At the same time, however, there was an American team on the mountain with a plan to make Annie Whitehouse the first North American woman. The American climbers were attempting an easier route, but their team included, by coincidence, Wood's exboyfriend, acclaimed mountaineer Carlos Buhler, now dating Whitehouse--certainly the makings of an exciting adventure and high-altitude drama! But Sharon's new memoir offers much more. Fast-paced and highly readable, Rising is a thoughtful literary story redolent with twists and turns, relatable characters and dialogue, and mental and emotional conflicts. Although Everest casts a long shadow, the mountain serves here as a stage for a more human story, not one of conquest **2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition Category Finalist in Mountain Literature** In Wood reflects on the seventy days she spent on the mountain and on the pivotal experiences and influences that brought her to that staggeringly beautiful and austere corner of the world. Beyond the physical hardships, she faced personal challenges as an outlier in the male bastion of Himalayan climbing. These were compounded by the vexing presence of her past mentor and lover with his new girlfriend on the American team climbing on the same side of the mountain. It didn't help that the media pitched the two women as rivals, both vying to become the first North American woman to reach the summit of the highest mountain in the world. Wood rose to all these challenges, finding camaraderie and inspiration among her teammates, particularly in the expedition cook, a strong woman whose perspectives were essential to the team's remarkable esprit de corps, as well as with "the other woman," her so-called American rival.__Rising__