Awards

• Commended for National Outdoor Book Awards (History/Biography) 2005

Overview

Arlene Blum is a legendary trailblazer by any measure. Defying the climbing establishment of the 1970s, she led the first teams of women on successful ascents of Mt. McKinley and Annapurna, and was the first American woman to attempt Mt. Everest. In her long, adventurous career, she has played a leading role in more than twenty expeditions and forged a place for women in the perilous arena of high-altitude mountaineering. Breaking Trail is the story of Blum's journey from her overprotected youth in Chicago to the tops of some of the highest peaks on Earth. Chronicling a life of extraordinary personal and professional achievement, Blum's intimate and inspiring memoir explores how her childhood fueled her need to climb -- and how, in turn, her climbing liberated her from her childhood. Each chapter in Breaking Trail begins with a poignant vignette from Blum's early life. Using these as starting points, she traces her evolution as a climber, from a hilariously incompetent beginner to an aspiring mountaineer to a successful, confident, and world-renowned expedition leader. Along the way, she takes us to some of the most extreme and exquisite places on the planet, sharing the exhilaration, toil, and danger of climbing high. Blum also relates the story of her scientific career, which, like her mountaineering, challenged gender stereotypes and was filled with singular accomplishments, including the banning of two cancer-causing chemicals and the initiation of an important area of biophysical research. Writing with remarkable candor and introspection, Blum recounts her triumphs and tragedies, and provides a probing look at what drove her to endure extreme physical discomfort -- and even to risk her life -- attempting high, remote summits around the world. In her story, she shares intimate insights into how and why climbers persevere under the harshest circumstances, cope with the deaths of their comrades, and balance their desire for adventure with their personal lives. Complemented with breathtaking personal photos and detailed maps, Breaking Trail is a deeply moving account of how one woman overcame adversity to become one of the world's most famous climbers, and a testament to the power of taking risks and pursuing dreams.

Full Product Details

9780743258463

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Reviews

This splendid book is much more than just a climbing life. Arlene Blum has the courage -- and the literary skill -- to aim for new heights. Few such autobiographies have mentioned the fragile relationships that exist among high-level mountaineers, including the sexual conflicts that arise when young women and men get together in the wild. On yet another level, Blum delves into her early life to try to discover what led her to become a first-rate scientist and a pathbreaking mountaineer. -- Steve Roper, author of Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber and other climbing books. Breaking Trail is an inspiring and affecting story of struggle and triumph. It is fluent and highly readable and keeps you turning the pages until the very end. -- Peter Gillman, co-author of The Wildest Dream: The Biography of George Mallory A warm, sensitive account of an extraordinarily adventuresome life. Arlene Blum's life and her writing are indeed an inspiration to both men and women. This book is a must read for those who wish to reach the highest level of personal fulfillment. -- Helen Thayer, author of Polar Dream: The Heroic Saga of the First Solo Journey by a Woman and Her Dog to the Pole Breaking Trail shows that Arlene Blum's persistence and determination over time have won out and opened the way to countless other women to excel at climbing around the world. --Ann LaBastille, author and ecologist I stand in awe, respect and gratitude for Arlene Blum's story as recounted in Breaking Trail. Her memoir is aptly named for her pioneering adventures in the surprisingly recently male-dominated world of high altitude mountaineering. I took for granted my right to pursue my climbing dreams and passions until I read of her determination, struggles, and conquests. -- Sharon Wood, first North American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest This is an extraordinary memoir. I was constantly astonished by Blum's achievements - overcoming a difficult family background to become a sane and compassionate human being; achieving academic success in the girl-unfriendly world of the hard sciences; and making an end run around mountaineering sexism by organizing (among other climbs) the successful all-women conquest of Annapurna, one of the most dangerous mountains in the world. I simply inhaled this book. -- Sherry Ortner, anthropologist and author of Life and Death on Mt. Everest Arlene Blum's Breaking Trail is a magnificent and compelling story. Blum's leads the reader into beautiful, exciting, and terrifying world of mountain climbing. Her writing soars. She beautifully conveys the drama, mind set and courage that it takes to go to places where few have ventured, and where fewer have survived. Her story is inspiring. It's as much about leadership, as it is living life fully, and forging through, over, and around obstacles to reach one's goals in life. It's a great book. --Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antarctica Breaking Trail is a compelling memoir by one of mountaineering's most remarkable pioneers. Arlene Blum offers a poignant and riveting personal account of a life of adventure and companionship in exploring and summiting many of the great peaks of the world. -- Michael Useem, Director, Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton Business School, author of The Leadership Moment and Leading Up Good climbers are rare; good climbing stories are even more rare. So this book is a gem: a pioneering climber tells her story with grace and courage and in it she emerges heroic and utterly human. Gripping and heartbreaking, this is a story that will galvanize every reader. --Susan Fox Rogers, author of Solo: On Her Own Adventure Breaking Trail follows Arlene's route from her childhood, to the halls of academia, to the roof of the world with insightful and inspirational prose. The reason why we climb is never an easy question, yet Arlene searches her soul for her own motivations and in doing so provides a picture (story) that spans her childhood and career as a physicist. --Conrad Anker, author of The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest

What was a nice Jewish girl from the Midwest doing atop the mighty mountain Denali? In 1970, Blum (Annapurna, 1980) climbed Denali, formerly known as Mt. McKinley, to show just how high a woman could go. She scrambled her way to the summit, leading a posse similarly bent on high adventure. At a time when women first broke through the glass ceiling at work, Blum penetrated altitude levels while leading assaults on Everest and Annapurna. (Her team's slogan was A Woman's Place Is On Top...Annapurna. ) The names of the places to which she went, from Bhrigupanth to Zanskar, Phalgam to the Vale of Kashmir, Kristwar to Trisul, would thrill Kipling. Danger on the mountains-crevasses, avalanches, snow, fog, ice, wind and cold-killed several of her fellow climbers along the way. For some, Blum's mountaineering jargon may be off putting. Of her first climb on Annapura she writes: Attaching my jumar ascender to the yellow polypropylene fixed rope left by the others, I took a deep breath. Now sixty, a mom and a motivational speaker, Blum also provides glimpses of her childhood in a less than functional family and her day job in biochemistry, in which she attained a doctorate. The prose is occasionally problematic, but Blum's story could appeal equally to armchair alpinists and to veterans of women's lib campaigns. Blum succeeds passably in this autobiography of life and mountain climbing. (Kirkus Reviews)

This splendid book is much more than just a climbing life. Arlene Blum has the courage -- and the literary skill -- to aim for new heights. Few such autobiographies have mentioned the fragile relationships that exist among high-level mountaineers, including the sexual conflicts that arise when young women and men get together in the wild. On yet another level, Blum delves into her early life to try to discover what led her to become a first-rate scientist and a pathbreaking mountaineer. <p> -- Steve Roper, author of Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber and other climbing books.

Breaking Trail follows Arlene's route from her childhood, to the halls of academia, to the roof of the world with insightful and inspirational prose. The reason why we climb is never an easy question, yet Arlene searches her soul for her own motivations and in doing so provides a picture (story) that spans her childhood and career as a physicist. --Conrad Anker, author of The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest

Author Information

Arlene Blum is a keynote speaker, leadership and intercultural trainer, mountaineer, biochemist, and author of the bestselling book Annapurna: A Woman's Place. Blum has a doctorate in biophysical chemistry and has taught at Stanford University, Wellesley College, and the University of California, Berkeley. She lives with her teenage daughter in Berkeley, California.

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