Women Explorers: One Hundred Years of Courage and Audacity

Since the early days of exploration, adventurous women have felt the pull of the mountains. Women of the early 1900s climbed some of the highest peaks in Canada wearing woolen knickers and hobnail boots. These pioneers set the standard for the women who followed. Women such as Sharon Wood and Leanne Allison who continue to push the limits even further.

PrologueHer pack was anything but comfortable. Thirty kilograms was a heavy load! Her muscles ached, and both feet were sore with blisters. She was exhausted and her energy reserves were running low. She began to doubt her ability to finish the trip.The year was 1999. Leanne Allison was somewhere on the outskirts of Jasper, Alberta, heading 450 kilometres north to Kinuseo Falls, British Columbia - on skis. It was only day three of a month-long journey in untracked snow and deep wilderness. Spring was in the air but the task of breaking trail, melting snow for drinking water, and always trying to stay warm made it feel every bit like winter. The thick forest, avalanche-prone slopes, and high mountain passes that stretched out before her added to the demands and danger of the trip.Leanne adjusted her pack slightly and skied on through the soft, thick snow until she reached a steep canyon. She stared up at the labyrinth of frozen waterfalls that hung like curtains from the huge rock walls.She would have to slowly, carefully, meander up the canyon to reach higher ground. Below was a torrent of freezing cold water, while above hung huge mushrooms of snow perched on icy shelves. The only way through the canyon was along a narrow ledge of ice that stuck out from the canyon wall. Skis off and belly down, she inched her way forward, seemingly suspended in mid-air.The call of the wild that led Leanne here in the first place was silenced by the drum of her beating heart.