​I remember the day I geared up to climb The Nutcracker (5.8) In Yosemite Valley. I also remember getting freaked out thrutching through that overhang thinking, How did these guys have the balls to do this thing back in the day? I knew Robbins was the first ascent and I respected the cunning they had with crap gear and sandshoes. Then, after reading Valley of Giants, I learned it was not Royal who led it but his wife, Liz. Pow!
 
Lauren DeLaunay Miller has provided Yosemite climbing history a great service. She is well placed to gather these writings. She has been a member of Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) and is an accomplished climber. In Valley of Giants: Stories of Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing, Lauren has gathered 38 short stories and essays from womxn climbers spread across the history of Valley climbing from 1938 until today.

​Through this anthology of Yosemite climbing you will read of the humble beginnings and be informed of womxn experiencing freedom from misogyny for the first time.

​Lauren is like a jeweler chipping away at a diamond. In Valley of Giants you will come to realise the inequality experienced by womxm over the years. It is not a put-down on men, just an acknowledgement that this has been part of a climbing womxn's journey.

Editor, Lauren DeLaunay Miller, "Valley of Giants: Stories From the Heart of Yosemite Climbing"

That journey and experience was not only what happened directly to them on and off the rock, but also in how womxn climbers were portrayed - or lack thereof - in the media. Womxn's stories were not reported on strongly until Lynn Hill and Mari Gingery started breaking bad. Lynn freeing the Nose crashed the glass ceiling, even though women had been hitting at it progressively in each preceding generation. Once womxn were perceived as accompanying tough "male" climbers, only then were they identified as being "badass." This perception also shifted the tone of reporting -  from womxn climb "just for fun" to telling stories of them framed around athletic endeavor and climbing merit.
 
In Valley of Giants, you will read about a generational progression, each womxn realising her own potential and becoming an owner of her own destiny. The book does not raise one generation of climber over another, but rather shows how each contributes to the strength of the scene today. As they say, leaders often stand on the shoulders of giants. Lauren’s book title is like a good piece of pro; bomber and well placed. This is skilled work by the author who threads a tapestry of legends into a narrative of boss. ​

Nancy Bickford Miller rappels after climbing the Lower Brother in 1955. (Photo by Bob and Ira Spring)

Catherine Cullinane, Margo Erjavac, and Gwen Schneider playfully mock the famous photo of Billy Westbay, Jim Bridwell, and John Long after the first one-day ascent of the Nose. (Photoby Charlie Fowler)

It’s hard to pick one essay over another, they all weave to tell a progressive story, but each one is important and full of wild and technical climbing challenges. There is a story of a Native American womxn from the Valley experiencing this area from a whole new perspective. There are stories of girls becoming independent and advancing climbing (almost in tandem with each of their times - politically and culturally). Their feats are a feast of climbing progression over the last 70 years.
 
Contributors include, Lynn Hill, Mari Gingery, Steph Davis, Liz Robbins, Beth Rodden, Kate Rutherford, Katie Brown and many more. Valley climbing has always had an international camp and the book also includes climbers from Australia, New Zealand and Europe. In particular, I found the memoirs from Australian Abby Watkins and Austrian Babsi Zangerl very inspiring.
 
Valley of Giants is an important thread in Yosemite climbing history. Each period is a patch and each climber is connected to one of these, forming a colourful quilt that will keep the hearts of all climbers warm as you stoke the fire of your next climbing adventure. 
 
Thank you, Mountaineers Books for publishing Valley of Giants and thank you, Lauren for weaving this beautiful climbing tapestry together. 

Valley of Giants - Stories of Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing
Book Edited By: Lauren DeLaunay Miller
Published By: Mountaineers Books
​Review By: Dave Barnes