Book Report: Valley Of Giants

The Firn Line

Call me old school, but nothing gets me more fired up than adding a new adventure, climbing or mountaineering book to the collection. So I was excited last month, when Valley Of Giants: Stories From Women at The Heart of Yosemite Climbing, arrived at my doorstep. This anthology, edited and curated by Lauren DeLaunay Miller, is a collection of 39 stories - written and told by the trailblazing, often-times under the radar, women who have been at the center of Yosemite climbing over the past century.

While the book of course features stories by well-known valley climbers such as Lynn Hill and Steph Davis, DeLauney Miller has gone to painstaking lengths to include older, more obscure - but equally important stories - as well. The result is a rich and inspiring history of female climbing and adventure in Yosemite Valley.

I recently spoke with DeLaunay Miller, to talk about her process for putting this important anthology together. What struck me was the amount of work, and dogged determination required - just to find the stories for the book: Basically a combination of internet sleuthing, scouring the white pages of physical phone books, writing and sending hand-written letters, and cold-calling strangers across the country. It’s an impressive feat, and left me feeling that DeLaunay Miller is equal parts climber, librarian, and investigative journalist.

So i hope you enjoy my conversation with Lauren DeLaunay Miller - talking about her new anthology Valley Of Giants: Stories From Women at The Heart Of Yosemite Climbing.

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Notes

Special thanks to Lauren DeLaunay Miller

Purchase Valley Of Giants

Produced by Evan Phillips
Editing & Sound Design by Pod Peak
Original Music by Evan Phillips

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