by Helen Steven
Published by SMTC 2010. Hardback 176 pages, ISBN 13: 9781907233128, f24.00

Rising to the Challenge is a book that marks the centenary of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club and tells its story from its founding in 1908 by three intrepid, adventurous, bold and forward thinking women. The book is crammed full of interesting characters: ladies that were willing to challenge the conventions of their day to discover the adventures of mountaineering; from classic summer and winter expeditions in Scotland to exploration among the higher peaks of Greenland, the Alps, Andes and the Himalaya.

This was far from the accepted norm of the day. Above all though, it is a story of sheer good fun and companionship in the mountains. A full history of the first 100 years of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club is a book that marks the centenary of one of the UK's oldest climbing clubs. This is a club that chose to push the boundaries for women climbers, from the first woman Munroist, the first women's expedition to the Himalaya and the first women's expedition to Greenland. The book is illustrated with many historical images in both colour and black and white and is the third in this important series of titles from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust that documents the history of Scottish Mountaineering. Helen Steven who is a former president of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club and a historian authors the book. Helen was leader of the 1970 Ladies Scottish East Greenland Expedition and still enjoys adventures in the Scottish hills.

Reviewed by Dave Brown