Mabel Barker, a child of the 1880's grew up with a secret passion for the hills. To her, rock climbing was the sport of the gods; she could not believe her luck when Millican Dalton invited her to do a roped climb. This biography of this woman climber tells the story of a woman who lived life to the full and fought for what she believed in.

This is a biography of a pioneering woman climber. Mabel Barker, a child of the 1880's grew up with a secret passion for the hills. To her, rock climbing was the sport of the gods; she could not believe her luck when Millican Dalton, famous caveman of the Lake District, invited her to do a roped climb. Supremely talented and naturally fearless, she was soon climbing with the best climbers of the day, making a stunning fourth ascent of Central Buttress with her dear friend and climbing partner, C. D. Frankland. Even when tragedy struck, Mabel refused to become dispirited. This book tells the heart-warming story of a woman who lived life to the full and fought for what she believed in, whether rescuing a starving Austrian boy from the chaotic aftermath of the Great War, or founding her own school in Caldbeck, where pupils were taught respect and knowledge of their environment. Much of her writing was prophetic, giving insights into the origins of outdoor and experimental education. Her ideas are surely as relevant today as they were a century ago particularly her insistence that human beings must live in close harmony with the earth they depend so much upon.