The Conquest of Mount Cook - (Du Faur)

The Conquest of Mount Cook
Freda Du Faur
An Account Of Four Seasons' Mountaineering On The Southern Alps Of New Zealand. London, 1915, George Allen & Unwin, First U.K. Edition. 250 pages, publisher's tipped-in tissue-guarded frontispiece and 48 Plates. 'Freda du Faur (1882-1935) grew up in the Australian bush, far from any mountains. Visiting New Zealand in 1906, she became interested in climbing and soon discovered an aptitude for the sport. In 1910 she became the first woman to reach the summit of New Zealand's highest peak, 12,218-ft Mt. Cook. Three years later she returned and completed the 'Grand Traverse' of the mountain's three distinct summits, an accomplishment still considered one of the most impressive in New Zealand climbing' (Mazel). Her female friends implored her not to risk her reputation by going off alone with male guides and climbers for days, but she declared 'that if my reputation was so fragile a thing that it would not bear such a test, then I would be very well rid of a useless article.' Large 4to, original brown buckram boards with gilt leather spine labels, top edge gilt, fore-edge uncut, slight foxing, else clean, beautiful Plates. No Dustjacket, Very Good. $550