On a fall day in 1881 Elizabeth Burnaby (later Elizabeth Le Blond) and a party of other young people set out from the Chamonix valley for a hike up a mountain to Pierce Pointue. Most of the hikers were satisfied upon reaching their destination early in the day, but Burnaby and another woman decided to continue to the Grand Mulets. When darkness fell they were forced to spend the night with their guides in a cabin, and the next morning, lacking the help of a maid, Burnaby had to put on her boots without assistance for the first time in her life. Returning to Chamonix, they were greeted by anxious friends and reproachful relatives. Burnaby, however, had discovered a new experience on the borders of Victorian society and was to become one of the leading alpinists of her time.

The daughter of Baronet St. Vincent Hawkins-Whitshed and Anne Alicia...