First American and all‑female ascent of Annapurna I

On October 15, 1978, the first summit team of the American Women’s Himalayan Expedition, organized and led by Arlene Blum, reached the top of Annapurna I via the Dutch Route. Climbers Vera Komarkova and Irene Beardsley, with two Sherpa companions, achieved the first American ascent of Annapurna and the first all‑female ascent of the 8,091‑meter peak.

Annapurna was—and remains—one of the world’s deadliest 8,000‑meter mountains, with a high fatality‑to‑success ratio. In the 1970s, women’s high‑altitude mountaineering was still marginalized, and major Himalayan expeditions were almost entirely male. Blum’s decision to organize an all‑women team and secure funding, equipment, and institutional support was itself a radical challenge to prevailing attitudes that doubted women’s technical competence and emotional resilience.

The successful summit on this date carried multiple layers of significance. It proved that women climbers could lead and execute a technically demanding expedition on one of the hardest Himalayan peaks. It also garnered international attention, amplified by Blum’s later bestseller Annapurna: A Woman’s Place, which documented the climb and the complex dynamics of leadership, risk, and gender. In mountaineering history, the 1978 Annapurna ascent stands as a watershed moment that helped legitimize all‑women high‑altitude expeditions and inspired future generations of women alpinists to aim for the world’s highest and most challenging summits.