Heart Like A Mountain: Book Release and Presentation: ANCHORAGE

In 1979 at the age of 19, White Eagle (Suraj Holzwarth) became the youngest woman to summit Denali, North America’s highest peak. In this riveting memoir, Suraj shares a spirited account of the grueling 30 day expedition which began in the Peter’s Hills, leading through some of Alaska’s most remote wilderness before reaching Denali’s Base Camp. Eighty pounds of gear on her back, weighing 130 pounds herself, she and her team bushwhacked through mosquito infested alders, ford raging glacial rivers, navigated quicksand, rocky moraines and crevassed glaciers. The team faced 100 mph winds, subzero temperatures, crevasse falls, altitude sickness and failing equipment.

Suraj Holzwarth spent over 25 years climbing and guiding expeditions in the wilds of Alaska and around the world. In 1983 she co-founded the first wilderness program for women in Alaska and led it for 17 years, empowering over 50,000 girls and women. For the last 25 years she has been the Executive Director of The Whirling Rainbow Foundation, an international cultural and healing arts non-profit organization. She is an author, healer, artist, musician, and teacher. At 65, she is still an avid hiker, backpacker, kayaker, global adventurer, and earth lover. She lives in Homer, Alaska with her wife Michaela and black cat Nisha.