The American Women's Himalayan Expedition was a 1978 expedition to Annapurna which placed the first two women, and first Americans, on its summit. The expedition was led by Arlene Blum and consisted of thirteen women, and six sherpas. On October 15, the first summit team, composed of Vera Komarkova, Irene Beardsley (formerly Miller), Mingma Tshering Sherpa and Chewang Ringjin Sherpa summitted Annapurna via the Dutch Route.[1] The second summit team, Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz and Vera Watson, died during the climb.