Leslie Hsu Oh

Award-winning author who explores the ecotone b/w indigenous knowledge & science, landscapes & culture, food & gear.

Main Content

Stomping my crampons into the crumbly ice walls, I arrested my descent into a crack on the Vallée Blanche, a sliver just wide enough to fit my body. Another hiker roped to me said, “Most people want to avoid crevasses but Leslie climbs into one.” Chilled inside this glacier, I paid homage to the jagged peaks of the deadly Aiguille Verte and Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. -Leslie

Drone footage: Alex Fenlon.

"Leslie Hsu Oh is one of the most innovative outdoor writers today. Her prose style has a combination of spare lyricism, perfect rhythm and sensory power that seems almost like magic, bringing her readers fully into the worlds she re-creates. As a mother who goes on backcountry expeditions with her young children, and an adopted daughter of a Diné and Tlingit family, she also brings a perspective that's seldom heard — a voice capable of overturning outdated formulas that have long dominated the genre. She is part of a generation of writers who are redefining what it means to write about nature and adventure and to seek a more inclusive sense of place in the wild and the world."

Katie Ives | Editor-in-Chief, Alpinist Magazine

2017-11-06T19:41:10+00:00

Katie Ives | Editor-in-Chief, Alpinist Magazine

"Leslie Hsu Oh is one of the most innovative outdoor writers today. Her prose style has a combination of spare lyricism, perfect rhythm and sensory power that seems almost like magic, bringing her readers fully into the worlds she re-creates. As a mother who goes on backcountry expeditions with her young children, and an adopted daughter of a Diné and Tlingit family, she also brings a perspective that's seldom heard — a voice capable of overturning outdated formulas that have long dominated the genre. She is part of a generation of writers who are redefining what it means to write about nature and adventure and to seek a more inclusive sense of place in the wild and the world."
"It is too rare in this world that we find people who have both extraordinary talents and a deep natural humility that fosters close human links with all those they encounter. Leslie is one of those who does both."

Lachlan Forrow, M.D. | Director of Ethics and Palliative Care Programs at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and President of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

2017-09-20T18:02:43+00:00

Lachlan Forrow, M.D. | Director of Ethics and Palliative Care Programs at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and President of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

"It is too rare in this world that we find people who have both extraordinary talents and a deep natural humility that fosters close human links with all those they encounter. Leslie is one of those who does both."
"I started following you because you are one of the few Asian female travel writers I've found. Thank you for visibility in the travel writing community and your perspective as a parent and a minority female."

@saallyhwaang

2017-12-12T18:12:02+00:00

@saallyhwaang

@saallyhwaang
"I believe that Leslie is a tremendous asset to the Alaskan Native and Native American community. The loss of her mother and brother fill her with an undying passion for working in the heart of the community. She is truly dedicated to making a difference."

Ursula Knoki-Wilson, CNM, MSN, MPH | Director, Midwifery Service
Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility

2017-09-20T18:04:06+00:00

Ursula Knoki-Wilson, CNM, MSN, MPH | Director, Midwifery Service
Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility

"I believe that Leslie is a tremendous asset to the Alaskan Native and Native American community. The loss of her mother and brother fill her with an undying passion for working in the heart of the community. She is truly dedicated to making a difference."
"Thank you for creating this [HBI] organization. You are a role model for individuals like me who want to make a difference. Thank you for being the model to follow."

Phison Le | Executive Director, The Hepatitis B Initiative-Boston

2017-09-20T18:04:32+00:00

Phison Le | Executive Director, The Hepatitis B Initiative-Boston

"Thank you for creating this [HBI] organization. You are a role model for individuals like me who want to make a difference. Thank you for being the model to follow."

To receive a free gift from my travels, please enter