Beardsley was inspired to climb mountains after seeing the Teton Range during a family holiday as a child.
She describes herself as not a natural athlete, but nonetheless a keen climber who went on trips around Yosemite and the Tetons.
[5] In 1965, along with Sue Swedlund, she made the first all-female ascent of the North Face of the Grand Teton.
[4][1][6] While working as a physicist at IBM, she was invited to be part of the American Women's Himalayan Expedition to Annapurna.
They raised money for the expedition by selling T-shirts with the slogan, A Woman's Place is on Top.