Download or read book The Summits of Modern Man written by Peter H. Hansen and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mountaineering has served as a metaphor for civilization triumphant. A fascinating study of the first ascents of the major Alpine peaks and Mt. Everest, The Summits of Modern Man reveals the significance of our encounters with the world’s most forbidding heights and how difficult it is to imagine nature in terms other than conquest and domination.
Download or read book The Summits of Modern Man written by Peter H. Hansen and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of mountaineering has long served as a metaphor for civilization triumphant. Once upon a time, the Alps were an inaccessible habitat of specters and dragons, until heroic men—pioneers of enlightenment—scaled their summits, classified their strata and flora, and banished the phantoms forever. A fascinating interdisciplinary study of the first ascents of the major Alpine peaks and Mount Everest, The Summits of Modern Man surveys the far-ranging significance of our encounters with the world’s most alluring and forbidding heights. Our obsession with “who got to the top first” may have begun in 1786, the year Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard climbed Mont Blanc and inaugurated an era in which Romantic notions of the sublime spurred climbers’ aspirations. In the following decades, climbing lost its revolutionary cachet as it became associated instead with bourgeois outdoor leisure. Still, the mythic stories of mountaineers, threaded through with themes of imperialism, masculinity, and ascendant Western science and culture, seized the imagination of artists and historians well into the twentieth century, providing grist for stage shows, poetry, films, and landscape paintings. Today, we live on the threshold of a hot planet, where melting glaciers and rising sea levels create ambivalence about the conquest of nature. Long after Hillary and Tenzing’s ascent of Everest, though, the image of modern man supreme on the mountaintop retains its currency. Peter Hansen’s exploration of these persistent images indicates how difficult it is to imagine our relationship with nature in terms other than domination.
Download or read book Dark Summit written by Nick Heil and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2011-04-13 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Nick Heil recounts the harrowing story of the deadly and controversial 2006 climbing season on Everest. In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall’s death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter. If David Sharp’s death was shocking, it was not singular: despite unusually good weather, ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year. In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. He introduces Russell Brice, the outfitter who has done more than anyone to provide access to the summit via the mountain’s north side–and who some believe was partially responsible for Sharp’s death. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus. Written by an experienced climber and outdoor writer, Dark Summit is both a riveting account of a notorious climbing season and a troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiralled out of control.
Download or read book Pilgrims of the Vertical written by Joseph E. Taylor III and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few things suggest rugged individualism as powerfully as the solitary mountaineer testing his or her mettle in the rough country. Yet the long history of wilderness sport complicates this image. In this surprising story of the premier rock-climbing venue in the United States, Pilgrims of the Vertical offers insight into the nature of wilderness adventure. From the founding era of mountain climbing in Victorian Europe to present-day climbing gyms, Pilgrims of the Vertical shows how ever-changing alignments of nature, technology, gender, sport, and consumer culture have shaped climbers’ relations to nature and to each other. Even in Yosemite Valley, a premier site for sporting and environmental culture since the 1800s, elite athletes cannot be entirely disentangled from the many men and women seeking recreation and camaraderie. Following these climbers through time, Joseph Taylor uncovers lessons about the relationship of individuals to groups, sport to society, and nature to culture. He also shows how social and historical contexts influenced adventurers’ choices and experiences, and why some became leading environmental activists—including John Muir, David Brower, and Yvon Chouinard. In a world in which wild nature is increasingly associated with play, and virtuous play with environmental values, Pilgrims of the Vertical explains when and how these ideas developed, and why they became intimately linked to consumerism.
Download or read book No Shortcuts to the Top written by Ed Viesturs and published by Crown. This book was released on 2006-10-17 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This gripping and triumphant memoir from the author of The Mountain follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time. “From the drama of the peaks, to the struggle of making a living as a professional climber, to the basic how-tos of life at 26,000 feet, No Shortcuts to the Top is fascinating reading.”—Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place and subject of the film 127 Hours For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go. A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. In addition to the raw excitement of Viesturs’s odyssey, No Shortcuts to the Top is leavened with many funny moments revealing the camaraderie between climbers. It is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
Download or read book Seven Summits written by Dick Bass and published by Gramercy. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tour the globe and witness spectacular feats of human determination, endurance, and strength. Travel with dedicated mountaineers as they climb the "Seven Summits"—the highest peak of each of the seven continents. Stunning full-color photographs capture the breathtaking scenery and courageous athleticism of the climbers. Essays and diaries of mountaineers, along with striking photos, capture these harrowing adventures and take readers to each of the Seven Summits: McKinley (North America), Aconcagua (South America), Vinson (Antarctica), Kilmanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Kosciuszko (Australia), and Everest (Asia).
Download or read book Summit written by Harry Farthing and published by Blackstone Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-14 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magnificent! A compelling, fast-paced novel that reveals a rarely seen dark side of Everest. A must-read!"-James W. Huston, New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Flag The view from 8,848 meters isn't always clear. Even after eight successful summits, Mount Everest guide Neil Quinn can't handle anything the mountain throws his way. Disaster strikes steps from the top, leaving him with a very old swastika-embellished ice axe that should never have been so high on the mountain-not if Everest's meticulously documented history is accurate. Danger doesn't stop at the descent. When he heads back to Europe, blackballed and alone, he struggles to discover the truth about this lost relic. Quinn's investigations soon have neo-Nazis, assassins, and history buffs vying to take possession of the axe-proof of Nazi alpine superiority, and strong evidence that a German climber was the first to summit Mount Everest. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, Summit follows two climbers across two continents as their stories intertwine across history, culminating in one final push for the top of the world. "Gripping...Farthing vividly depicts the challenges of mountain climbing."-Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Seventy Summits written by Vernon Tejas and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a mountain climbing guide, it was Vern Tejas's job to climb the tallest and most dangerous mountains in the world. Always rebellious, Tejas never met a challenge he couldn't overcome, even the daunting task of climbing Mount Everest. In fact, he climbed all of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents more than ten times each. Seventy Summits is his tale of the beauty, danger, and surprising freedom of mountain climbing and what it has given him throughout his life. Climb Mt. McKinley with Tejas as he battles extreme cold. Scale Aconcagua and its windy peaks. Mont Blanc provides beautiful views, but Mt. Elbrus towers over the European continent. The Roof of Africa is attempted by 35,000 people each year, but Mt. Kilimanjaro isn't as friendly as it looks and many people get hypothermia on this tropical mountain. Antarctica s Mt. Vinson boasts the last true frontier, a costly climbing trip that keeps getting more and more expensive. Take a break on Mt Koscuiszko. As Australia s tallest mountain, it s practically a stroll in the park at 7,310 feet. Finally, join Tejas on the tallest mountain in the world: Mt. Everest. Better yet, read about him doing all of them ten times each.
Download or read book Beyond the Mountain written by Steve House and published by Patagonia. This book was released on 2013-10-06 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world's most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty. In 2005 Steve and alpinist Vince Anderson pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 26,600-foot Nanga Parbat, which had never before been climbed in alpine style. It was the third ascent of the face and the achievement earned Steveand Vince the first Piolet d"or (Golden Ice Axe) awarded to North Americans. Steve is an accomplished and spellbinding storyteller in the tradition of Maurice Herzog and Lionel Terray. Beyond the Mountain is a gripping read destined to be a mountain classic. And it
Download or read book Mountains and the German Mind written by Sean Moore Ireton and published by Studies in German Literature L. This book was released on 2020 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first scholarly English translations of thirteen vital texts that elucidate the central role mountains have played across nearly five centuries of Germanophone cultural history.
Download or read book The Third Pole written by Mark Synnott and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ***NPR Books We Love selection*** “If you’re only going to read one Everest book this decade, make it The Third Pole. . . . A riveting adventure.”—Outside Shivering, exhausted, gasping for oxygen, beyond doubt . . . A hundred-year mystery lured veteran climber Mark Synnott into an unlikely expedition up Mount Everest during the spring 2019 season that came to be known as “the Year Everest Broke.” What he found was a gripping human story of impassioned characters from around the globe and a mountain that will consume your soul—and your life—if you let it. The mystery? On June 8, 1924, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine set out to stand on the roof of the world, where no one had stood before. They were last seen eight hundred feet shy of Everest’s summit still “going strong” for the top. Could they have succeeded decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? Irvine is believed to have carried a Kodak camera with him to record their attempt, but it, along with his body, had never been found. Did the frozen film in that camera have a photograph of Mallory and Irvine on the summit before they disappeared into the clouds, never to be seen again? Kodak says the film might still be viable. . . . Mark Synnott made his own ascent up the infamous North Face along with his friend Renan Ozturk, a filmmaker using drones higher than any had previously flown. Readers witness first-hand how Synnott’s quest led him from oxygen-deprivation training to archives and museums in England, to Kathmandu, the Tibetan high plateau, and up the North Face into a massive storm. The infamous traffic jams of climbers at the very summit immediately resulted in tragic deaths. Sherpas revolted. Chinese officials turned on Synnott’s team. An Indian woman miraculously crawled her way to frostbitten survival. Synnott himself went off the safety rope—one slip and no one would have been able to save him—committed to solving the mystery. Eleven climbers died on Everest that season, all of them mesmerized by an irresistible magic. The Third Pole is a rapidly accelerating ride to the limitless joy and horror of human obsession.
Download or read book Ultimate High written by Göran Kropp and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A personal account of one man's determination to climb Mount Everest alone describes how the Swedish climber accomplished his goal, within days of the 1995 tragedy that took the lives of a number of fellow climbers.
Download or read book Mountain written by Veronica della Dora and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Majestic and awe-inspiring, there is nothing like the sight of a mountain on the horizon. Throughout all of human history mountains have been linked to the eternal, attracting us to their dizzying heights, stunning us with their natural beauty, and often threatening us with their dangers. Through a compelling journey to both real and imaginary peaks, this book explores how the mountain has figured in our history, culture, and imaginations. Veronica della Dora explores the ways mountains have functioned spiritually as a boundary between life and death, a bridge between the earth and the heavens. Interlacing science, culture, and religion, she sketches the mountain as a geological phenomenon that has profoundly influenced and been influenced by the human imagination, shaping our environmental consciousness and helping us understand our—quite small indeed—place in the world. She also explores their significance as objects of human feats, as prizes of adventure and sport, and as places of serene beauty for vacationers. Magnificently illustrated and showcasing famous peaks from all around the world, Mountain offers a fascinating dual portrait of these giants in nature and culture.
Download or read book Francesco Petrarca the First Modern Man of Letters written by Edward Henry Ralph Tatham and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book the Making of Modern Man written by Louis L. Snyder and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fallen Giants written by Maurice Isserman and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first comprehensive history of Himalayan mountaineering in 50 years, the authors offer detailed, original accounts of the most significant climbs since the 1890s, and they compellingly evoke the social and cultural worlds that gave rise to those expeditions.
Download or read book The Seven Mountain Travel Books written by H. W. Tilman and published by The Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2004 with total page 938 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tilman has been called "arguably the best expedition writer and best explorer-mountaineer" of the 20th century.
