Reading Fallen Giants resulted in many late nights reading long dense material. The book was sporadically interesting. The book was a sea of uninteresting passages, but peppered with useful knowledge. I would not categorize this book as a “page-turner”, at least not until chapter three; the story of “Mallory of Everest”.

Mallory, as a person, does not inspire me. His accomplishments and endurance is commendable, but his character is not something in which I admire. He was a lost sole. He had a difficult time keeping jobs and could never decide on a career choice. He was in more love with Everest than he was with his own family. In a way this makes his story all the more fascinating. His life was seemingly meaningless, until he was given the opportunity to explore the Himalayas (Mountains of the Mind Pg.227, Fallen Giants, Pg. 88).

I am intrigued by the evolution of the names of mountains, particularly Mount Everest. Mount Everest, prior to European influence, was known as Chomolungma and Sagarmatha respectively by the Tibetans and Nepalese. Chomolungma soon became Gamma, Peak XV, and then finally the mountain converted to be known as Mount Everest. These former names had meaning, more so than after the man who merely marked its existence on a piece of paper; Chomolungma means, the mother goddess, and Sagmarmatha means, the forehead of the sky Fallen Giants, Pg. 1). In this modern world of political correctness, where starfish are now known as “sea stars” and buffalo can only be called “bison”, is there a chance that the tongues of westerners will begin to recognize Mount Everest by their original names? What will it take to accomplish this task? Is it even a task worth accomplishing?

Reading this week has kept me wondering if Europe’s imperialisation of the Himalayas was positive, or not. Did the Himalayas need to be explored and mapped? Has the human race progressed due to Himalayan exploration? It is my opinion, due to western imperialism of the Himalayas has progressed western culture. It has taught people to appreciate nature in a more intimate sense.

Credit for bringing appreciation for mountain culture, and the mountains themselves, goes to Vittorio Sella. Sella, during his trip to the Himalayas was able to capture the beauty of the terrain and bring the spirit of climbing home with him. People were then able to appreciate the mountains from a far and understand their beauty, more so than from what they could read from climbers diaries (Fallen Giants, Pg.68-74). Now that people could see how beautiful the terrain was, appreciation followed. These pictures did not entice every average person to plan a trip to K2, but it did establish an interest in local hiking. By being engulfed in nature, it is much more likely that there will be an urge to protect it for future use. The sport of mountaineering has become a sport promoting the preservation of nature (Although the garbage on Mount Everest proves this logic otherwise).

Without western society I do not believe that the mountains would have ever been climbed. To be successful in ascending Mount Everest oxygen tanks are required. Mallory tried to ascend without the use of oxygen tanks and failed. Without western technology it is improbable to think that Mount Everest could be conquered. This is of course, assuming that the mountain needs to be ascended at all.