Week 5 Response – Am I manly now?

Byrant Lymburn

In the early 20th century the nations of the US and Britain pushed to the ever mysterious expanses and great heights being found across the earth. After expeditions by Britain  pushed into the Himalayas they were questioned as to why they would ever explore such heights that would evoke such peril. George Mallory after being frustrated with the repetition of this question became upset and gave a general statement “Because its there.” Although this may be somewhat correct for some individual climbers, as a whole there tends to be greater meaning behind these expeditions. Imperial Ascent is one such book that focuses on the underlying reasons as to why people want to push to reach these extraordinary peaks.

The book begins with the United States push to climb to the top of the highest point in the continent, Denali. When Denali was discovered by white men, early after the United States obtained the Alaska territory from Russia, it was give the name of Mount McKinley. Efforts to climb Denali came in 1906 when Fredrick Cook to reach its peak. When claiming to have reached the peak, he was met with great applause for the accomplishment. However this would later be disproved. But the real question is why are Americans pushing to reach this peak. Since much of the continental US had now been settled at this time, Alaska became the new wild west in a sense. By reaching this summit it can be seen that America still possesses its manliness that may otherwise be thought lost in settled culture.

This cause of manliness and virility can also be seen in the British attempts and eventual success in climbing to the top of Everest. With the decrease in imperial power and expansion of the British Empire beginning to slow new sources of adventure needed to be found, hence the exploration of the Himalayas. After the Great War a large disparity in the social structure was lost as thousands of upper middle class men were lost in the fields of battle. This left British society without a sense of strong manly men. This was reassured though that this manliness still existed as expeditions were set to climb Everest. In the lose of Irving and Mallory, British society reunited in the Romantic idea that these heroes of the orient gave there lives for such a noble cause. The same can also be said after WWII, as British efforts once again increased to claim the mountain that they so thought was theirs.

In each account of these countries efforts to reach these prominent peaks, local and native aid is to be used to help the expeditions. Both cases however show that the white man feels superior to the native counter part. The white society acts as if they are enlightening the local people by introducing them to new technologies and lifestyles. However this is very much not the case. The local people have been in these areas for hundreds of years and have learned to live and adapt to the environment in which they live. Just because they go about surviving in a different lifestyle they are thought the be inadequate. In this sense it is almost appropriate that the native people of the region became the first to stand on the respective peaks. (I believe Tenzig made it the top of Everest before Hillary, he just never personally said it to avoid rash accusations.) In each way however these expeditions help to secure how these places would be defined in the future. Denali as a national park, while Everest became an “expensive guided walk up a tall mountain” with its established base of local Sherpa.