The idea of gender within the sport of mountaineering is an interesting idea that appears to reflect the thoughts of gender in society.  The main contention to this argument being the way that men and women are portrayed in the text Imperial Ascent and the reading by Susan Frohlick very differently.  Indeed, one can see that women and men in the sport of mountaineering are seen in a very different light on the one hand men are seen as masculine for conquering the great unknown that is a mountain, whereas women are seen as selfish for leaving behind their families and not preforming the everyday tasks that are traditionally assigned to women.  This is also reflected within society in general where men are allowed certain privileges and access to certain sports and jobs.  Women, however, are restricted in these different parts of society and are restricted as well to the household much more.

In the text Imperial Ascent it discusses the idea of masculinity and mountaineering.  This is interesting in the fact that ones masculinity is almost called into question when one cannot conquer a mountain and fails to climb it.  Indeed, climbing a mountain is described as one of the most masculine tasks that a man can complete.  The idea of conquering the mountain and therefore conquering nature in general is a very interesting idea.  This reflects very much how society during this time period functioned as a whole how men and women were divided strictly on the basis of masculinity versus femininity.  During this time period men were allowed much more freedom and this included freedom to climb any mountain that was within their financial grasp.  Where as women were restricted and frowned upon and accused of being selfish if they endeavored to climb a mountain or to even think the thought of climbing a mountain.

The way that this truly reflects to society and gender roles within in society is that throughout history access to mountaineering has become more and more available to women as society has advanced.  From my understanding of the sport men and women have become more equal in mountaineering and, indeed, within society in general women and men have become increasingly more equal as history has advanced and society as a whole has come to accept the idea that men and women should be treated equally as human beings.  However, I do believe that there is still a trace of gender bias when it comes to mountaineering in the sense that it is seen as a very masculine sport in which men compete in order to show dominance in strength.  In this sense I believe that the legacy of mountaineering as a mans sport has continued to live on through modern history.  On side bar I also found it interesting in Imperial Ascent how native americans or indians are seen as more feminine and woman like even the men even though they help cook to climb mount Denali.  This relates very closely to the idea of how sherpas are treated within the Himalayas and both groups are treated very similarly.  Through these examples one can see that the gender bias within mountaineering reflects society and how it has changed throughout history.