The image associated with mountains has undergone some drastic changes in the past couple of centuries. From being mythical sights of monsters and terror, morphing into territory to be conquered and mapped, and now into a sight of serene beauty and tranquility. Now peaks and ranges are places that are actively sought out and explored.…
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The Final Paper
by mmd •
My final paper topic is going to be about the many effects of tourism on mountaineering and mountains themselves. The final paper is going to touch briefly on variety of ramifications that have been caused and from several viewpoints from the perspective of guides, support staff (i.e. Sherpas) and adventure tourists themselves. My sources include:…
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Mixtresses
by mmd •
http://www.outsideonline.com/2057971/why-you-should-know-women-mixed-climbing This particular article is a fun tidbit about women in mixed climbing. I chose it because it really gripped me by stating that unlike a lot of other areas of mountaineering and climbing mixed climbing is actually really balanced evenly between the two sexes. Furthermore women are able to keep up with the men,…
Reading Response
Week 14
by mmd •
There is a lot to sift through this week from the readings. Orientalism and post colonialism thoughts are some pretty heavy matters to digest in one week. However there are elements of both are found in the other. Orientalism is a very odd thing when I think about it. It is basically the breakdown of…
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Week 13
by mmd •
This week we revisit the French expedition of Annapurna and reevaluate the classic mountaineering work of Herzog. Roberts investigates outside sources and even talks to Herzog himself to assess the situation. What is enlightened is really what we as a class uncovered on our initial read of Annapurna – Herzog is an ego maniac. I…
Book Review
The Way That We Climbed, book review
by mmd •
The history of the Irish mountaineering tradition is disclosed in absolute detail by Paddy O’Leary in The Way That We Climbed: A History of Irish Hillwalking, Climbing, and Mountaineering. O’Leary lends authority to this history as he himself was one of the pillars of the Irish climbing community from the late nineteen-fifties through the…
Reading Response
Week 12
by mmd •
It is truly difficult to know exactly to begin when discussing Life and Death on Mt.Everest. Sherry Ortner is definitely an anthropological monarch and this work is far more than Sherpas tragically dying on Everest (which I had pictured it out to be). Particularly what is striking is the vastly different lens that this is…
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Week 11
by mmd •
Fallen Giants and Into Thin Air have both displayed a common theme – the “golden age” of Himalaya mountaineering is dead. The counterculture movements of the 1960s influenced not just the western views on the Himalaya region but have extended up to that mountaineering itself. A new generation of climbers is shaking things up and…
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“Beyond the Edge” in Review
by mmd •
Beyond the Edge is a 2013 documentary film that recounts the first successful summiting expedition of Everest in 1953. What makes this film stand out is that there is no single voiceover that drives the film but it is narrated in sound clips from interviews given by Sir Edmund Hillary, the expedition leader Colonel…
Final Papers, Week 9
Proposal
by mmd •
For the Final (and only paper for that manner) I propose to evaluate the history of developing tourism and commercialization around mountaineering, including but not limited to, the greater ranges. My thesis will be centered around why there has been a tourist interest, and how that has developed in the last few decades; and possibly…