Scaling the Heights: Mountaineering Advances Between 1900-1949
Overview
The sport of mountain climbing is known as mountaineering. It has garnered a significant amount of public interest because mountains are both majestic and dangerous at the same time, an unpredictable combination that intrigues and fascinates. Mountaineering began as a pursuit of prestige. Later, the focus shifted to the difficulty of the route taken to the top. In recent years the technique used to reach the summit has become paramount. In addition, new technology, equipment, and materials have increased mountaineering's popularity. The sport's triumph and tragedy have captured public imagination; the two best known examples are the ill-fatedattempt of George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Levine to the attain the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, and the first successful ascent of the mountain by Edmund Hillary (1919- ) and Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) in 1953.
Background
Few people attempted to climb mountains for sport prior to 1786. Mountain peaks were ascended for religious or scientific purposes, but there is little evidence that climbing for the sake of accomplishment existed. This is probably due as much to a lack of leisure time and poor record keeping as it is to a lack of desire to climb.
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