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The Forum: History of mountaineering

27/07/2024 GMT

History of mountaineering

BBC World Service - The Forum, History of mountaineering

Tracing our fascination with the high peaks.

Humans have always co-existed with mountains, as ancient remains found in glaciers prove.  But our interest in them may have been more spiritual or religiously motivated, rather than as a place to go to improve our health and wellbeing.  In some cultures today mountains are still considered to be the home of deities.

So when did mountaineering become a popular pastime and how did the obsession with bagging summits start?  Iszi Lawrence investigates our evolving relationship with the planet’s highest peaks.

Iszi’s guests include Dawn Hollis, author of Mountains before Mountaineering: The Call of the Peaks before the Modern Age and Peter Hansen, Professor of History and Director of International and Global Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the US, and author of various books on mountaineering including The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering after the Enlightenment.

Plus we hear from a range of Forum listeners from around the world with their experiences of mountains.

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