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Sto caricando le informazioni... Scrambles Amongst the Alpsdi Edward Whymper
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Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. Whymper's book about some of his first ascents of peaks in the Alps, including the first ascent of the famed Matterhorn alternates between really fascinating and dry. His curmudgeonly character frequently causes him to underplay the difficulties of his ascents and some of the stories suffer from that. His tragic climb of the Matterhorn, where a majority of his companions died, is the best story of the book and he makes you wait for until the end. There are several chapters that focus on the geology of the region and this is where the book really dragged for me -- more because I'm interested in mountaineering history rather than the make up of the mountains themselves. I'm glad I read this historical account, but it isn't one I'd ever pick up to read again. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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When he first saw the Alps in 1860, Edward Whymper was a 20-year-old English wood engraver whose dream was to become an arctic explorer. Ambitious and hungry for adventure, he fell in love with the challenge the Alps presented and set out to conquer them peak by peak. Whymper made quick work of the challenge, racking up dozens of first ascents and acquiring a reputation as one of the best in the nascent field of mountaineering. But on the Matterhorn, considered to be mountaineering's Holy Grail at the time, Whymper met with failure again and again. On his eighth attempted ascent he finally succeeded, becoming the first man to reach its magnificent peak. The victory came at a heavy cost, however, as Whymper watched four of his companions fall to their deaths on the descent. It was a tragedy that would cast a shadow over the remainder of his life. Published in 1871, Scrambles Amongst the Alps is Whymper's own story of his nine years spent climbing in the Alps. One of the first books devoted to the sheer thrill of mountaineering, it is a breathtaking account of the triumph of man over mountain in a time before thermal clothing, nylon ropes, global positioning systems, and air rescues. It also offers Whymper's controversial story of the tragedy on the Matterhorn. One of the best adventure books of all time, Scrambles Amongst the Alps is an essential classic of climbing literature by one of mountaineering's most legendary figures. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)914.947History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in Europe Other European Countries SwitzerlandClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
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The volume I read was prepared for the National Geographic Adventure Classics series. Curiously, the dramatic cover illustration is of the Dent Blanche and not the Matterhorn, the latter of which made Whymper famous and controversial. Whymper addresses those controversies at length. How satisfactorily he does will be matter for varying opinion, particularly for anyone adhering to Reinhold Messner’s interpretation of the event in Fall of Heaven: Whymper’s Tragic Matterhorn Climb (I do not). This edition has many footnotes from Whymper not in the original. They supplement the text well and on rare occasion caused me to question the author’s strict veracity, giving them that little extra bit of tang. ( )