Mountains of the Mind: a History of a Fascination

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It is these very dangers, this alternation of hope and fear, the continual agitation kept alive by these sensations in his heart, which excite the huntsman, just as they animate the gambler, the warrior, the sailor and, even to a certain point, the naturalist among the Alps whose life resembles closely, in some respects, that of the chamois hunter. During the retreat, his feet and hands were wrapped and bagged in plastic to save them from further harm. It was believed that avalanches could be triggered by stimuli as light as a cough, the foot of a beetle, or the brush of a bird's wing as it swooped low across a loaded snow-slope.

When we ate dinner, the chunky silver pieces of cutlery which came out of the dresser were cold in our hands.You're not in Vietnam, you're in the Alps, just a guy who's gone up into the mountains to scare himself, and succeeded. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Risk, it was realised, brought its own reward: the sense of physical exhilaration and elation which we would now attribute to the effects of adrenaline.

It was far too sharp and fragile to walk along the top of, and there was no way to climb down and round it. I was consciously grateful to the mountains for being so beautiful for me that day, and as awed by their silence as if I had been in church.MOUNTAINS OF THE MIND traces the historical antecedents that shaped our popular conception of the Great Outdoors--in particular, our desire to climb mountains. Instead of picking our way cleanly from rock to rock, we had to clamber along the snow, never sure if there was a rock beneath each foot placement, or air. Late that night, back in the valley and unable to sleep, I got out of our tent and walked about the campsite, stepping carefully over the guy-ropes.

I came to love them, these men: the polar explorers with their sledges, their songs and their soft spot for penguins; and the mountaineers with their pipes, their insouciance and their unfeasible stamina. I longed in particular for the thermostat of little Birdie Bowers, Scott's right-hand man, who, during the voyage south on the Terra Nova, washed on deck every morning in a bucket of sea water, and who was able to sleep - to sleep - in temperatures down to -30C.It's easy to discern in Mountains of the Mind the outlines of a superb book, but it doesn't live up to that promise. Once you become a supporter, you’ll get a monthly newsletter with ideas for outdoor trips, inspiring stories, and exclusive discount codes from our partners, including exclusive 15% gear discount from Ellis Brigham. In 1802, on a stormy summer's afternoon in the Lake District, Samuel Coleridge is playing a game of Russian roulette. There was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere above me, and I saw the whole summit ridge and final peak of Everest unveiled. We'd have to climb out along its side, as we had done on the way up, with even less guarantee that the whole structure wouldn't collapse and send us plummeting down to the glacier.