Everest Climbing vs Rock Climbing
The difference between climbing Mount Everest and simple day rock climbing is obvious. The content on this site is about both. The Everest part is mostly in audio book format and the articles are more about rock climbing.
Have you ever watched a movie that featured a group of adventurous rock climbers racing to save someone, reach the pinnacle of the mountain or seen the climber make a death defying leap across frozen glaciers? The sensationalism of rock climbing has made interesting fodder for several interesting movies and has more than likely caused many individuals to take up the sport. Climbing mountain cliffs just seems to be the right sport for adrenaline junkies.
As with many sports, rock climbing was born from necessity. The world was not always a carefully mapped out plane upon paper. It was discovered by brave pioneers desiring adventure and a life on the edge. These early explorers would have been considered "extreme" enthusiasts. They did not wish to idly prance upon a pony or play within the comforts of their own front lawn. These adventurous men and some women wanted to conquer impossible peaks and create new trails through a vast wilderness.
This is a gripping story about Everest climbing...
The Boys of Everest
The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragedy of Climbing's Greatest Generation
"Riveting, detailed, and full of insight a refreshingly honest perspective on the tragic, selfish nature of our sport."Climbing magazine
"A death-haunted saga of the scalers of heaven...the same class and caliber (as) Into Thin Air." Kirkus Reviews
"A dramatic and romantic look at the greatest generation of climbers."Library Journal
"A gripping adventure saga of life spent teetering on the edge of the abyss."Publishers Weekly
This gripping story of courage, achievement, and heartbreaking loss tells of Bonington's Boys, a band of climbers who reinvented mountaineering during the three decades after Everest's first ascent. Chris Bonington's inner circle included a dozen of the most renowned climbers, who took increasingly terrible risks on now legendary expeditions to the world's most fearsome peaks, and paid an enormous price. Most of them died in the mountains, leaving behind the hardest question of all: was it worth it?
Based on interviews with surviving climbers and others, as well as five decades of journals, expedition accounts, and letters, The Boys of Everest provides the closest thing to an answer that we will ever have. It offers riveting descriptions of what Bonington's Boys found in the mountains, as well as an understanding of what they lost there.
Some Climbing History
There really is not an accurate time frame for the earliest rock climbers. There are pictograph's describing ancient societies climbing rocks. Anasazi Indian tribes in North America were cliff dwellers. Rock climbing for them must have been a necessity in order to reach their dwellings. There are other examples where individuals were used as a mountain guide to help explorers get through mountain passes that were impossible or would have taken too long to trek around.
Many lives can be attributed to being saved by a person experienced in rock climbing. Travelers or hikers who found themselves in danger, likely only had rescue personnel to save them from a life or death predicament. If not for the alpine climbing rescue personnel, such as those found in the Swiss Alps, then many explorers probably would not have accomplished their tremendous strides.
Rock climbing is not for the faint of heart. It does involve heights and it is not a sport that those who are not in shape can participate in, due to the amount of physical strength and stamina needed. But the rewards can be many. It is you pushing your muscles, mind and spirit on to new heights. Completing courses and putting yourself in a competition against nature can be the reward of a lifetime.