Writing the ascent : narrative and mountaineering accounts / by Justin Allec.

Abstract

Mountaineering is an activity traditionally practiced in remote areas of the world by a select few participants. Upon returning from an expedition, some mountaineers retrospectively publish their account as a testament of the experience. This is a common practice in the mountaineering subculture, and encouraged by the fact that an account can also act as a guide to the mountain for later expeditions. This thesis argues that this practice becomes troubling because even as later expeditions attempt to distinguish their ascents from their predecessors, a similar framework of ideals is reiterated. The expedition's actions can be justified using frameworks based on domination of the environment and indigenous cultures. The repetition of these ideals is encouraged by the teleological narrative adopted by the authors to describe the episodic order of the expedition as well as the goal of the summit. However, this common narrative, as well as the subject matter, also allows accounts to be read in dialogue with one another.