L'esprit de l'alpinisme

Why do great climbers turn away from Everest ? Why do they refuse artificial oxygen on certain Himalayan summits? Why do they risk their lives for a new ascent?

Theatre of drama, purveyor of heroes, object of polemics, high level mountaineering fascinates. In the speeches that surround it, the same images reappear: those of a great and noble practice, which cannot be assimilated to a simple sport, with protagonists devoted body and soul, ready to sacrifice themselves for a new ascent. But only if it is done in the right spirit, because in great mountaineering it is still necessary to reach the summit without cheating, respecting strict ethics.

It is this spirit of mountaineering, synonymous with excellence, that the book questions, through an original historical and sociological survey, using unpublished material, which takes the reader from the origins of mountaineering, in the great English bourgeoisie of the 19th century, to the beginning of the 21st century.

The spirit of mountaineering, both as an ethical principle and an esprit de corps, is embedded in hierarchies and relationships of domination, both class and gender, which distinguish the elite from the masses, climbers from guides, men from women. The book reveals how it continues to reflect the ideologies of the small male elite that codified it more than 150 years ago, beyond the spread, democratisation and feminisation of mountaineering. It will be of interest both to academics and to a wider readership of mountaineering enthusiasts.