Conclusion

Abstract

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the changes described in this book had consolidated into a fairly consistent approach to writing about mountaineering. A set of assumptions became widespread, many of which have proven extremely durable. The centrality of the climber’s physical contact with the material reality of the mountain environment; the belief that this gave the mountaineer a heightened understanding or appreciation of that environment; the claims made for the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of the sport; a concern with technique, skill, and competence; and the privileging of such attributes as hardiness, tenacity, stoicism, and manliness – all these were widely if not universally accepted. Some of these assumptions would perish, like many cherished beliefs of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, in the slaughter of the First World War. Others continue to be held by many mountaineers to this day.