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The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering

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Description

A sweeping history of mountaineering before Everest, and the epic human quest to reach the highest places on Earth. Whether in the name of conquest, science, or the divine, humans across the centuries have had myriad reasons to climb mountains. From the smoking volcanoes of South America to the great snowy ranges of the Himalaya, The White Ladder follows a cast of extraordinary characters—conquistadors and captains, scientists and surveyors, alpinists and adventurers—up the slopes of the world’s highest peaks. A masterpiece of edge- of-your-seat narrative history, The White Ladder describes the epic rise of mountaineering’s world altitude record, a story of ever higher climbs by figures great and small of mountaineering during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Daniel Light describes how climbers used revolutionary techniques to launch themselves into the most forbidding conditions. The expeditions illustrate evolutionary changes in climbing style, the advancement of high-altitude science, and the development of mountain climbing as an industry. Throughout, Light pays special attention to Incan climbers, Gurkha guides, Sherpa mountaineers, and many others who are often overlooked. He offers nuanced new perspectives on familiar characters, for example, calling out the famed female pioneer Fanny Bullock Workman for racism and for abusing her porters. He presents a complex new portrait of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, who was at once a ruthless expedition leader, but also an innovative strategist who could read mountains and would risk everything trying to climb them. Light also makes bold new arguments about classic debates, for example, arguing that the much-maligned Jewish climber Oscar Eckenstein shaped mountaineering as we know it today. A story of innovation, invention, and determination, The White Ladder immerses readers in a fascinating historical period. With their breathtaking exploits, these climbers laid the groundwork for the historic ascents of K2 and Everest that came after—and heightened the spectacle of their dangerous sport. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (November 19, 2024)


Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2024


Language ‏ : ‎ English


File size ‏ : ‎ 31.8 MB


Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled


Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported


Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled


X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled


Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Good read
Well written, interesting book for anyone interested climbing
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2025 by G. B.
    • Excellent research and description of climbing
The book needs much better maps….the one provided just doesn’t cut it. In addition the author needs to understand the readers are not all mountain climbers. Give us a glossary! Do you really think we all know what…let me list a few: Col, sirdar,schrunds,couloirs,Seracs,arete,Baltic etc etc….i had to look up what these and other words meant. They are important to understand That being said, I enjoyed the book and thought thee authors research was outstanding ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2025 by Mohawk49
    • Very informative and well-written
As an armchair mountaineer (having trekked in earlier years to 18,500' in the Everest region, and nearly that high in the Annapurna Sanctuary and Chomolhari Base Camp), it was very interesting and enjoyable to read about the intrepid actual mountaineers who, with virtually no reliable information about what they were getting into, and poorly clothed and equipped (tweed jackets and cravats!, canvas tents), accomplished so much. The role of the Sherpas (an ethnic minority whose heritage is Tibetan), at the beginning of the 20th c. is described, and of great interest to me is that until the 1960's, virtually all the explorers (not all men!!) who have left records of their exploits were European. I'm sure there were some local explorers also, although they had neither the time nor money to afford such luxury as "sport." Great read! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025 by Cecily Drucker
    • When does volume II come out?
Out of 375 pages of text, 10 were written mentioning Mt. Everest. Certainly none were on the exploration history of Everest. Spoiler Alert, George Mallory died on Everest. A few changes would have made this book better. 1. Instead of maps at the beginning of the book, a map for each chapter of the mountain being tackled. 2. A glossary of terms as I spent time on Google looking up terms that were not defined. 3. More technical descriptions of climbing gear development and scientific instruments. My wife loved the book, I was not as enthralled. Full disclosure, I am an Engineer LOL ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2025 by Jens T. Jensen
    • Very good book on early mountaineering
While Sir Edmund Hillary is the most well-known mountaineer from the first half of the 20th century being the first person to scale Mt. Everest, there was a long trail of climbers who preceded him and took the same risks to climb heights unknown to man at that time. Those climbers and their adventures are captured in this well-researched book by Daniel Light. What separates this book from most other mountaineering books I have read is that instead of concentrating on one group or climber, this book profiles many different climbers and their quests to become the first climber to either summit a particular peak (and not always in the Himalayas) or at least attain an altitude that no person had ever reached before. I found this very interesting as these climbers did not have the equipment, clothing, gear and other necessities that today’s mountaineers have. How they were able to attain these heights without items that modern climbers could not live without made for very interesting stories. It was also noteworthy that like today, the climbing society is mostly male, but some determined women will make their mark and show they are worthy of being considered among the elite in the sport. In this book, one woman’s story, Fanny Bullock Workman, was fascinating and while she may not have fit the image of women of that time, she certainly knew her way up a mountain as she and her husband made many expeditions. The reader will learn a lot of interesting facts and personalities in the early days of the sport. One great example that I learned was who the person was that invented crampons. His name is Oscar Eckenstien (an elite climber of the ear in his own right) and instead of settling for using nails inside his boots as was common at that time, he modified the design of climbing irons and used a 10-point bladed boot attachment to gain better footing on steep ice or snow. While at times the book does delve into very technical language, any climbing enthusiast will enjoy reading this selection. That includes those like me who have never strapped on crampons or climbing boots but love to read about the sport as well as those who enjoy climbing at any skill level. I wish to thank W.W. Norton and Company for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2025 by LSmith
    • Panama Canal in 1879?
Loved the detailed presentation of the early British surveyors in the Himal and Karakoram ranges. A factual mistake occurs in the narration of Whymper's trip to Ecuador in 1879. On page 80, the author states as follows: "As their mail steamer passed through the Panama Canal and emerged into the Pacific, ...". The Panama Canal was not completed until 1913. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2025 by Kathleen A. Senior

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