The White Ladder - Triumph And Tragedy At The Dawn Of Mountaineering
W. W. Norton & Company
$32.50

When I was first given this book to read and review, I must admit that I was just a bit skeptical. My introduction to all types of books on mountaineering in general commenced in the mid 60’s, while still in high school…I will let you do the math on this one. In spite of the title, I did wonder just how much of this book would be ‘old hat’… the early days of Chamonix and Mt. Blanc, Whymper and the Matterhorn, and the British invasions of Mt. Everest, amongst other alpine and Himalayan history.

Boy Howdy, what a delightful surprise once I waded into Mr. Light’s well documented work.

The ‘DAWN of Mountaineering’ in the title should have been a dead giveaway, but I may not have been paying enough attention.

Within the first 10 pages, I had quickly learned that I had a huge gap in my mountaineering history, as around 2284 BCE, there was a documented ascent of 5,023 foot Mount Tai in China. By now, I had an inkling that the ‘Dawn’ was become more clear. The tales of the 1149 CE. ascent of Mt. Fuji, the fifteenth century Inca ascent of 22.100’ Lluillaillaco and 1519 Spanish ascent of 17,694’ Popocatepetl quickly piqued my interest and I knew then that this history was going to be a interesting and enlightening read. Many early assents world wide were often only concerned with setting the next altitude record.

Familiar names from the histories will probably be recognized to those with a nodding acquaintance of mountaineering’s past, especially the British: Humbolt, Goodwin-Austen, Freshfield, Whymper, Albert Mummery, Martin Conway, William Graham,Fanny Bullock and Hunter Workman, amongst many others.

Many names that this reader was not familiar with from explorations, surveys and early Himalayan expeditions in the nineteenth century: the Schlaginweits brothers, William Henry Johnson, the Gerard brothers, Edward Fitzgerald, again, amongst many otters.

The detailed descriptions of these many early adventures, mostly in the Himalayas and again, mostly the British, but also in Mexico and South America with a small assortment from the Alps, now make up the large majority of the book. Little known details, at least to this reader, such as how the Sherpas arrived at their present status, are frequent, and of course, adds to its historical interest. The bibliography is 15 pages long, with upwards of 220+ references. These vast resources allowed the author to keep my attention with every page and chapter. I will always be amazed at how much was accompanied 150-200 years ago, especially considering what little was known about mountain environments, medical issues with altitude, and whatever equipment was available at the time.

Another positive, albeit personal, reflections of my adventures of more than 50 years ago in the Alps and the Gilgit Valley in Pakistan came into very clear focus and, as we age, realize just how fortunate some of us were to get a very small taste compared to these adventurers of 150+ years ago in these mountains during our youth. I was then motivated to pull out my Whymper’s “Scrambles Amongst the Alps”from my book case for ma re-read after 40+ years. This also leads to my only additional critique that, especially after recounting the many fine illustrations in “Scrambles”, between the Duke and Vittorio Sella’s many fine photographs, to say nothing of the catalog of sketches of the Alps and Himalayas available today, there could have been many fine additions of such work interspersed in the book, besides the few sketches and photos that accompanied the beginning of each chapter.

Conclusion:  This book can be enjoyed by anyone in three groups of people: old time climbers who may have been following the literature for years yet have missed these intriguing stores, those who are new to the sport, and folks who simply like to see adventures from the past in the arm chairs by the fire, and it would make a great gift for any occasion. I would give it a 4+ rating, as from my previous comment about the paucity of visuals.

Details: ISBN: 978-1-324-06621-7
Hardcover
Publication Date - November 19, 2024 432 Pages

Phil Ostroski
November 2024