On the Expansion of Mountaineering

It’s somewhat surprising that activities as distinct as shredding a line of fresh powder, grinding up a squeeze chimney, cranking down on an overhanging boulder problem and front pointing up a frozen waterfall all share a common past. Movement in the hills under our own power is the common spirit binding together these seemingly disparate activities.

Mountaineering is divergent and evolving, branching outward, generating new techniques and modes of travel. From the three traditional disciplines (rock climbing, ice climbing and glacier travel) have sprouted: aid climbing, sport climbing, bouldering, mixed and waterfall ice climbing, scrambling, ski mountaineering, siege tactics and fast and light alpine ascents. The contemporary mountaineer has a beautifully diverse palette of ways to get into the hills.

Given our propensity for exploration, we’ve always wanted to see what is around the next bend and over the next rise and so we’ve likely always found our way to scampering on the rocks and sliding on the snow. Thus, it is diff icult to attribute many f irsts. The 1492 ascent of Mont Aiguille, in France is a good place to start. This ascent is often noted as the first endeavour resembling modern mountaineering. Antoine de Ville, a servant of Charles VIII, was ordered to ascend the peak – which he did with the use of ropes and ladders and accompanied by a team of eight to 10. On the summit plateau, the group erected three huge crosses, demonstrating to spectators below that the objective had been reached.

Mountaineering has progressed since then. New sub-disciplines have evolved, taking on their own norms and guiding principles. At their core, these different practices share a common essence, but the various offshoots are incredibly different forms. Initially, rock climbing was considered a constituent of mountaineering,