High Adventure
New Zealand Listener|July 14-20 2018

An anthology of alpine writing displays the greatest appeal of the genre: most of it was written by people who could have died gathering the raw material.

Geoff Chapple
High Adventure

A climber writes to his mates proposing a do-or-die summer assault on the dangerous Ramsay Face of Mt Whitcombe. “It’s all or nothing, the front pages or the back.” Of the New Zealand Alpine Journal, that is: the front pages document the most spectacular climbs of the season; the back pages carry the obituaries.

The letter, quoted in To the Mountains, a new anthology of alpine writing, perfectly captures the allure of mountain literature: it’s about people who put their lives at risk. They just go for it, and when they write, the dangers and stress they face can’t fail to make a good read.

But the two editors, Laurence Fearnley and Paul Hersey, are more inclusive than that. We follow a 13-year-old girl, roped up to her surveyor dad, reaching the top of the Mackinnon Pass in 1889 on the newly emerging Milford track. She’s an observant kid, who notes the robin that perches on her dad’s theodolite, and his hat. Dad names a tarn after her – Lake Ella – and she’s a good read, too.

So is Jill Tremain who, during her epic 1971 traverse of the Southern Alps with Graeme Dingle, takes time out to pen a hilarious apology to a fellow female alpinist for nicking her food stash at Murchison Hut. Elsewhere Ed Hillary writes from base camp after climbing Everest to his girlfriend’s father, and president of the New Zealand Alpine Club, Jim Rose. The angles here are new, the vision fresh.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView all
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024