THE boundaries of human capability are hard to grasp. Determination, nerve, intelligence or physique produce achievements so far beyond common experience as to seem scarcely credible. Motivations might range from conquest to sport or merely an urge to excel. For example, Kim Collison—who, in 2020, ran 96 miles in 24 hours over 78 Lake District peaks-says simply that he 'loved the hills and the physical release'.
Mountains are a testing theatre. During the 1924 Everest expedition, despite blizzards, delay and exhaustion, four Englishmen climbed within 1,000ft of the wind-whipped, icy summit -wearing pullovers, tweed jackets and gaberdine smocks. Two, George Mallory and Andrew Sandy' Irvine, were thereafter seen ‘moving with considerable alacrity only 650ft from the top and may, indeed, have achieved it, if not for their fatal fall.
The 1924 expedition to Everest traverses the foot of the ice wall of the North Col
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's climb in 1953 was fuelled by oxygen. Yet, by 1986, Italian super-climber Reinhold Messner, despite losing seven toes to frostbite, had climbed all 14 of the world's highest peaks 'by fair means'—without oxygen. An astonishing blend of will, skill and enviable lungs.
Ocean sailors have a triple problem: where are they, will the sea overwhelm them and can they survive the pressures of a lengthy voyage? Ferdinand Magellan sailed into the unknown with five ships in 1519. Shipwreck, mutiny, tempest and scurvy harrowed his fleet. He was killed attacking a Philippine island resisting conversion to Christianity. Only Victoria continued, captained by the dogged Juan Elcano (previously chained for months by Magellan as a mutineer), to be the first to circumnavigate the world.
Denne historien er fra March 16, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 16, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
