The Birth of Alpinism

Overview

Modern mountaineering had its beginnings in the 1700s when humans began to take to the peaks for reasons of scientific discovery and adventure. The names of Michel-Gabriel Paccard (1757-1827), Jacques Balmat (1762-1834), and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799) and their initial climbs up the 15,771-ft (4,807 m) tall Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe, are often cited as the starting point for the present-day sport of mountaineering, or alpinism. Paccard and Balmat were the first to the top of the Mont Blanc in 1786. Saussure followed a year later.

Background

The interest in the natural world heightened in the 1700s as humans began to explore more and more of Earth, to find new plants and animals, and to wonder about the science behind their discoveries. One area of particular interest involved the mountains. At the time, few tall mountains had been climbed, not only because the climbs were difficult and dangerous, but because it was unknown whether humans could even survive the extreme conditions suspected at higher altitudes. The numerous legends of evil spirits who lived among the peaks also kept people from exploring the heights.

Human fascination eventually won out over the fears and potential dangers. As early as 1742 scientists began pointing to Mont Blanc as the highest peak in all of western Europe. While that designation brought attention to the mountains, it was not until 1760, when Swiss scientist and mountain explorer Horace Bénédict de Saussure offered a monetary prize to the first person who climbed it, that the name of Mont Blanc gained prominence. Saussure hoped to be the first to reach the pinnacle, but offered the prize with the intention of encouraging others to make the climb as well.

The challenge inspired many to attempt the summit, but no one was able to find a path to the top until Paccard and Balmat did in 1786. The 24-year-old Balmat, described variously as a peasant, geologist, gem cutter and fur trader, came across what he felt was a passable path to the summit in June 1786. His discovery was serendipitous: after partially ascending the mountain, he became lost overnight and nearly died from the cold, but stumbled upon a potentially successful route.

Paccard was a 29-year-old scientist and physician whose scientific interest in the natural world prompted his involvement in mountain exploration. Like Balmat, he was a resident of Chamonix, the town at the base of Mont Blanc. Paccard hired Balmat as a porter, and planned the ascent for August, two months after Balmat had nearly died on the mountainside.

The two men left town with only walking sticks on August 7. Following Balmat's path across snowy slopes and precipitous crevasses, they climbed the mountain. At least one observer from the town used a telescope to follow the men, recording their successful attainment of the apex at 6:23 P.M. on August 8. True to his scientific inclination, Paccard took various measurements on the summit before he and Balmat made the return trip. They were back in Chamonix by the following day. Paccard, who climbed the mountain to satisfy scientific curiosity rather than for monetary gain, sent Balmat to Saussure in Geneva to pick up and keep the prize money.

Despite the apparent generosity on the part of Paccard, Balmat spread tales that he did most of the work, reached the summit first, and then had to backtrack and literally drag Paccard on the last leg of the journey to the top. Paccard's reputation was also damaged by a jealous mountain-climber named Marc-Théodore Bourrit and by Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, who both published stories about Paccard based on Balmat's self-serving accounts. More than a century after the deaths of Paccard and Balmat historians found documents written by Balmat that gave Paccard due credit, noting that Paccard made the journey under his own power and inferring that Paccard may actually have been the first of the two men to reach the summit of Mont Blanc.

The successful ascent of Paccard and Balmat spurred Saussure to put together a large climbing team and attempt Mont Blanc the following year. When he reached the top, Saussure conducted numerous scientific studies during a four-hour period. A highly respected and wealthy scientist, Saussure garnered considerable public attention for his successful climb and his ensuing published chronicle of the journey.

Impact

As the first to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, Balmat and Paccard's ascent was significant. However, the true impact of their effort was realized through Saussure's climb a year later. Saussure's status as an aristocrat and respected scientist ensured that word would quickly spread about the conquest of Mont Blanc, and mountaineering soon became an exciting new sport.

Alpinism grew in popularity. People began to climb mountains not for scientific reasons but for the adventure of being the first to reach a new summit. Others did not care to be first, but instead sought merely to climb. By the mid-1800s French and Swiss guides were leading mountaineers by established routes to peaks throughout Europe. The sport of mountaineering received a monumental boost in 1865 when the alpine team of English artist Edward Whymper (1840-1911) made the first successful climb of the 14,692-ft (4,478 m) tall Matterhorn on July 14, 1865. After this great ascent in Europe, mountaineers began to look for new challenges on already climbed mountains by seeking more difficult lines of ascent. Saussure, Balmat and Paccard, for instance, had climbed the less severe slope of Mont Blanc's north face, but later climbers began to consider and attempt the steep and often ice-covered east, or "Brenva," face, and the even steeper south face with its 1,500-ft (457 m) tall pillars of rock.

Mountaineers also turned their sights on more exotic lands. From 1895 to 1900 climbers reached the highest summit of the South American Andes, the 22,834-ft (6,960 m) Aconcagua; the top of the 13,766-ft (4,196 m) Grand Teton in the Rocky Mountains; and the heights of Mount St. Elias, an 18,009-ft (5,489 m) mountain that borders Alaska and Canada. An American climbing team in 1913 triumphed over Mount McKinley, which, at 20,320 feet (6,194 m), is the tallest mountain in North American.

Many mountaineers became fixated with the soaring heights of the Himalayan chain in the early-to mid-1900s. In 1933 a Soviet group ascended a 24,590-ft (7,495 m) peak, and three years later an English team pressed to a 25,643-ft (7,816 m) peak in the Himalayas. Climbing continued—and altitudes increased—following World War II. By 1955 mountaineers had reached peaks of more than 28,000 feet (8,534 m). For many, the last remaining challenge was Mount Everest, the 29,028-ft (8,848 m) Himalayan behemoth. A New Zealand team, led by Edmund Hillary (1919- ) and Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986), reached its summit on May 29, 1953.

Since its humble beginnings, when Paccard and Balmat struck out with walking sticks to climb the tallest peak in western Europe, mountaineering has gone through major changes. One of the first was the use of veteran guides to lead parties to the summits. Mountaineers also began to develop and use simple climbing aids, such as rope and ice picks. More advanced gear, including anchors, pitons, and specialized footgear, especially crampons, made it possible to climb formerly insurmountable obstacles, even sheer rock faces such as El Capitan in the North American Sierra Nevada mountain chain.

The earliest climbers made their ascent with simple means and for basic purposes: to learn whether humans could survive high altitudes and to gain a greater understanding of the workings of nature. They accomplished both, and along the way also established alpinism as a sport that now draws tens of thousands of enthusiasts every year.

LESLIE A. MERTZ